Cooperative Fuel Research Engine Research Articles

Experimental Evaluation of the Methane Number Measurement Procedure for Gaseous Fuel Rating

Methane Number (MN) is a fuel rating technique for gaseous fuels analogous to Octane Number. This study establishes and shares a repeatable and reproducible method for MN determination of a gaseous fuel using a modified Cooperative Fuel Research Engine (CFR). Adaptations required to convert a CFR engine for use in the MN test procedure are identified. The investigation includes allowable environmental parameters and operating variation limits. An essential aspect of the MN method involves identifying and quantifying Knock Intensity (KI) during engine operation. CFR engines, originally designed for gasoline testing, come equipped with their own knock measurement systems utilizing a capacitive detonation sensor. The original system is compared with a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) approach that uses a piezoelectric pressure transducer. Quantification of methane number requires an accurate assessment of the reference fuel blend (CH4 + H2). A comparison is carried out between dynamic blending using mass flow meters and bracketing using certified gas bottles containing various CH4/H2 blends from a gas supplier.

Low-carbon fuels for spark-ignited engines: A comparative study of compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas on a CFR engine with exhaust gas recirculation

Decades of work on low-carbon fuels have established their potential for substantial emissions reductions; however, their adoption is still limited by infrastructure concerns and engine efficiency deficits. As infrastructures have begun to evolve, research on strategies that maximize engine efficiency through interactions with fuel properties must also now take center place. This paper compares the performance, emissions, and combustion characteristics of two forefront low-carbon fuels: compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in a cooperative fuel research (CFR) engine over a range of compression ratios and engine loads. The effects of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), end-gas auto-ignition, and a novel combustion control tool, the combustion intensity metric (CIM), were also evaluated at different stoichiometric engine operating conditions. In comparison to LPG, CNG operation demonstrated an extended knock-free regime, allowing engine operation at higher engine loads and compression ratios, but LPG operation exhibited enhanced combustion characteristics with higher peak pressures and faster apparent heat release rates (AHRR). LPG operation achieved higher brake thermal efficiencies and lower equivalent CO2 emissions compared to CNG operation at the tested engine loads and compression ratios. LPG demonstrated significantly higher EGR tolerance limits compared to CNG, with a maximum of 28% EGR rate, compared to 23% for CNG. This improved EGR dilution tolerance was responsible for a 90% reduction in NOx emissions for LPG compared to a maximum of 70% with CNG. EGR dilution also exhibited more effective knock mitigation potential with LPG, suppressing knock intensity values by up to 98% and transitioning the engine operation towards normal combustion from heavy knocking conditions. The CIM was found to decrease burn durations and improve the quality of combustion by controlling the desired fraction of end-gas auto-ignition.

Nitration of biodiesel by acetyl nitrate: Kinetic study and chemical safety parameters

The aim of this study was to synthesize a bio-sourced substitute to the 2-Ethyl Hexyl Nitrate (EHN) by nitrating a biodiesel. EHN is commonly used to improve the auto-ignition properties of diesel fuels. The biodiesel was obtained by trans-esterification of canola oil. The nitration reaction of biodiesel by acetyl nitrate was carried out in a reaction calorimeter RC1 with semi-batch mode to study its kinetic and exothermic behavior and acetyl nitrate as nitrating agent. The impact of the synthesis temperature on the thermal behavior and on the reaction medium composition was investigated. The final product was analyzed by using several analytical techniques such as iodine value, infrared spectrometry, GC–MS. Three nitrated products have been identified: Methyl-8-nitro oleate, Methyl-10-nitrate-9-nitrostearate and 10-acetoxy-methyl-9-nitrostearate, whose selectivity depends on the synthesis temperature. A chemical model for nitration is proposed and the thermal power profiles released by the reaction mixture are used to estimate the energy and chemical kinetic parameters. Safety parameters, maximum temperature of the synthesis reaction (MTSR) and TD24 were also determined. In addition, a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine was used to analyze the cetane number of diesel fuel mixed with our additive. The results showed an increase in cetane number by 6 points.

Fuel-air mixing in motored CFR engine at research octane number (RON) relevant condition

This paper presents a three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study of a motored cooperative fuel research (CFR) engine at research octane number (RON) relevant condition. The boundary conditions for 3-D simulations were generated with a one-dimensional GT-Power model. For the first time in literature, a carburetor was added to a virtual CFR engine model with 3-D CFD. Therefore, the proposed setup can simulate the fuel and thermal stratifications inside the engine cylinder with realistic detail. The transient simulations in this work were performed within the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) framework with a Realizable k-ε turbulence model. Major conclusions from the present work are: (1) The in-cylinder flow of the CFR engine is swirl-dominated due to the existence of the intake valve shroud. (2) There is a significant amount of liquid droplets entering the cylinder during the intake stroke. The maximum instantaneous amount of liquid for 50% PRF 87 (containing 87% iso-octane and 13% n-heptane (v/v)) and 50% ethanol mixture is indicated to be around 26% of total injected fuel mass. (3) The heat of vaporization (HoV) of the fuel is responsible for creating both temperature and charge stratification inside the cylinder.

Ammonia Combustion in a Spark-Ignition Engine Supported with Dimethyl Ether

This paper presents the results of experimental tests with a spark-ignition engine powered using ammonia and DME (dimethyl ether). The tests were carried out on a CFR (cooperative fuel research) engine with a compression ratio of 10 and a rotational speed of 600 rpm. DME was used as a fuel to facilitate the initiation and then accelerate the combustion in the SI (spark-ignition) engine. It turned out that only about 10% of the energy share of DME ensures the correct combustion process. DME has a positive effect on the combustion stages, reduces the ignition delay time, and shortens the combustion duration. Thanks to this, for 18% of the energy share of NH3, the highest engine efficiency (29.8%), the highest value of the average indicated pressure IMEP (712 kPa), and the minimum value of specific energy consumption (12.1 MJ/kWh) were obtained. Even the smallest DME content ensured the high repeatability of IMEP, below the permissible limit of 5%.

Effect of nitric oxide on the performance and emissions of a hydrogen-fueled HCCI engine

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines have historically generated interest due to its potential to achieve high efficiency and low emissions. This paper presents an experimental investigation of hydrogen port fuel injection in a modified Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine operated under HCCI conditions. The effect of adding nitric oxide (NO) to the intake air on engine performance, emissions, and combustion characteristics was investigated at various inlet temperatures. The experiments considered the operating regime and limitations for hydrogen HCCI engines with and without NO addition. The engine can operate over a wide range of air–fuel ratios i.e., λ = 2.7 to 4.0 at 150 OC inlet air temperature without NO addition.NO also acts as a knock promoter in reciprocating engines, limiting the engine's output. The results indicate that adding NO significantly promotes the auto-ignition of the hydrogen-air mixture, thereby extending the engine's operable range, and an ultra-lean λ of 5.0 can be reached. Our findings indicate that NO has the most notable effect on engine performance at an inlet air temperature of 90 OC. Furthermore, the results show that the addition of NO increases the amount of NOx emissions in the exhaust gas; about 50 ppm of NO was converted into NO2 during the combustion process. Adding NO to the hydrogen-air mixture has the potential to extend the engine's range of operation in HCCI providing a promising avenue for further research into HCCI combustion engines and the potential to improve efficiency.

Normal and knocking combustion of hydrogen: A numerical study

This work presents a numerical study of normal and knocking combustion of hydrogen in a cooperative fuel research (CFR) engine. It is noteworthy that this study is the first to simulate this problem in a CFR engine. This engine has a significant relevance to spark-ignition engines as it is used to examine knock susceptibility of different fuels and explore fuel-engine interactions under a controlled environment. Using the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) framework, a single compression ratio and four different spark timings are considered to investigate the transition from normal to knocking combustion. The results are validated against the experimental pressure trace data for both normal and knocking combustion. The model has been rigorously validated without changing the model constants across all cases. It is shown that for knocking cases an initial auto-ignition hotspot appears near the exhaust valve, where the unburned temperature is higher than the rest of the domain. A pressure wave then propagates, forming a secondary auto-ignition spot and two auto-ignitive flames eventually merge. The propagation speed of the auto-ignitive flame front is found to be 6–10 times higher than that of the premixed flame. Using the resonance theory of Bradley, the auto-ignition events are found to be in the developing detonation region. Furthermore, zero-dimensional homogeneous reactor simulations are shown to be suitable to predict the occurrence of auto-ignition in such engine, while 3-D RANS results are needed to accurately predict the pressure trace and auto-ignition timing. The results of this work also demonstrate how temperature stratification impacts the auto-ignition events.

Analysis of the Combustion Process in a Hydrogen-Fueled CFR Engine

Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy, is nowadays one of the most promising alternatives to fossil fuels for reducing pollutant emissions and in turn global warming. In particular, the use of hydrogen as fuel for internal combustion engines has been widely analyzed over the past few years. In this paper, the authors show the results of some experimental tests performed on a hydrogen-fueled CFR (Cooperative Fuel Research) engine, with particular reference to the combustion. Both the air/fuel (A/F) ratio and the engine compression ratio (CR) were varied in order to evaluate the influence of the two parameters on the combustion process. The combustion duration was divided in two parts: the flame front development (characterized by laminar flame speed) and the rapid combustion phase (characterized by turbulent flame speed). The results of the hydrogen-fueled engine have been compared with results obtained with gasoline in a reference operating condition. The increase in engine CR reduces the combustion duration whereas the opposite effect is observed with an increase in the A/F ratio. It is interesting to observe how the two parameters, CR and A/F ratio, have a different influence on the laminar and turbulent combustion phases. The influence of both A/F ratio and engine CR on heat transfer to the combustion chamber wall was also evaluated and compared with the gasoline operation. The heat transfer resulting from hydrogen combustion was found to be higher than the heat transfer resulting from gasoline combustion, and this is probably due to the different quenching distance of the two fuels.

Effects of knock intensity measurement technique and fuel chemical composition on the research octane number (RON) of FACE gasolines: Part 2 – Effects of spark timing

The Research and Motor Octane Number (RON, MON) characterize a fuel’s knock resistance by rating the knock intensity of a sample fuel relative to that of Primary Reference Fuels (PRF) in a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) Engine. A fuel’s octane number is regulated to prevent damage from autoignition leading to knocking combustion in spark-ignition engines. The operational differences between the standard RON rating and modern engine operation are explored in a three-part publication series. The previous study focused on the effects of lambda and knock characterization. This second study primarily focuses on the effects of spark timing on RON determination. Following the findings from the first publication, the knock intensity was captured by the knockmeter and by the maximum amplitude of pressure oscillations (MAPO) at the lambda of peak knock intensity and stoichiometry. Knock-limited spark advance tests were conducted for a set of seven Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines (FACE) from the Coordinating Research Council (CRC) with varying chemical composition, PRFs, and Toluene Standardization Fuels (TSFs). For retarded spark timings, pre-spark low-temperature heat release was found for low RON PRFs. Low RON PRFs also showed knocking characteristics before reaching the center of combustion suggesting that the use of knock-limited spark advance (KLSA) was preferred over the knock-limited combustion phasing. Primarily paraffinic fuels tended towards increased pressure oscillations while dominantly aromatic fuels experienced higher pressure rise rates. A MAPO-based KLSA correlated best to Octane Index at a negative K-factor suggesting beyond RON operation despite being at otherwise RON conditions. At stoichiometry, the MAPO-based KLSA did neither correlate to RON nor Octane Index. Good agreement was found between KLSA-based effective RON from this study to the MAPO-based effective RON from the first study.

Influence of NOx chemistry on the prediction of natural gas end-gas autoignition in CFD engine simulations

Natural gas (NG) represents a promising low-cost/low-emission alternative to diesel fuel when used in high-efficiency internal combustion engines. Advanced combustion strategies utilizing high EGR rates and controlled end-gas autoignition can be implemented with NG to achieve diesel-like efficiencies; however, to support the design of these next-generation NG ICEs, computational tools, including single- and multi-dimensional simulation packages will need to account for the complex chemistry that can occur between the reactive species found in EGR (including NOx) and the fuel. Research has shown that NOx plays an important role in the promotion/inhibition of large hydrocarbon autoignition and when accounted for in CFD engine simulations, can significantly improve the prediction of end-gas autoignition for these fuels. However, reduced NOx-enabled NG mechanisms for use in CFD engine simulations are lacking, and as a result, the influence of NOx chemistry on NG engine operation remains unknown. Here, we analyze the effects of NOx chemistry on the prediction of NG/oxidizer/EGR autoignition and generate a reduced mechanism of a suitable size to be used in engine simulations. Results indicate that NG ignition is sensitive to NOx chemistry, where it was observed that the addition of EGR, which included NOx, promoted NG autoignition. The modified mechanism captured well all trends and closely matched experimentally measured ignition delay times for a wide range of EGR rates and NG compositions. The importance of C2-C3 chemistry is noted, especially for wet NG compositions containing high fractions of ethane and propane. Finally, when utilized in CFD simulations of a Cooperative Fuels Research (CFR) engine, the new reduced mechanism was able to predict the knock onset crank angle (KOCA) to within one crank angle degree of experimental data, a significant improvement compared to previous simulations without NOx chemistry.

On knocking combustion development of oxygenated gasoline fuels in a cooperative fuel research engine

Fuel octane number has long been used as an indicator for anti-knock capability of gasolines. However, whether octane number could capture the real knocking combustion process in practical engines remains unknown. In this work, the knocking combustion characteristics of methanol/PRF (Primary Reference Fuels), ethanol/PRF, and iso-propanol/PRF fuel blends with either the same research octane number (RON) or the motor octane number (MON) were studied using a three-dimensional numerical model of a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine. It is observed that the three fuel blends with the same octane rating present different knocking combustion characteristics. The methanol/PRF blend shows an advanced knock onset and higher knock intensity compared to the ethanol/PRF and iso-propanol/PRF blends at the RON test condition, while the iso-propanol/PRF blend is observed to have the earliest knock onset at the MON test condition. It is discovered that even with the same octane number, deviations in the end-gas auto-ignition and flame characteristics of the three fuel blends lead to different knock onsets, which in turn influences their knock intensity.

Numerical prediction of research octane numbers via a quasi-dimensional two-zone cylinder model

Sustainably produced synthetic fuels offer great potential for a fast reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions of the transport sector. For an immediate application within the existing infrastructure and vehicle fleet, synthetic fuels need to comply with existing standards such as the EN 228 for gasoline. Beyond these standards and with optimized fuel design, certain properties can be improved compared to conventional fuels. For this purpose, methods for evaluating the properties are needed.This work discusses the development of a simplified numerical quasi-dimensional two-zone cylinder model, combined with chemical kinetic models, for the estimation of octane numbers. The model emulates fuel specific operating conditions of the standardized procedure for the determination of octane numbers in the cooperative fuel research engine with variable compression ratios. The two zones represent the burned and unburned in-cylinder volume and are modeled with homogeneous reactors. The octane numbers are determined by the identification of the critical compression ratio, for which premature ignition occurs in the unburned reactor.A two-zone cylinder model is validated against experimental data for various primary reference fuels, blended with toluene, ethanol, isobutanol and ethyl tert-butyl ether. The successful application of different kinetic models is demonstrated and enables the application on a wide range of fuels. It is shown that the simulated research octane numbers are in good agreement with the experimental data.

Development of an empirical test method to quantify the ɸ-sensitivity of liquid fuels

Several researchers are investigating strategies to lower the emissions and increase the efficiency of combustion engines to reduce the negative impact on the environment and the climate from transportation. The low-temperature combustion (LTC) concept is the basis for some of these high-efficiency, low-emission combustion technologies. To maximize the combustion controllability of engines based on the LTC concept, the combustion behavior of fuel both at different equivalence ratios (ɸ) and under ɸ sweeps must be understood and planned precisely. The ɸ-sensitivity of a fuel explains its behavior at different engine loads or stratification levels. In this study, a new test method for empirically evaluating ɸ-sensitivity using a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine is proposed and the validity of the method is investigated. A modified CFR engine for homogeneous-charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion is used to investigate the compression ratio (CR) sensitivity of different toluene–ethanol reference fuels (TERFs) in a research octane number (RON) range of 63–105. This study suggests a method to quantify the ɸ-sensitivity of different fuels and blends by measuring the compression ratio required to keep the CA50 constant while varying ɸ. It shows that the fuel composition greatly affects the fuel ɸ-sensitivity even for different blends with the same RON. The results also indicate that the coexistence of ethanol and toluene in a blend can generate the highest ɸ-sensitivity of the blend compared to other blends with the same RON. Fuel composition has a strong effect on emissions. The simultaneous effect of fuel composition and ɸ variation on the emission and stability parameters is nonlinear.

Production, fuel properties and combustion testing of an iso-olefins blendstock for modern vehicles

With the increasing pressure to decarbonize the transportation sector, exploring strategies that can reduce emissions from light-duty vehicles (LDV) has become critical. Bioblendstocks that allow for higher engine efficiency and fuel economy could complement vehicle electrification and help reach carbon neutrality by 2050. In this context, the potential of a mixture of iso-olefins as a bioblendstock was investigated for multimode boosted spark-ignition (SI)/advanced compression ignition (ACI) engine operation designed to achieve higher overall vehicle fuel economy. By establishing the relationship between the molecular structure of iso-olefins and research octane number (RON), octane sensitivity (S) (i.e., the difference between RON and motor octane number [MON]), and phi-sensitivity (i.e., the sensitivity of autoignition to the fuel-air equivalence ratio) a dimethyl-hexenes rich olefins mixture (DMHROM) was identified as a preferred blendstock for SI/ACI combustion engines. A pathway for DMHROM production from biomass-derived ethanol was developed and scaled up. More than 1 gallon of DMHROM blendstock was produced for fuel properties assessment including engine testing. Measurements in a Cooperative Fuel Research Engine showed that the DMHROM blendstock possesses a RON of 94 and S of 13.5, and blends synergistically. Rapid compression machine tests coupled with single-cylinder gasoline direct injection engine measurements demonstrated the 20 vol% DMHROM blend has higher phi-sensitivity than an olefin-free gasoline base fuel and a typical California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending (CARBOB) gasoline fuel. These results demonstrate the potential of DMHROM for improving gasoline fuel performance and quality for operation under ACI conditions. The effectiveness of the aftertreatment system in mitigating emissions was verified and showed that the pure DMHROM blendstock and 20 vol% blend would not increase non-methane organic gases, NOx, or carbon monoxide (CO) emissions. The DMHROM blendstock was found to slightly decrease sooting tendency when added to a gasoline-base fuel (i.e., ∼6% reduction at 20 vol% blending level). Oxidation stability and lubricant compatibility were both confirmed for the 20 vol% blend. Overall, these results demonstrate that dimethyl-hexenes have potential for improving engine efficiency and fuel economy while meeting emissions regulations and ASTM specifications for gasoline fuel.

Investigating anode off-gas under spark-ignition combustion for SOFC-ICE hybrid systems

Solid oxide fuel cell – internal combustion engine (SOFC-ICE) hybrid systems are an attractive solution for electricity generation. The system can achieve up to 70% theoretical electric power conversion efficiency through energy cascading enabled by utilizing the anode off-gas from the SOFC as the fuel source for the ICE. Experimental investigations were conducted with a single cylinder Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine by altering fuel-air equivalence ratio (ϕ), and compression ratio (CR) to study the engine load, combustion characteristics, and emissions levels of dry SOFC anode off-gas consisting of 33.9% H2, 15.6% CO, and 50.5% CO2. The combustion efficiency of the anode off-gas was directly evaluated by measuring the engine-out CO emissions. The highest net-indicated fuel conversion efficiency of 31.3% occurred at ϕ = 0.90 and CR = 13:1. These results demonstrate that the anode off-gas can be successfully oxidized using a spark ignition combustion mode. The fuel conversion efficiency of the anode tail gas is expected to further increase in a more modern engine architecture that can achieve increased burn rates in comparison to the CFR engine. NOx emissions from the combustion of anode off-gas were minimal as the cylinder peak temperatures never exceeded 1800 K. This experimental study ultimately demonstrates the viability of an ICE to operate using an anode off-gas, thus creating a complementary role for an ICE to be paired with a SOFC in a hybrid power generation plant.

Effects of knock intensity measurement technique and fuel chemical composition on the research octane number (RON) of FACE gasolines: Part 1 – Lambda and knock characterization

The Research and Motor Octane Number (RON and MON) rate the knock propensity of gasoline in the Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine by comparing the knock intensity of sample fuels relative to that of primary reference fuels (PRF), a binary blend of iso-octane and n-heptane. Important differences exist between standard octane testing and automotive spark ignition (SI) engine knock testing including speed, load, air-to-fuel equivalence ratio (lambda), and knock characterization, which lead to a discrepancy between a fuel’s RON rating and its knock resistance characterized on an automotive SI engine based on knock-limited spark advance. This is the first of a set of three publications which modify operating parameters of the RON test method (ASTM D2699) to investigate the effects of these differences with automotive SI engine knock-limited spark advance testing. A fuel’s standard RON is evaluated at the lambda of the highest knock intensity, whereas automotive SI engines typically operate at stoichiometry. This study analyzes the effects of a stoichiometric RON rating methodology. Additionally, the knock intensity response from the standard CFR knockmeter system is compared to a cylinder pressure oscillation-based knock intensity at several lambda settings. All experiments were performed with a set of seven Coordinating Research Council (CRC) Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines (FACE) gasolines with approximately 95 RON. The fuel chemical composition impacted the lambda of the highest knock intensity, which resulted in fuel-specific offsets between the standard and stoichiometric RON ratings. The knock system comparison showed significant offsets between cylinder pressure-based and knockmeter-based knock intensity levels.

Effect of Intake Temperature and Engine Speed on the Auto-Ignition Reactivity of the Fuels for HCCI Fuel Rating

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The current research octane number (RON) and motor octane number (MON) gasoline tests are inadequate for describing the auto-ignition reactivity of fuels in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion. Intake temperature and engine speed are two important parameters when trying to understand the fuel auto-ignition reactivity in HCCI combustion. The objective of this study was to understand the effect of high intake temperature (between 100 and 200 °C) and engine speed (600 and 900 rpm) on the auto-ignition HCCI reactivity ratings of fuels using an instrumented Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine. The fuels used for this study included blends of iso-octane/n-heptane, toluene/n-heptane, ethanol/n-heptane, and gasolines with varying chemical compositions and octane levels. The CFR engine was operated at 600 and 900 rpm with an intake pressure of 1.0 bar and an excess air ratio (lambda) of 3. It was found that the relative HCCI reactivity ranking of the gasolines with a RON of 98 was constant at both engine speeds and high intake temperatures (150 °C and 200 °C). This implied that for HCCI fuel ratings, there exists a threshold intake temperature beyond which further increases in temperature do not change the relative rankings of the fuel’s HCCI reactivity. At these high intake air temperatures, changes in engine speed between 600 and 900 rpm did not affect the HCCI ratings of the RON98 gasolines either. However, the effects of intake temperature (between 150 and 200 °C) and engine speed (600 and 900 rpm) did become apparent when additional gasoline octane levels and chemical compositions were investigated.</div></div>

High Temperature HCCI Critical Compression Ratio of the C1-C4 Alcohol Fuels

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">In this work, a high temperature (HT) homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) critical compression ratio (cCR) was defined as the compression ratio which resulted in HCCI combustion with a crank angle location of 50% fuel burned (CA50) of 3.0 degrees after top dead center (aTDC) while operating at an equivalence ratio of 0.33 (λ = 3), an intake pressure of 1.0 bar (naturally aspirated), an intake temperature of 473 K (200°C), and an engine speed of 600 rpm. Using a Cooperative Fuel Research engine, the HT HCCI cCR of seven alcohol fuels were experimentally determined and found to be ordered as follows (ordered from least reactive to most reactive): isopropanol > sec-butanol > methanol ≈ ethanol ≈ n-propanol ≈ isobutanol > n-butanol. The HT HCCI cCR for the alcohol fuels correlated well with experimental HCCI data from a modern gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine architecture with a pent-roof head and a rebreathe valvetrain. The HT HCCI cCR was also correlated with available cetane number (CN), motor octane number (MON), and research octane number (RON) values found in the literature. The coefficient of determination (R<sup>2</sup>) for these correlations was 0.02, 0.95, and 0.69, respectively. When the RON values were modified to account for the high cooling potential of the alcohol fuels, the R<sup>2</sup> increased from 0.69 to 0.96. When a wider array of other fuels were considered, including pure components of different fuel classes, pure-component fuel blends, and gasoline fuel blends, the critical compression ratio no longer correlated well with MON or HOV-modified RON. It was concluded that when fuels of a similar fuel class are considered, such as neat C1-C4 alcohols, MON or an HOV-modified RON may be sufficient to compare the HCCI reactivity of the fuels at MON-like cylinder conditions. However, due to the complex nature of the octane number tests, the HCCI ignition propensity is not well predicted by the standard octane numbers when fuels of varying chemical characteristics and combustion chemistry attributes are considered. Therefore, a metric for characterizing gasoline-like fuels under compression ignition conditions is required, such as an HCCI test method on the CFR octane rating engine.</div></div>

Increasing the Effective AKI of Fuels Using Port Water Injection (Part I)

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Anti-knock index (AKI) is a metric that can be used to quantify the anti-knock performance of a fuel and is the metric used in the United States. AKI is the average of Research Octane Number (RON) and Motor Octane Number (MON), which are calculated for every fuel on a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine under controlled conditions according to ASTM test procedures. Fuels with higher AKI have better knock mitigating properties and can be run with a combustion phasing closer to MBT in the knock limited operating region of a gasoline engine. However, fuels with higher AKI tend to be costlier and less environmentally friendly to produce. As an alternative, the anti-knock characteristics of lower AKI fuels can be improved with water injection. In this sense, the water injection increases the ‘effective AKI’ of the fuel. The injected water absorbs heat, which lowers the in-cylinder temperatures and mitigates knock, which permits advancing the knock limited CA50 (KLCA50) and reducing fuel consumption for a given speed-load condition. This project focused on quantifying the amount of water required, both as a ratio with fuel, and absolute, to achieve an increase in ‘effective AKI’. This was accomplished by comparing the anti-knock performance of a high AKI reference fuel to lower AKI fuels supplemented with water injection. Tests were conducted at varying speeds and loads to investigate trends in the relationship between effective AKI per unit water injected. The results showed that engine speed does not have a profound effect on the required water-fuel ratio, but as the load is increased, less water is required to increase the effective AKI by a specific amount. The effect of water injection on COV of IMEP was also observed.</div></div>

Numerical Analysis of Fuel Effects on Advanced Compression Ignition Using a Cooperative Fuel Research Engine Computational Fluid Dynamics Model

AbstractGrowing environmental concerns and demand for a better fuel economy are driving forces that motivate the research for more advanced engines. Multi-mode combustion strategies have gained attention for their potential to provide high thermal efficiency and low emissions for light-duty applications. These strategies target optimizing the engine performance by correlating different combustion modes to load operating conditions. The extension from boosted spark ignition (SI) mode at high loads to advanced compression ignition (ACI) mode at low loads can be achieved by increasing the compression ratio and utilizing intake air heating. Further, in order to enable an accurate control of intake charge condition for ACI mode and rapid mode-switches, it is essential to gain fundamental insights into the autoignition process. Within the scope of ACI, homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) mode is of significant interest. It is known for its potential benefits, operation at low fuel consumption, low NOx, and particulate matter (PM) emissions. In the present work, a virtual Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine model is used to analyze fuel effects on ACI combustion. In particular, the effect of fuel octane sensitivity (S) (at constant Research Octane Number (RON)) on autoignition propensity is assessed under beyond-RON (BRON) and beyond-MON (BMON) ACI conditions. The three-dimensional CFR engine computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model employs a finite-rate chemistry approach with a multi-zone binning strategy to capture autoignition. Two binary blends with Research Octane Number (RON) of 90 are chosen for this study: primary reference fuel (PRF) with S = 0 and toluene–heptane (TH) blend with S = 10.8, representing paraffinic and aromatic gasoline surrogates. Reduced mechanisms for these blends are generated from a detailed gasoline surrogate kinetic mechanism. Simulation results with the reduced mechanisms are validated against experimental data from an in-house CFR engine, with respect to in-cylinder pressure, heat release rate, and combustion phasing. Thereafter, the sensitivity of combustion behavior to ACI operating condition (BRON versus BMON), air-fuel ratio (λ = 2 and 3), and engine speed (600 and 900 rpm) is analyzed for both fuels. It is shown that the sensitivity of a fuel’s autoignition characteristics to λ and engine speed significantly differs at BRON and BMON conditions. Moreover, this sensitivity is found to vary among fuels, despite the same RON. It is also observed that the presence of low-temperature heat release (LTHR) under BRON condition leads to more sequential autoignition and longer combustion duration than BMON condition. Finally, the study indicates that the octane index (OI) fails to capture the trend in the variation of autoignition propensity with S under the BMON condition.