Cylinder Pressure Histories Research Articles

Impacts of gasoline fuel components on GDI engine performances: Part 1, influence on gaseous toxic pollutants

In this paper, effects of different components in gasoline fuel on GDI engine emission characteristics were investigated. To simplify this investigation, model fuel CDTRF (composed of n-heptane, iso-pentane, diisobutylene, cyclohexane and toluene) instead of real gasoline fuel were used. To see how components of gasoline fuel affect engine performances, iso-pentane, diisobutylene, cyclohexane or toluene in CDTRF was substituted by other iso-alkanes, olefins, naphthenes and aromatics for comparative researches. N-heptane fraction is varied to balance fuel octane number. It is found that variation of fuel components obviously affect engine regulated and unregulated emissions. While, such effects vary when engine operation condition varies and are more distinct under lower engine speed or load conditions. Fuel components affect engine emission not just simply via chemical manner, but also through accompanying thermal-power process (cylinder pressure and temperature history). Thus variation of fuel components remarkably affects engine NOx emission. Alkanes, olefins and alkynes, aromatics contribute most to VOC emission followed by aldehydes. While, proportion of alcohols in VOC is negligible. However, variation of fuel components does not remarkably affect the proportion of alkanes, olefins and alkynes, aromatics as well as aldehydes in VOC although it affects total VOC emission obviously. Olefins and alkynes contribute most to OFP followed by aromatics and aldehydes. The contribution of alkanes is relatively low although it takes significant proportion in VOC. While, variation of fuel components remarkably affects total OFP of VOC though it does not obviously affect OFP composition. According to the results, it is hinted that more short chain i-paraffins and less branch chained cyclohexane in gasoline fuel would potentially help to reduce OFP of VOC.

Predicting the effect of biodiesel composition on the performance and emission of a compression ignition engine using a phenomenological model

The renewable biodiesels have been under active consideration for replacing fossil diesel due to the proximity of their properties and minimum engine hardware modifications. Biodiesels derived from fatty acids of plant or animal origin exhibit significant composition variations depending upon the feedstock used for production. The oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emission from biodiesel are higher than diesel and remain a significant concern. In the present work, combustion and nitric oxide (NO) emission characteristics of any generic biodiesel are predicted using a phenomenological modeling approach. The developed model accounts for biodiesel composition effects on physical properties, spray, auto-ignition, combustion and emission formation. The model predictions are validated with measurements done in a turbocharged multi-cylinder heavy-duty engine fuelled with two biodiesel fuels having significantly different compositions, viz. Karanja having a higher proportion of unsaturated methyl esters, and Palm having a higher proportion of saturated methyl esters. The cylinder pressure histories and peak pressures are predicted within an error of 5% and 3%, respectively. The model shows a reasonable qualitative agreement in heat release rate predictions. The NO emission is predicted within 23% error using the extended Zeldovich mechanism. The model is efficient in predicting the engine characteristics at high loads for any generic biodiesel with minimal run time (~2 min). The validated model is then used to examine the relationship between biodiesel composition and NO emission, wherein a better correlation is obtained between biodiesel composition-based parameter, viz. short-chain saturation factor (SCSF) with maximum spray temperature and NO emission.

A Computational Investigation of the Impact of Multiple Injection Strategies on Combustion Efficiency in Diesel–Natural Gas Dual-Fuel Low-Temperature Combustion Engines

AbstractDual-fuel diesel–methane low-temperature combustion (LTC) has been investigated by various research groups, showing high potential for emissions reduction (especially oxides of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM)) without adversely affecting fuel conversion efficiency in comparison with conventional diesel combustion. However, when operated at low load conditions, dual-fuel LTC typically exhibits poor combustion efficiencies. This behavior is mainly due to low bulk gas temperatures under lean conditions, resulting in unacceptably high carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) emissions. A feasible and rather innovative solution may be to split the pilot injection of liquid fuel into two injection pulses, with the second pilot injection supporting CO and UHC oxidation once combustion is initiated by the first one. In this study, diesel–methane dual-fuel LTC is investigated numerically in a single-cylinder heavy-duty engine operating at 5 bar brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) at 85% and 75% percentage of energy substitution (PES) by methane (taken as a natural gas (NG) surrogate). A multidimensional model is first validated in comparison with the experimental data obtained on the same single-cylinder engine for early single pilot diesel injection at 310 crank angle degrees (CAD) and 500 bar rail pressure. With the single pilot injection case as baseline, the effects of multiple pilot injections and different rail pressures on combustion and emissions are investigated, again showing good agreement with the experimental data. Apparent heat release rate and cylinder pressure histories as well as combustion efficiency trends are correctly captured by the numerical model. Results prove that higher rail pressures yield reductions of HC and CO by 90% and 75%, respectively, at the expense of NOx emissions, which increase by ∼30% from baseline still remaining at very low level (under 1 g/kWh). Furthermore, it is shown that postinjection during the expansion stroke does not support the stable development of the combustion front as the combustion process is confined close to the diesel spray core.

Numerical study of plasma produced ozone assisted combustion in a direct injection spark ignition methanol engine

Numerical simulations were performed to better assess the effect of plasma produced ozone assisted combustion. The effects of ozone (O3) addition from 0 to 7000 ppm in the intake manifold on cylinder pressure history, ignition delay, cylinder temperature history, and formaldehyde unburned methanol emission of a direct injection spark ignition (DISI) methanol engine during cold start and steady state conditions were simulated using computational fluid dynamics to couple the methanol chemical and kinetics reaction mechanisms. The model results show that the maximum cylinder pressure increases with increasing O3 addition for cold start and steady state modes. O3 addition can also significantly reduce ignition delay. Two maximum heat release rate peaks occurred with O3 addition for cold start and steady state modes. The effect of O3 addition on combustion processes of DISI methanol engines was significantly greater for cold start than steady state mode, particularly with higher O3 concentrations. The effects on formation and oxidation of formaldehyde were greater than for unburned methanol, and the effects on formation and oxidation of formaldehyde were also significantly greater for cold start than steady state mode.

Parametric study on some combustion characteristics in a natural gas fueled dual plug SI engine

A parametric study on some combustion characteristics was carried out in a natural gas fueled dual plugs SI engine. Mass fraction burned, cylinder pressure histories and combustion durations of the engine were investigated by three equivalence ratio and spark advance for three spark plug configurations. It was found that equivalence ratio and spark plug configurations were more effective parameters on the total combustion duration than spark timing and was concluded that centrally located single plug configuration for equivalence ratio of 1.0 gives best combustion characteristics in compared to the other conditions. In addition, presented study showed that dual plugs serve an alternative for fast combustion in case of geometric constraints to use central location of the plug.

A fractal-based quasi-dimensional combustion model for SI engines fuelled by hydrogen enriched compressed natural gas

A quasi-dimensional model based on the concepts of fractal geometry has been developed for an SI engine fuelled with natural gas/hydrogen blends. The fundamentals of the thermodynamic model, the fractal combustion model and related equations are introduced. This paper investigates the influence of manifold absolute pressure, equivalence ratio and hydrogen fraction on fractal dimension and improves the fractal dimension expression. Comparisons are conducted between the improved and original models by the prediction outcomes. After the determination of model constants by calibration, the model predictions of cylinder pressure histories and mass fraction burned of an HCNG engine are then compared with experimental data over a wide range of loads, equivalence ratios, engine speeds and hydrogen blending ratios. The pressure profiles show that predictions of the improved model match quite well with the experimental results except for the early combustion stage. The improved model is proved to be more suitable for predicting HCNG engine performance.

Digital signal processing of cylinder pressure data for combustion diagnostics of HCCI engine

Diagnosis of combustion is necessary for the estimation of the combustion quality, and control of combustion timing in advanced combustion concepts like HCCI. Combustion diagnostics is often performed using digital processing of pressure signals measured using piezoelectric sensor installed in the combustion chamber of the engine. Four-step pressure signal processing consisting of (i) absolute pressure correction, (ii) phasing w.r.t. crank angle, (iii) cycle averaging and (iv) smoothening is used to get cylinder pressure data from the engine experiments, which is further analyzed to get information about combustion characteristics. This study focuses on various aspect of signal processing (cycle averaging and smoothing) of in-cylinder pressure signal from a HCCI engine acquired using a piezoelectric pressure sensor. Experimental investigations are conducted on a HCCI combustion engine operating at different engine speed/load/air–fuel ratio conditions. The cylinder pressure history of 3000 consecutive engine cycles is acquired for analysis using piezoelectric pressure sensor. This study determines the optimum number of engine cycles to be acquired for reasonably good pressure signals based on standard deviation of in-cylinder pressure, rate of pressure rise and rate of heat release signals. Different signal smoothening methods (using various digital filters) are also analyzed and their results are compared. This study also presents effect of signal processing methods on pressure, pressure rise rate and rate of heat release curves at different engine operating conditions.

Development of a simulation model for compression ignition engine running with ignition improved blend

Department of Automobile Engineering, Anna University, Chennai, India. The present work describes the thermodynamic and heat transfer models used in a computer program which simulates the diesel fuel and ignition improver blend to predict the combustion and emission characteristics of a direct injection compression ignition engine fuelled with ignition improver blend using classical two zone approach. One zone consists of pure air called non burning zone and other zone consist of fuel and combustion products called burning zone. First law of thermodynamics and state equations are applied in each of the two zones to yield cylinder temperatures and cylinder pressure histories. Using the two zone combustion model the combustion parameters and the chemical equilibrium composition were determined. To validate the model an experimental investigation has been conducted on a single cylinder direct injection diesel engine fuelled with 12% by volume of 2- ethoxy ethanol blend with diesel fuel. Addition of ignition improver blend to diesel fuel decreases the exhaust smoke and increases the thermal efficiency for the power outputs. It was observed that there is a good agreement between simulated and experimental results and the proposed model requires low computational time for a complete run.

Comprehensive uncertainty analysis of a Wiebe function-based combustion model for pilot-ignited natural gas engines

This paper presents a comprehensive uncertainty analysis of a Wiebe function-based combustion model for advanced low-pilot-ignited natural gas (ALPING) combustion in a single-cylinder research engine. The sensitivities, uncertainty magnification factors (UMFs), and uncertainty percentage contributions (UPCs) of different experimental input variables and model parameters were investigated. First, the Wiebe function model was validated against experimental heat release/mass burned fraction profiles and cylinder pressure histories for three pilot injection timings (start of injection (SOI)): −20°, −40°, and −60° after top dead center (ATDC). Second, the sensitivities and UMFs of predicted cylinder pressure histories were determined. Finally, crank angle-resolved uncertainties were quantified and mapped as ‘uncertainty bounds’ in predicted pressures, which were compared with measured pressure curves with error bars for cyclic variations. The Wiebe function-based combustion model with a quadratic interpolation equation for the specific heat ratio ( γ) provided reasonable cylinder pressure and heat release/mass burned fraction predictions for all SOIs (better for −20° and −60° ATDC SOIs compared with −40° ATDC). Uncertainty analysis results indicated that γ (parameters in the quadratic interpolation equation), compression ratio, mass and lower heating value of natural gas trapped in the cylinder, overall trapped mass, and ignition delay were important contributors to the overall uncertainty in predicted cylinder pressures. For all SOIs, γ exhibited the highest UPC values (80–90 per cent) and therefore, γ must be determined with the minimum possible uncertainty to ensure satisfactory predictions of cylinder pressure histories. While the importance of γ in single-zone combustion models is well recognized, the specific contribution of the present analysis is quantification of the crank angle-resolved UPCs of γ and other model parameters to the overall model uncertainty. In this paper, it is shown that uncertainty analysis provides a unique methodology for quantitative validation of crank angle-resolved predictions from any type of engine combustion model with the corresponding experimental results. It is also shown that uncertainties in both predicted and measured cylinder pressures and heat release rates must be considered while validating any engine combustion model.

Development of a time-scale interaction combustion model and its application to gasoline and diesel engines

The combustion processes of both gasoline and diesel engines are becoming similar, as a result of the application of direct fuel injection to the former and the reduction of the compression ratio of the latter. A novel time-scale interaction (TI) combustion model has been developed for simulating combustion phenomena with high accuracy, ranging from premixed charge combustion to diffusion combustion. This model is based on reasonable combustion regimes, taking into account the characteristic time scales of the chemical reactions and turbulence eddy break-up. The accuracy of the TI combustion model was validated by applying it to gasoline and diesel IC engines under a wide range of operating conditions. Comparisons of measured and calculated heat release rate patterns and cylinder pressure histories showed good agreement for both gasoline and diesel IC engines.

Diesel combustion modelling using LES turbulence model with detailed chemistry

Diesel spray combustion and emissions are modelled in this study using large eddy simulation (LES) turbulence models coupled with spray breakup and detailed chemistry models. The objective of this study is to develop numerical models that can be used to predict the diesel spray combustion process. The LES filtering procedure yields unknown subgrid scale terms that need to be modelled. A one-equation, non-viscosity dynamic structure model is used to model the subgrid stress tensor and the gradient method is used to model the subgrid scalar flux. The model uses a tensor coefficient determined by a dynamic procedure and the sub-grid kinetic energy that is to enforce a budget on the energy flow between the resolved and unresolved scales. A skeletal n-heptane reaction mechanism is used to simulate the diesel fuel chemistry. A reduced NO x mechanism is incorporated into the n-heptane mechanism to simulate NO x formation, and the soot emission process is simulated by a phenomenological model that uses a competing formation and oxidation rate formulation. The present models were validated by comparing predicted results against experimental data of a diesel engine. The predicted and measured cylinder pressure history and heat release rate data are in good agreement. Trends of NO x and soot emissions are also captured with respect to different injection timings and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) levels. Results indicated that the present models can capture the overall combustion process and can be further developed into a useful tool for engine combustion simulations.

Development of Time-Scale Interaction Combustion Model for Gasoline and Diesel Engines

The combustion processes of both gasoline and diesel engines are becoming similar, as a result of the application of direct fuel injection to the former and the reduction of the compression ratio of the latter. A novel time-scale interaction (TI) combustion model has been developed for simulating combustion phenomena with high accuracy, ranging from premixed charge combustion to diffusion combustion. This model is based on reasonable combustion modes, taking into account the characteristic time scales of the chemical reactions and turbulence eddy break-up. Comparisons of measured and calculated heat release rate patterns and cylinder pressure histories showed good agreement for various operating conditions. The diesel combustion mechanism was analyzed under several fuel injection timings and engine loads using the TI combustion model.

Multi-zone modeling of combustion and emissions formation in DI diesel engine operating on ethanol–diesel fuel blends

A multi-zone model for calculation of the closed cycle of a direct injection (DI) diesel engine is applied for the interesting case of its operation with ethanol–diesel fuel blends, the ethanol (bio-fuel) being considered recently as a promising extender to petroleum distillates. Although there are many experimental studies, there is an apparent scarcity of theoretical models scrutinizing the formation mechanisms of combustion generated emissions when using bio-fuels. This is a two dimensional, multi-zone model with the issuing fuel jets divided into several discrete volumes, called ‘zones’, formed along and across the direction of the fuel injection. The model follows each zone, with its own time history, as the spray penetrates into the swirling air environment of the combustion chamber. Droplet evaporation and jet mixing models are used to determine the amount of fuel and entrained air in each zone available for combustion. The mass, energy and state equations are applied in each zone to provide local temperatures and cylinder pressure histories. The concentrations of the various constituents are calculated by adopting a chemical equilibrium scheme for the C–H–O–N system of eleven species considered, together with chemical rate equations for calculation of nitric oxide (NO) and a model for net soot formation. The results from the computer program, implementing the analysis, for the in cylinder pressure, exhaust NO concentration and soot density compare well with the corresponding measurements from an experimental investigation conducted on a fully automated test bed, standard ‘Hydra’, DI diesel engine located at the authors’ laboratory, which is operated with ethanol–diesel fuel blends containing 5%, 10% and 15% (by vol.) ethanol. Iso-contour plots of equivalence ratio, temperature, NO and soot inside the cylinder at various instants of time, when using these ethanol–diesel fuel blends against the diesel fuel (baseline fuel), shed light on the mechanisms underlying the combustion and pollutants formation. They reveal how the widely differing properties of ethanol in these blends, against the normal diesel fuel, affect greatly the combustion mechanism and the related emitted pollutants.

Modeling of Chemical Processes in a Diesel Engine With Alcohol Fuels

Methanol utilization in a compression ignition engine has held tentative promise for a number of years, and, in fact, the concept has seen large scale field trials intended to demonstrate this option as a precursor to commercial implementation. However, results from those tests have identified some of the practical problems encountered with this fuel, namely, (1) its difficulty of vaporization and (2) its high autoignition temperature. Luminosity promoting additives, which facilitate radiative transport as a component of flame spread (because pure alcohol burns with little luminosity, continuum radiation as a reaction transport mechanism is essentially absent), intake air heating, active and passive heat sources, etc., represent some of the attempts to overcome limitations of these two factors. Except for intake air preheat, these augmentation methods have been noted to result in poor off-load thermal cycle efficiency. Focusing on the case of intake air preheat (which can be achieved by elevated compression ratio), and to model the chemical reaction kinetics, the partially stirred reactor model in CHEMKIN was used. This approach provided examination of the chemistry and reaction rates associated with an actual trial in which methanol was the fuel under study. To initiate this simulation, literature available reaction mechanisms were obtained, and then the experimental cylinder pressure history was matched by control of heat release rate via the partially stirred reactor model. This is represented within the reactor model by changing the turbulent mixing intensity factor. The overall reaction sequence, which models cylinder pressure, and attendant extent of reaction were the major focus. The minor focus included production of emission gases, e.g., the aldehydes and unburned fuel. Not only are the model results consistent with actual findings, they also support a method for addressing causes of off-load inefficiency and engine failures due to engine oil dilution with fuel.

A SKELETAL KINETIC MECHANISM FOR PRF COMBUSTION IN HCCI ENGINES

A single zone thermodynamic model, coupled to a kinetic mechanism, is developed and is capable of predicting the ignition timing of Primary Reference Fuels (PRFs) in a Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine. A new combination of kinetic mechanisms is used, which includes 120 reactions and 58 species for both ignition and high temperature reactions. The model is validated using a step by step methodology. The validation compares ignition delays predicted by the model with published measurements from a rapid compression machine, shock tube as well as the cylinder pressure histories taken from two different experimental HCCI engines for various operating conditions. The model is able to qualitatively predict the effect of different parameters such as gas temperature, gas pressure, equivalence ratio and octane number on the HCCI ignition delay.

Development and application of multi-zone model for combustion and pollutants formation in direct injection diesel engine running with vegetable oil or its bio-diesel

Abstract A multi-zone model for calculation of the closed cycle of a direct injection (DI) Diesel engine is presented and applied for the interesting case of its operation with vegetable oil (cottonseed) or its derived bio-diesel (methyl ester) as fuels, which recently are considered as promising alternatives (bio-fuels) to petroleum distillates. Although there are many experimental studies, there is an apparent scarcity of theoretical models scrutinizing the formation mechanisms of combustion generated emissions when using these fuels. The model is two dimensional, multi-zone with the issuing jets (from the nozzle) divided into several discrete volumes, called ‘zones’, formed along the direction of the fuel injection and across it. The model follows each zone, with its own time history, as the spray penetrates into the swirling air environment (forming the non-burning zone) of the combustion chamber, before and after wall impingement. Droplet evaporation and jet mixing models are used to determine the amount of fuel and entrained air in each zone available for combustion. The mass, energy and state equations are applied in each zone to yield local temperatures and cylinder pressure histories. The concentrations of the various constituents are calculated by adopting a chemical equilibrium scheme for the C–H–O–N system of 11 species considered, together with the chemical rate equations for the calculation of nitric oxide (NO). A model for evaluation of soot formation and oxidation rates is included. The results from the relevant computer program for the in cylinder pressure, exhaust nitric oxide concentration (NO) and soot density are compared favorably with the corresponding measurements from an experimental investigation conducted on a fully automated test bed, standard ‘Hydra’, DI Diesel engine installed at the authors’ laboratory. Iso-contour plots of equivalence ratio, temperature, NO and soot inside the combustion chamber at various instants of time when using these fuels against Diesel fuel (baseline fuel) shed light on the mechanisms underlying the combustion and pollutants formation and reveal how the widely differing properties of these fuels, against the normal Diesel fuel, affect greatly the spray formation, combustion mechanism and the related emissions.

Development of a fuel stratification spark ignition engine

A fuel stratification concept is being researched and developed in a three-valve twin-spark ignition engine. This concept requires that two different fuels or fuel components be introduced into the cylinder separately through two independent inlet ports. The fuels will be stratified laterally by means of strong tumble in the cylinder. Similar to the traditional air/fuel stratification engine, this fuel stratification engine can operate in very lean mixture or high exhaust gas dilution at part loads to reduce fuel consumption and NOx emissions. While at high-load operation, a higher compression ratio may be allowed owing to a potential increase in antiknock features if the lower research octane number (RON) fuel or component is ignited first, leaving the higher RON fuel in the end gas region. As a result, the fuel economy can be improved not only at part loads but possibly at full loads as well. This paper reports the development of such a fuel stratification engine. Firstly, the intake system of the engine was modified to produce a strong tumble flow which was measured by a digital particle image velocimetry (PIV) system. Then, a two-tracer planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) system was developed to visualize the fuel stratification in the cylinder. The engine combustion at part and full loads was also tested and analysed from cylinder pressure history. These research results show that the present strong tumble flow was characterized by a symmetrically distributed mean velocity in the intake stroke and a very small velocity component along the direction of the tumble rotational axis in the compression stroke. This flowfield created good fuel stratification laterally. The lean burn limit was considerably extended at part loads, and the knock limit at high loads also had a noticeable difference when higher and lower RON fuels respectively were ignited first.

Investigation of the temperature oscillations in the cylinder walls of a diesel engine with special reference to the limited cooled case

This work investigates the interesting phenomenon of the temperature (cyclic) oscillations in the combustion chamber walls of a diesel engine. For this purpose, a comprehensive simulation code of the thermodynamic cycle of the engine is developed taking into account both the closed and the open parts of it. The energy and state equations are applied, with appropriate combustion, gas heat transfer, and mass exchange with the atmosphere sub-models, to yield cylinder pressure, local temperatures and heat release histories as well as various performance parameters of the engine. The model is appropriately coupled to a wall periodic conduction model, which uses the gas temperature variation as boundary condition throughout the engine cycle after being treated by Fourier analysis techniques. It is calibrated against measurements, at various load and speed conditions, from an experimental work carried out on a direct injection (DI), naturally aspirated, four-stroke, diesel engine located at the authors' laboratory, which has been reported in detail previously. After gaining confidence into the predictive capabilities of the model, it is used to investigate the phenomenon further, thus providing insight into many interesting aspects of transient engine heat transfer, as far as the influence that engine wall material properties have on the values of cyclic temperature swings. These swings can take prohibitive values causing high wall thermal fatigue, when materials of specific technological interest such as thermal insulators (ceramics) are used, and may lead to deterioration in engine performance. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Validation and sensitivity analysis of a two zone Diesel engine model for combustion and emissions prediction

The present two zone model of a direct injection (DI) Diesel engine divides the cylinder contents into a non-burning zone of air and another homogeneous zone in which fuel is continuously supplied from the injector and burned with entrained air from the air zone. The growth of the fuel spray zone, which comprises a number of fuel-air conical jets equal to the injector nozzle holes, is carefully modelled by incorporating jet mixing, thus determining the amount of oxygen available for combustion. The mass, energy and state equations are applied in each of the two zones to yield local temperatures and cylinder pressure histories. The concentration of the various constituents in the exhaust gases are calculated by adopting a chemical equilibrium scheme for the C–H–O system of the 11 species considered, together with chemical rate equations for the calculation of nitric oxide (NO). A model for evaluation of the soot formation and oxidation rates is included. The theoretical results from the relevant computer program are compared very favourably with the measurements from an experimental investigation conducted on a fully automated test bed, standard “Hydra”, DI Diesel engine installed at the authors’ laboratory. In-cylinder pressure and temperature histories, nitric oxide concentration and soot density are among the interesting quantities tested for various loads and injection timings. As revealed, the model is sensitive to the selection of the constants of the fuel preparation and reaction sub-models, so that a relevant sensitivity analysis is undertaken. This leads to a better understanding of the physical mechanisms governed by these constants and also paves the way for construction of a reliable and relatively simple multi-zone model, which incorporates in each zone (packet) the philosophy of the present two zone model.

Development and validation of a comprehensive two-zone model for combustion and emissions formation in a DI diesel engine

A two-zone model for the calculation of the closed cycle of a direct injection (DI) diesel engine is presented. The cylinder contents are taken to comprise a non-burning zone of air and another homogeneous zone in which fuel is continuously supplied from the injector holes during injection and burned with entrained air from the air zone. The growth of the fuel spray zone, consisting of a number of fuel–air conical jets equal to the injector nozzle holes, is carefully modelled by incorporating jet mixing to determine the amount of oxygen available for combustion. Application of the mass, energy and state equations in each one of the two zones yields local temperatures and cylinder pressure histories. For calculating the concentration of constituents in the exhaust gases, a chemical equilibrium scheme is adopted for the C–H–O system of the 11 species considered, together with chemical rate equations for the calculation of nitric oxide (NO). A model for the evaluation of soot formation and oxidation rates is incorporated. A comparison is made between the theoretical results from the computer program implementing the analysis, with experimental results from a vast experimental investigation conducted on a fully automated test bed, direct injection, standard ‘Hydra’, diesel engine located at the authors' laboratory, with very good results, following a multi-parametric study of the constants incorporated in the various sub-models. Pressure indicator diagrams and plots of temperature, NO, soot density and of other interesting quantities are presented as a function of crank angle, for various loads and injection timings, elucidating the physical mechanisms governing combustion and pollutants formation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.