Development Of Diesel Engines Research Articles

A Study on the Effects of Preheating Thevetia Peruviana Biodiesel on the Performance of CI Engine

Biodiesel is becoming increasingly popular as a substitute fuel for compression ignition (CI) engines because of its comparable characteristics to those of diesel and its little environmental impact. The development of diesel engines that run on biodiesel and reduce emissions of pollutants, while also improving thermal efficiency, are key concerns in engine design. The most crucial prerequisites for achieving these are precise and quick air-fuel mixing. However, biodiesel's viscosity is considered a drawback for its application as a substitute fuel for IC engines. Heating can greatly lower the viscosity, which can eliminate the problems caused by excessive viscosity during injection. Hence in this effort, preheated Thevetia Peruviana biodiesel (Methyl Ester) is utilized. The present research aims to examine how preheating biodiesel affects the operation of a direct injection (DI) diesel engine. Engine tests were done on a stationary, single-cylinder, constant speed, naturally aspirated, water-cooled CI engine with a preheated 20% blend of Thevetia Peruviana biodiesel (PH-TPME20 with a conventional jerk type injection system. Engine performance of preheated TPME20 was compared with the unheated 20% blend of TPME and diesel. Preheating reduced the viscosity of the oil, which resulted in a noticeable improvement in engine performance. A considerable drop in emission levels from the engine exhaust gas was noted. The preheating improved combustion characteristics i.e. it lowered the delay period and resulted in quicker release of heat because of improved fuel-air mixing, fuel vaporization, and atomization.

Exploring the Combustion Performance of a Non-Road Air-Cooled Two-Cylinder Turbocharged Diesel Engine

In order to explore the combustion performance of a non-road air-cooled two-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine, an experiment on the effects of engine compression ratio, combustion chamber shape and injection timing were systematically conducted in this study. Moreover, the effects of intake air conditions on combustion performance were numerically investigated using the one-dimensional simulation platform. The findings of this study could help provide new insights for promoting the sustainable development of diesel engines used in generator sets. The results show that the increase in intake air temperature can delay the combustion center of gravity and improve the combustion performance and the sustainability of diesel engines. The decrease in intake air pressure leads to a reduction in oxygen amount during the combustion process, thus causing the deterioration of cylinder pressure and combustion performance. By modifying the combustion chamber, the ignition delay and combustion duration are each extended by 1.6 degrees and 4.2 degrees under 100% engine load. The ignition delay and combustion duration are not obviously affected by modifying the combustion chamber shape under 25% and 50% loads. By increasing the compression ratio from 19.5 to 20.5, the ignition delay and combustion duration are shortened, which could enhance the cylinder pressure and heat release rate. However, reducing the compression ratio from 19.5 to 18.5 could significantly decrease the heat release rate. Under middle and low loads, combustion duration is less affected by injection timing. Under 100% load, the peak cylinder pressure increases to 11.4 MPa, and the ignition delay is shortened by advancing injection timing from −17 °CA to −20 °CA.

Study on Spray Characteristics and 0-D Model of Marine Injector with Large Orifice Diameter

ABSTRACT Low carbon, cleanliness and efficiency are the three key challenges facing the development of diesel engines. Biodiesel is a crucial step in the transition from fossil fuels to zero-carbon fuels. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of injection pressure and ambient pressure on the biodiesel spray characteristics of a marine large orifice diameter injector. Injection mass has a nonlinear relationship with short injection duration and a linear relationship with long injection duration. Increasing the injection pressure shortens the nonlinear stage and enhances the linear effect. When the injection pressure is increased from 35 MPa to 140 MPa, the injection delay is shortened by 10% (2.5 ms), and the diameter nozzle has almost unaffected on the injection delay. The Arai model was revised based on experimental data to improve its prediction effect on sprays with large nozzle diameters. The new model considers the effects of fuel density and ambient density on penetration before and after breakup, respectively. The penetration of the new model is still proportional to time of after start of injection (t) before the breakup and proportional to t0.6 after the breakup. Increasing the ambient pressure enhances the influence of injection conditions on dimensionless penetration. Compared with the Arai model, the new model reduces the sensitivity of the dimensionless penetration to the injection pressure. Research on biodiesel spray and spray models under large nozzle diameter conditions will be of great help to the application of low-carbon and clean fuels in marine diesel engines.

Theoretical analysis of the three-stage phase transition process of alkane droplet under supercritical conditions

With the development of heavy-duty diesel engines, the in-cylinder ambient conditions of the diesel engine are well above critical points of the main components of the diesel fuel. Therefore, significant changes arise in the phase transition process of the liquid fuels. However, the entire phase transition process of the liquid fuels in such supercritical environments is not well understood compared with that under subcritical conditions. In this work, A high-pressure transient droplet evaporation model was presented for the theoretical analysis of phase transition processes of the heptane/dodecane/hexadecane-nitrogen binary system under supercritical conditions. Analysis of the thermodynamic pseudo-trajectories reveals that the alkane droplets will undergo a three-stage phase transition process when the ambient condition is much higher than the critical point of alkanes, including classical two-phase mode, transitional two-phase mode, and supercritical single-phase mode. The evaporation dominates the phase transition process in the classical two-phase mode, and the transition from classical two-phase modes to transitional two-phase modes occurs when gas-liquid interfaces deviate from the global thermal equilibrium. In transitional two-phase modes, a gas-liquid interface still exists and separates the liquid phase and vapor phase, but with a questionable adoption of vapor-liquid equilibrium. The transition from the transitional two-phase mode to the supercritical single-phase mode occurs when the thermodynamic state of the binary mixture in the interface reaches the critical mixing state. We distinguished the phase states for the whole phase transition process according to the thermodynamic analysis of binary systems. Analogous to the immiscible interface in classical two-phase mode, a miscible boundary layer containing supercritical fluids exits between the liquid core and gas in the initial period of the supercritical single-phase mode. The pseudo-boiling phenomenon occurs in this boundary layer.

Modal Analysis of Combustion Chamber Acoustic Resonance to Reduce High-Frequency Combustion Noise in Pre-Chamber Jet Ignition Combustion Engines

<div>The notable increase in combustion noise in the 7–10 kHz band has become an issue in the development of pre-chamber jet ignition combustion gasoline engines that aim for enhanced thermal efficiency. Combustion noise in such a high-frequency band is often an issue in diesel engine development and is known to be due to resonance in the combustion chamber. However, there are few cases of it becoming a serious issue in gasoline engines, and effective countermeasures have not been established. The authors therefore decided to elucidate the mechanism of high-frequency combustion noise generation specific to this engine, and to investigate effective countermeasures. As the first step, in order to analyze the combustion chamber resonance modes of this engine in detail, calculation analysis using a finite element model and experimental modal analysis using an acoustic excitation speaker were conducted. As a result, it was found that there are two combustion chamber resonance modes in the 7–10 kHz band, both of which affect the high-frequency oscillation of the in-cylinder pressure. Both resonant modes have mode shapes that form a single nodal plane in the diametrical direction including the central axis of the cylinder, but the orientations of those nodal planes differ by 90 degrees. In addition, the two resonance frequencies are influenced by not only the bore diameter, temperature, and heat capacity ratio, but also the spatial shape of the combustion chamber. Therefore, when the piston descends and the spatial shape of the combustion chamber changes, the resonance frequencies change as well.</div>

Development of a High-Power Density Diesel Engine with a Heat-Insulation Coating: Application of Ultrahigh-Pressure Fuel Injection

Development of a High-Power Density Diesel Engine with a Heat-Insulation Coating: Application of Ultrahigh-Pressure Fuel Injection

EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENT OF MOTOR TRANSPORT DIESELS: ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC INDICATORS

On the example of the most common in the use of diesel engines of commercial vehicles, the requirements for environmental and economic indicators, their evolutionary development over the past decades and, accordingly, changes in the impact on the environment and in the consumption of natural resources are considered. Road transport in terms of traffic significantly exceeds all other modes of transport, is the main consumer of scarce hydrocarbon oil fuels; and is considered the most significant pollutant of the surrounding atmosphere with toxic substances contained in the exhaust gases of engines.
 In recent years, during the development, implementation in production and use in operation, there have been significant changes in the design, technology, manufacturing, organization of the workflow, improvement of diesel engine systems that provide fuel and air supply, purification of exhaust gases from harmful emissions into the environment. The analysis of changes in requirements, the level of achieved economic and environmental performance of diesel engines of trucks, was carried out using the fuel-environmental criterion. The calculation data and the generalization of the results of the study made it possible to determine changes in the cost of fuel and compensation for environmental damage from the harmful effects of engine exhaust gases on the environment, related to a unit of power in operation, the coefficient of relative operating environmental costs, directly fuel-environmental criterion and to give a quantitative assessment of the evolutionary development of diesel engines of trucks. It has been established that the fuel and environmental efficiency of diesel engines of trucks over the past 30 years has increased by 4.17 times, mainly due to the reduction of harmful emissions into the environment with exhaust gases.

New insights into the carbon chain structure of alcohol on the combustion of diesel surrogates using ReaxFF molecular dynamics simulations

Achieving clean and efficient combustion of diesel fuel is the main trend in the development of diesel engines in the future. Adding oxygen-containing alcohol to diesel fuel is an effective way to improve diesel combustion efficiency and reduce carbon smoke emissions, which is of great significance for reducing the consumption of traditional fossil fuels and reducing environmental pollution. In this work, the reactive molecular dynamics (RMD) simulations are conducted to compare the combustion of diesel without/with various alcohols, focusing on the intermediates and product distribution, oxygen consumption, ignition delay time, initial combustion pathways, and the related kinetics. It can be found that the addition of alcohols can significantly improve the combustion of diesel with the promoting order being n-pentanol > n-butanol > ethanol > cyclopentanol. The longer ignition delay of the diesel/ethanol is related to the lower cetane number of ethanol compared to other alcohols. The promoting combustion effect of alcohols can be attributed to higher reaction rate of their unimolecular bond dissociations and hydrogen abstraction reactions. In addition, the straight-chain alcohols have higher oxygen consumption and perform better in reducing soot than cyclic alcohols with the same number of carbon atoms. A significant decrease in activation energy is observed in the diesel/n-pentanol combustion system compared to the pure diesel combustion based on the RMD Arrhenius parameters from the first-order kinetic analysis. From the RMD simulations on the diesel/n-pentanol with different oxygen concentrations, it can lead to the conclusion that when the oxygen amount in the system reaches stoichiometric combustion, adding more oxygen does not produce a significant promoting effect on the diesel combustion process.

Investigation of Effect of Nozzle Numbers on Diesel Engine Performance Operated at Plateau Environment

The effect of nozzle number on the combustion and emission characteristics of diesel engines operating at high altitudes was investigated in this study. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model was developed to simulate the spray spatial distribution, which is closely related to the nozzle number. The intake pressure was identified as the dominant factor under varying altitudes, while the fuel mass, injection timing and temperature were maintained constant. Altitudes of 3000 m were chosen to represent typical high-altitude conditions, and sea level cases were simulated for comparison. The results demonstrated that high-altitude operation reduced the air utility in the combustion chamber, leading to suppressed soot oxidization and worse soot emissions. Moreover, more injection nozzles will decrease the fuel injection pressure, resulting in inadequate fuel diffusion and detrimental effects on the combustion efficiency and soot control. However, too few nozzles may cause wall collisions and worsen the combustion conditions. The number of nozzles also influences the combustion, with a higher number of nozzles exacerbating poor combustion conditions. The optimal number of nozzles for the engine studied is determined to be six. Hence, determining the optimal nozzle number plays a vital role in achieving the optimal performance of highland diesel engines. This study provides valuable guidance for the development of diesel engines in high-altitude environments, where controlling the fuel consumption and soot emissions is challenging.

A Transient 3D CFD Thermal Model of the Complete DI Diesel Engine Fuel System

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper reports on a transient, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study of flow and heat transfer in the complete fuel system of an inline 6-cylinder, direct injection (DI) diesel engine used in commercial applications. The CFD software Simerics-MP+ was used for this purpose. Diesel engine development, to meet fuel economy and exhaust emission standards, requires the precise integration of each component in the fuel system in order to reliably deliver the fuel to the combustion chamber as a function of crank angle to the combustion chamber, at the specified injection pressure. Both the model set-up and run times are practical, thus the simulation tool can play a key role in the design and development of diesel engine fuel systems.</div></div>

Dynamic Characteristics Prediction Model for Diesel Engine Valve Train Design Parameters Based on Deep Learning

This paper presents a comprehensive study on the utilization of machine learning and deep learning techniques to predict the dynamic characteristics of design parameters, exemplified by a diesel engine valve train. The research aims to address the challenging and time-consuming analysis required to optimize the performance and durability of valve train components, which are influenced by numerous factors. To this end, dynamic analyses data have been collected for diesel engine specifications and used to construct a regression prediction model using a gradient boosting regressor tree (GBRT), a deep neural network (DNN), a one-dimensional convolution neural network (1D-CNN), and long short-term memory (LSTM). The prediction model was utilized to estimate the force and valve seating velocity values of the valve train system. The dynamic characteristics of the case were evaluated by comparing the actual and predicted values. The results showed that the GBRT model had an R2 value of 0.90 for the valve train force and 0.97 for the valve seating velocity, while the 1D-CNN model had an R2 value of 0.89 for the valve train force and 0.98 for the valve seating velocity. The results of this study have important implications for advancing the design and development of efficient and reliable diesel engines.

Influence of thermal effect in piston skirt lubrication considering thermal deformation of piston and cylinder liner

With the development of high-strength marine diesel engines, piston skirt lubrication plays an increasingly important role. In this study, to ensure that the mixed lubrication can be applied, the contact of the PS corner and CL is simplified to a spring–damper system. A coupled dynamical–tribological numerical model of a piston skirt is proposed by combining mixed lubrication and the secondary motion of the piston. The model is then used to study how the thermal effect of the piston skirt-cylinder liner friction pair affects (i) the secondary motion of the piston, (ii) the contact force of the piston-skirt corner points, and (iii) the lubrication characteristics, while considering ring friction, friction moment of piston pin and three-dimensional thermal deformation of the piston and cylinder liner. The results show that the secondary motion under the thermal condition is less than that under the cold condition, and the reverse rotation of the piston under the thermal condition occurs earlier. Asperity contact and corner points contact appear under the thermal condition, and the friction mean effective pressure under the cold condition is 47.7% greater than that under the thermal condition. Overall, it is necessary to consider the thermal effect of the piston skirt-cylinder liner friction pair.

Experimental Study on Combustion Characteristics of Biodiesel–Ethanol Dual Fuel: An Overview

Biodiesel and bioethanol are two renewable fuels available on the market, both of which have been used on internal combustion engines as an additive as they have physicochemical properties similar to commercial petroleum fuels. However, different properties of biodiesel and ethanol in terms of viscosity and energy density directly affect the combustion process of internal combustion engines. This article aims to analyze and evaluate the influence of 100% blended biofuels including biodiesel-ethanol on combustion characteristics and emissions under diesel engine conditions, as well as the status of biodiesel-ethanol fuel use, a recommended orientation for the development of adaptive diesel engine in the future at Vietnam. These studies on the influence of biodiesel-ethanol fuels blend were carried out on the optical research engine system (constant volume combustion chamber) and the actual engine testing. The results revealed that change in the concentration of ethanol affects the physicochemical properties of BE fuels blend, and using more ethanol in the mixture causes more effect on the trend of combustion characteristics and emissions. Consequently, it is possible to use a 100% biodiesel-ethanol blend on conventional diesel engines with little modifications.

Study on the Design Stage from a Dimensional and Energetic Point of View for a Marine Technical Water Generator Suitable for a Medium Size Container Ship

The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the development of the modern low-speed marine two-stroke diesel engine from the point of view of the technical water cooling plant, taking into account and starting from the market requirements for power and speed, with information and design options relevant to the entire shipping industry. Thus, through the ideas of this project, we analyze notions and relevant aspects of systems related to marine slow turning engines, including the basic thermodynamic structure of the technical water system designed for a marine engine. This study also presents the design criteria that define the size and design concept of the engine structure components, with a focus on the technical water cooling installation. The concepts for the main engine hot parts served by the technical water cooling installation play a vital role in the marine technical water generator. The choices the engine designer must make regarding basic auxiliary systems, such as fuel injection and exhaust valve actuation, are important factors to keep in mind when installing a technical water generator onboard a ship. The automation and control systems that govern the modern electronic engine, which drive the supply pump of the technical water cooling system can provide a simplified view of the engine development process. In order to point out the contributions of this study, it is important to focus on the calculations used to determine the main parameters of a technical water generator especially designed for a midsized container ship.

The effect of high altitude environment on diesel engine performance: Comparison of engine operations in Hangzhou, Kunming and Lhasa cities

The all-area operating performance of the vehicles requires the development of diesel engines that can operate at high altitudes without significant performance deterioration. Prior to optimizing the efficiency and emissions of highland engines, there is a necessity to investigate the underlying causes of engine performance degradation. The purpose of this paper was to study the in-cylinder activities occurring in the combustion chamber of diesel engines at high altitudes, which can help explain the effect of altitude on engine efficiency and emissions of concern to the customer. Specifically, a turbocharged direct injection compression ignition engine was operated at a constant engine speed and load, but at different altitudes. The theoretical analyses based on experimental data suggested that the mismatch between air and diesel quantities caused by the high altitude atmosphere led to the engine combustion deterioration. Specifically, the lower gas density at high altitudes during fuel injection resulted in a reduction of the injection angle and an enhancement of the penetration capability. In addition, the rise in altitude extended the ignition delay, which increased the fuel fraction mixed with air in the premixed combustion stage and raised the pressure rise rate. Moreover, at high altitudes, the reduction in excess air ratio and increased possibility of wall impingement of the fuel droplets resulted in uneven mixture concentration distribution and reduced air utility. Accordingly, combustion deterioration occurred in the combustion chamber of the plateau engines, which reduced energy release during main mixing-controlled combustion, lowered combustion efficiency, increased exhaust energy, and raised engine-out incomplete combustion emissions. All these effects resulted in a decrease in engine thermal efficiency of ∼6.5% and an increase in soot emissions of ∼4.2 times from Hangzhou to Lhasa city for the engine and operating conditions investigated in this study. Consequently, engines operating in highland areas need to be optimized in terms of efficiency and emissions.

Журнал «Двигателестроение»: более 40 лет на передовом рубеже двигателестроительной науки

The article presents the materials about the history of the creation and publishing activities of the journal “Engines Construction”, first in Leningrad (at the Central Research Diesel Institute — TSNIDI), then in St. Petersburg (at LLC «TSNIDI-Ecoservice»). Also, the article elaborates on the reasons for the transfer of the rights of the founder and publisher to the Bauman Moscow State Technical University. We show the main stages of the formation of the “Engines Construction”, journal as the leading scientific and engineering publication in the field of development of Russian marine, diesel, automotive and industrial engines are. The article talks about prominent scientists who collaborated with the editorial board and published in the journal. We give the journal scope within the framework of which scientific and technical articles are published on various topics of developing and improving engines for various purposes. Lastly, we present new scientific specialties for which the journal is being re-registered in the list of the Higher Attestation Commission (VAK) of the Russian Federation.

Simulation Study on the Performance and Emission Parameters of a Marine Diesel Engine

Development of intelligent ships requires marine diesel engine simulation models of high accuracy and fast response. In addition, with advent of tighter shipping air emissions regulations, such models are required to have emission prediction capabilities. In this article, such a model was developed and validated for a 30,000-ton bulk carrier main engine using MATLAB/Simulink. The simulation is based on mean value model, which predicts both the steady-state and dynamic performance of the engine. The results show that the steady-state performance parameters of the main engine are predicted within 2.2% error, and the exhaust emissions parameters are predicted within 7% error as compared to the bench test data from the engine manufacturer. The Maximum Continuous Rating (MCR) points at 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% of the E3 duty cycle were investigated with emphasis according to the diesel propulsion characteristics. In dynamic simulation, it is found that the compressor pressure fluctuation is greater than that of the exhaust pressure with the load variation. Furthermore, the compressor and the exhaust pipe have a similar temperature drop value (about 60 K) when the engine load changes from 100% to 50% MCR, and the exhaust pipe temperature fluctuation is more significant when the load varies from 50% to 25% MCR. The above results show the model’s good transient capability in simulating the dynamic characteristics of the engine. This model can be used especially for the development and control of marine diesel engines in intelligent ships as well as training-oriented marine engine and ship simulators.

A Comprehensive Review of the Properties, Performance, Combustion, and Emissions of the Diesel Engine Fueled with Different Generations of Biodiesel

Due to the increasing air pollution from diesel engines and the shortage of conventional fossil fuels, many experimental and numerical types of research have been carried out and published in the literature over the past few decades to find a new, sustainable, and alternative fuels. Biodiesel is an appropriate alternate solution for diesel engines because it is renewable, non-toxic, and eco-friendly. According to the European Academies Science Advisory Council, biodiesel evolution is broadly classified into four generations. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the production, properties, combustion, performance, and emission characteristics of diesel engines using different generations of biodiesel as an alternative fuel to replace fossil-based diesel and summarizes the primary feedstocks and properties of different generations of biodiesel compared with diesel. The general impression is that the use of different generations of biodiesel decreased 30% CO, 50% HC, and 70% smoke emissions compared with diesel. Engine performance is slightly decreased by an average of 3.13%, 89.56%, and 11.98% for higher density, viscosity, and cetane, respectively, while having a 7.96% lower heating value compared with diesel. A certain ratio of biodiesel as fuel instead of fossil diesel combined with advanced after-treatment technology is the main trend of future diesel engine development.

Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol as the Next Green Biofuel - A Review

The development of diesel engines faces challenging targets to satisfy stringent emissions regulation. To address this issue, the use of alcohol biofuels such as methanol and ethanol has attracted numerous attention due to their physicochemical properties and the possibility to be produced from renewable sources and agricultural waste material. Compared to ethanol, longer carbon alcohol such as butanol has higher energy density and lower latent heat, hygroscopicity, aggressivity, and toxicity. It can also be produced from biomass. Yet, despite its noticeable advantages, the use of butanol in the internal combustion engine is hindered by its low production efficiency. If Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) is further distilled and purified, pure butanol and ethanol can be acquired, but this involves an energy-intensive process, thus increasing the production cost of butanol. To solve this problem, the direct use of ABE as a biofuel is considered a promising strategy. The idea of using ABE directly in internal combustion engines is then proposed to solve the economic issue of high butanol production costs. A scoping literature review was performed to screen and filter previously published papers on ABE by identifying knowledge gaps instead of discussing what is already known. Therefore, repeated and almost identical studies were eliminated, thus reporting only the most significant and impactful published papers. In terms of the objective, this article aims to review the progress of ABE as a promising biofuel in regard to the engine performance, combustion, and emission characteristics. Focus is also given to ABE’s physicochemical properties. Despite their considerable importance, the fuel properties of ABE are rarely discussed. Therefore, this review article intends to analytically discuss the physicochemical properties of ABE in terms of their calorific value, density, kinematic viscosity, and distillation. In general, it is concluded that engine emissions such as NOx and Particulate Matter (PM) could be reduced considerably with the use of ABE. Yet, the BSFC was found to increase due to the relatively lower calorific value and density of ABE blends as opposed to gasoline or diesel fuel, thereby increasing its fuel consumption. In terms of ABE’s fuel properties, in general, ABE can be used due to its satisfying physicochemical properties. However, it should be noted that the ABE-gasoline/diesel blends are greatly influenced by each of its component ratios (acetone, butanol, ethanol).

RETRACTED: Exploration over combined impacts of modified piston bowl geometry and tert-butyl hydroquinone additive-included biodiesel/diesel blend on diesel engine behaviors

Nowadays, the use of biodiesel for diesel engines has been attracting researchers aiming to improve engine characteristics although the engine performance could be decreased while utilizing biodiesel. In this aspect, optimizing the piston bowl geometry is one of the useful approaches to enhance the efficiency of the biodiesel-powered diesel engine. In this study, the standard piston of an existing diesel engine was modified into two different combustion bowls, namely Symmetrical Stepped Curved-V (SSCV) and Symmetrical Spline-V (SSV), to evaluate the CI engine performance powered with mixtures of sesame-originated biodiesel, diesel fuel, and tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) additive through two-stage experiment. In the first phase, experiments were carried out on two modified piston bowls powered by diesel and S20 (20% sesame biodiesel + 80% diesel fuel). Resultantly, SSV piston revealed superior engine characteristics to SSCV piston and standard piston due to enhanced air–fuel mixing and more complete combustion of SSV piston-based engine. Indeed, SSV piston operation exhibited an 8.68% of increased brake thermal efficiency (BTE), 6.54% of curtailed brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC), 4.76% of lowered carbon monoxide (CO), 4.84% of decreased unburnt hydrocarbon (HC), and 2.22% of lowered smoke opacity but with increased nitrogen oxide (NOx) by 14.14% in comparison to diesel. In the 2nd phase, to control the NOx emission effectively, a TBHQ additive was added to the S20 sample at different proportions (500 mg and 1000 mg) to analyze the test engine behaviors with modified piston shapes. As a result, S20 + 500 mg TBHQ at 100% load improved BTE by 5.79% and reduced BSFC by 4.36% in the case of SSV piston. Moreover, it curtailed emissions of CO, HC, NOx, and smoke opacity by 13.33%, 15.49%, 12.09%, and 9.44%, respectively, when equated with diesel. Overall, S20 + 500 mg TBHQ could be thought of as a possible alternative fuel on SSV piston as it resulted in superior performance and emission characteristics in the existing standard engine. The current study's findings could pave the way for the development of diesel engines with modified piston geometry that is more efficiently compatible with biodiesel blends and additives.