Engine Cycle Simulation Research Articles

Thermodynamic Considerations Related to Knock: Results From an Engine Cycle Simulation

The design and development of high efficiency spark-ignition engines continues to be limited by the consideration of knock. Although the topic of spark knock has been the subject of comprehensive research since the early 1900s, little has been reported on the coupling of the engine thermodynamics and knock. This work uses an engine cycle simulation together with a submodel for the knock phenomena to explore these connections. First, the autoignition characteristics as represented by a recent (2014) Arrhenius expression for the reaction time of the end gases are examined for a range of temperatures and pressures. In spite of the exponential dependence on temperature, pressure appears to dominate the ignition time for the conditions examined. Higher pressures (and higher temperatures) tend to enhance the potential for knock. Second, knock is determined as function of engine design and operating parameters. The trends are consistent with expectations, and the results provide a systematic presentation of knock occurrence. Engine parameters explored include compression ratio, engine speed, inlet pressure, start of combustion, heat transfer, and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Changes of cylinder pressures and temperatures of the unburned zone as engine parameters were varied are shown to be directly responsible for the changes of the knock characteristics.

Numerical approach for assessing combustion noise in compression-ignited Diesel engines

Diesel combustion noise has become a crucial aspect for the engine manufacturers due to its impact on human health and influence on the customer purchasing decision. The interaction of the pressure waves after mixture self-ignition induces cavity resonances inside the combustion chamber. This complex phenomenon produces high-frequency pressure oscillations, hence traditional in-cylinder measurements do not provide enough information to characterise the in-cylinder acoustic field. In this paper, a numerical methodology is proposed for assessing the Diesel combustion as a noise source and to overcome measurement limitations. An optimisation procedure is also presented in order to determine the numerical calculation parameters, boundary conditions definition and initialization. Results show that local flow conditions at the start of combustion have a strong influence on the acoustic response of the in-cylinder noise source. These particular conditions are only achievable by the proposed methodology which considers entire engine cycle simulations with the complete cylinder domain. Therefore, traditional Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) approaches, such those used for predicting combustion stability or pollutant emissions, are not suitable for reproducing the physical mechanisms of noise generation and they cannot be used for acoustic purposes. The reliability of the proposed methodology to simulate the acoustic field accurately inside the combustion chamber has been validated by comparison with experiments.

Comparison of aldehyde emissions simulation with FTIR measurements in the exhaust of a spark ignition engine fueled by ethanol

This work presents a numerical simulation model for aldehyde formation and exhaust emissions from ethanol-fueled spark ignition engines. The aldehyde simulation model was developed using FORTRAN software, with the input data obtained from the dedicated engine cycle simulation software AVL BOOST. The model calculates formaldehyde and acetaldehyde concentrations from post-flame partial oxidation of methane, ethane and unburned ethanol. The calculated values were compared with experimental data obtained from a mid-size sedan powered by a 1.4-l spark ignition engine, tested on a chassis dynamometer. Exhaust aldehyde concentrations were determined using a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy analyzer. In general, the results demonstrate that the concentrations of aldehydes and the source elements increased with engine speed and exhaust gas temperature. The measured acetaldehyde concentrations showed values from 3 to 6 times higher than formaldehyde in the range studied. The model could predict reasonably well the qualitative experimental trends, with the quantitative results showing a maximum discrepancy of 39% for acetaldehyde concentration and 21 ppm for exhaust formaldehyde.

A Model to Predict the Influence of Inconsistencies in Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC) Thicknesses in Pistons of IC Engines

LHR (Low heat Rejection) engines comprise of components that are modified with ceramic Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBC) to derive improvements in performance, fuel efficiency, combustion characteristics and life. In addition to engine parameters, the ability of TBCs (250 - 300µm thick) to function favorably depends on materials technology related factors such as surface-connected porosity, coating surface roughness, uniformity and consistency in coating thickness [1]. Right since the nineties, emphasis has been placed on the complexity of piston contours from a coating processing standpoint because the piston bowl geometry although appears simple, is actually quite complex. Robotic plasma gun manipulation programs have been developed to obtain uniform coating properties and thicknesses which are highly classified information.Thicker coatings offer better thermal insulation characteristics but in thickness deficient regions, TBCs may be as thin as ∼30 microns. Applied via the ‘line of sight’ process, in the Atmospheric Plasma Spray System the coating thickness does not get developed adequately if the components comprise of contours with shadow regions. Thus the coating quality of a LHR engine heavily depends upon the shape of the engine components. This affects the barrier effects offered by the TBC and is reflected via generation of unwanted thermal gradients in the combustion chamber and on the external piston walls that adversely influence the engine performance.Extensive diesel engine cycle simulation and finite-element analysis of the coatings have been conducted to understand their effects on (a) diesel engine performance and (b) stress state in the coating and underlying metal substructure. Research work presented here involves the need and developmental efforts made via Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to generate a model via ANSYS - Fluent simulation software that predicts the temperature gradient across TBCs of various ceramics and coating thicknesses. The geometric model was developed using the dimensions obtained using a CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine) in Solidworks and the mesh was developed in Altair Hypermesh. The generated mesh consists of 221938 elements. Interfaces were created between the piston-bond coat-top coat surfaces. The Ansys-FLUENT CFD code solves the energy equation to find out the temperature drop in the piston for different combustion temperatures. Although most of the cavities presented are not rectangular, incompressible and steady laminar flow was assumed. The Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure-linked Equations (SIMPLE) was used to model the interaction between pressure and velocity. The energy variables were solved using the second order upwind scheme. In addition, the CFD program uses the Standard scheme to find the pressure values at the cell faces. Convergence was determined by checking the scaled residuals and ensuring that they were less than 10-6 for all variables.Two cases with combustion temperatures varying between 700 and 800 K were developed in Ansys FLUENT, wherein the thickness was deficient in the ‘shadow’ region. The model was validated via experimentation involving thermal shock cycle tests in prototype burner rig facility and measuring the temperature drop across the TBC as well.Non uniform coatings, leading to non-uniform drop in temperature across the thickness are most likely to affect the lubrication system of the engine and therefore the performance. Substantial efforts must be directed towards development of consistent and uniformly thick coatings for optimum performance of the LHR engine.

Maximum efficiencies for internal combustion engines: Thermodynamic limitations

The thermodynamic limitation for the maximum efficiencies of internal combustion engines is an important consideration for the design and development of future engines. Knowing these limits helps direct resources to those areas with the most potential for improvements. Using an engine cycle simulation which includes the first and second laws of thermodynamics, this study has determined the fundamental thermodynamics that are responsible for these limits. This work has considered an automotive engine and has quantified the maximum efficiencies starting with the most ideal conditions. These ideal conditions included no heat losses, no mechanical friction, lean operation, and short burn durations. Then, each of these idealizations is removed in a step-by-step fashion until a configuration that represents current engines is obtained. During this process, a systematic thermodynamic evaluation was completed to determine the fundamental reasons for the limitations of the maximum efficiencies. For the most ideal assumptions, for compression ratios of 20 and 30, the thermal efficiencies were 62.5% and 66.9%, respectively. These limits are largely a result of the combustion irreversibilities. As each of the idealizations is relaxed, the thermal efficiencies continue to decrease. High compression ratios are identified as an important aspect for high-efficiency engines. Cylinder heat transfer was found to be one of the largest impediments to high efficiency. Reducing cylinder heat transfer, however, is difficult and may not result in much direct increases of piston work due to decreases of the ratio of specific heats. Throughout this work, the importance of high values of the ratio of specific heats was identified as important for achieving high thermal efficiencies. Depending on the selection of constraints, different values may be given for the maximum thermal efficiency. These constraints include the allowed values for compression ratio, heat transfer, friction, stoichiometry, cylinder pressure, and pressure rise rate.

A phenomenological model of knock intensity in spark-ignition engines

In experimental calibration of mass production spark-ignition (SI) engines, knocking cycles are usually determined by a specified threshold of knock intensity (KI). In engine cycle simulation, however, modeling of knock is usually limited to prediction of knock onset (i.e. auto-ignition of end gas), or merely simple parameters such as unburned mass fraction (UMF) for KI are taken into account, causing considerable deviation from actuality. The objective of this study is to develop a phenomenological KI model to improve predictability of engine cycle simulation. The experiments with a turbocharged 1.5L gasoline engine operated by spark sweeps around knock limits over a wide speed range are conducted to generate the data base for the model formulation and evaluation. With assumption of lognormal distribution of KI in consecutive cycles, a knock factor (KF) based on the likelihood ratio is proposed as a criterion for definition of knocking cycles. The model developed in the previous study, which includes the cylinder pressure, end gas temperature, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) ratio and excess air ratio as variables, is used to predict the knock onset. With in-depth analysis of the physics influencing knock intensity, the energy density and heat release rate (HRR) in hot spots are identified to play critical roles in determination of knock intensity. The heat release rate is related to the end gas temperature, pressure, EGR ratio and excess air ratio, while the energy density is determined by the amount of fresh charge in the cylinder and the charge volume at knock onset. Thus, the correlation of the two factors, including the HRR factor α and the energy density factor β, is formulated to develop the predictive model of knock intensity YKI. Finally, the newly developed KI model is evaluated through comparison with other KI models, and better performance in terms of prediction of knock intensity is obtained.

Thermodynamic Considerations Regarding the Use of Exhaust Gas Recirculation for Conventional and High Efficiency Engines

During the last several decades, investigations of the operation of internal combustion engines utilizing exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) have increased. This increased interest has been driven by the advantages of the use of EGR with respect to emissions and, in some cases, thermal efficiency. The current study uses a thermodynamic engine cycle simulation to explore the fundamental reasons for the changes of thermal efficiency as functions of EGR. EGR with various levels of cooling is studied. Both a conventional (throttled) operating condition and a high efficiency (HE) operating condition are examined. With no EGR, the net indicated thermal efficiencies were 32.1% and 44.6% for the conventional and high efficiency engines, respectively. For the conditions examined, the cylinder heat transfer is a function of the gas temperatures and convective heat transfer coefficient. For increasing EGR, the gas temperatures generally decrease due to the lower combustion temperatures. For increasing EGR, however, the convective heat transfer coefficient generally increases due to increasing cylinder pressures and decreasing gas temperatures. Whether the cylinder heat transfer increases or decreases with increasing EGR is the net result of the gas temperature decreases and the heat transfer coefficient increases. For significantly cooled EGR, the efficiency increases partly due to decreases of the heat transfer. On the other hand, for less cooled EGR, the efficiency decreases due at least partly to the increasing heat transfer. Two other considerations to explain the efficiency changes include the changes of the pumping work and the specific heats during combustion.

The interactions between IC engine thermodynamics and knock

The development of high efficiency spark-ignition internal combustion engines is often constrained by the occurrence of knock. Knock may result in engine damage, lower performance, and lower efficiency. The options for preventing knock often involve lower compression ratios, lower boost, retarded spark timing, and other design choices that are detrimental to engine performance and efficiency. Since knock is largely a function of the thermodynamic state of the unburned zone, the occurrence of knock is expected to be a strong function of the engine thermodynamics. The purpose of the current work is to couple a simple knock model with a comprehensive engine cycle simulation to determine the interactions between the engine thermodynamics and knock. This work has explored the effects of engine parameters such as compression ratio (4–12), engine speed (500–2500rpm), inlet pressure (50–100kPa), exhaust gas recirculation (0–25%), combustion duration and heat transfer on knock. In each case, the occurrence of knock is connected to the cylinder pressures and the gas temperatures of the unburned zone. For example for a compression ratio of 12, to avoid knock the brake thermal efficiency decreased from 36.5% to 34% due to retarding the combustion.

Optimization of a turbocharger and supercharger compound boosting system for a Miller cycle engine

This paper describes the design optimization of a compound boosting system consisting of a turbocharger and a supercharger for a 2.0 l four-cylinder Miller cycle engine which has a high expansion ratio of 12.0:1 and variable valve actuation. Various system configurations and supercharger sizes were evaluated numerically and experimentally to reduce the supercharger power consumption and the engine fuel consumption while maintaining the same engine torque performance in steady-state conditions. The supercharger–turbocharger boosting system with a V400 supercharger showed an average engine fuel consumption that was 2.8% lower in boosted conditions than did the turbocharger–supercharger boosting system with the same V400 supercharger; this was predicted by engine cycle simulations and verified by experiments. When the supercharger was placed upstream of the turbocharger, the supercharger inlet pressure was lower and the total mass flow rate through the supercharger was reduced, which reduced the supercharger power consumption and the bypass air flow. The turbocharger–supercharger boosting system with a smaller supercharger (R340 or V250) significantly improved the engine efficiency (by 3.3% or 5.0% respectively in comparison with the turbocharger–supercharger boosting system with a V400 supercharger), by reducing the mass air flow rates through the supercharger and minimizing the supercharger power consumption. The turbocharger–supercharger boosting system with a V250 supercharger achieved the lowest engine fuel consumption in full-load conditions of all the turbocharger and supercharger compound boosting system options evaluated for the 2.0 l Miller cycle engine on the basis of the simulation results. This study defined the optimal system layout and the optimal supercharger size for implementing the turbocharger and supercharger compound boosting system on a 2.0 l Miller cycle spark ignition engine to maximize the improvement in the fuel economy of the vehicle while maintaining the same torque performance.

Numerical study of the performance and NOx emission of a diesel-methanol dual-fuel engine using multi-objective Pareto optimization

The effect of methanol addition on the performance and NOx emission of a diesel engine was investigated using one-dimensional engine cycle simulation. The methanol component was injected into the intake manifold of a diesel engine at a certain energy fraction (0, 5, 10, or 15%) of the fuel. The in-cylinder pressure and temperature decreased as the methanol content increased due to the lower cetane number and lower heating value of methanol. The resulting decrease in the combustion efficiency lowered the NOx emission and brake thermal efficiency of the engine, and consequently deteriorated the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC). The BSFC decreased but the NOx emission increased with advanced injection timing under dual-fuel operating conditions. Response surface plots of the BSFC and NOx emission as a function of the injection timing and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rate were obtained using a design of experiment method. The optimal Pareto fronts that improved both the BSFC and NOx emission were found. The EGR rate had a greater influence on the optimal Pareto front than the injection timing, which suggested that design parameters such as the injection timing and EGR rate could be used to control the performance and emission under various duel-fuel conditions.

Determination of Knock Limited Spark Advance in Engine Cycle Simulation

Determination of Knock Limited Spark Advance in Engine Cycle Simulation

A thermodynamic model for homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion with recompression valve events and direct injection: Part I — Adiabatic core ignition model

This two-part article presents a model for boosted and moderately stratified homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion for use in thermodynamic engine cycle simulations. The model consists of two components: one an ignition model for the prediction of auto-ignition onset and the other an empirical combustion rate model. This article focuses on the development and validation of the homogeneous charge compression ignition model for use under a broad range of operating conditions. Using computational fluid dynamics simulations of the negative valve overlap valve events typical of homogeneous charge compression ignition operation, it is shown that there is no noticeable reaction progress from low-temperature heat release, and that ignition is within the high-temperature regime ( T > 1000 K), starting within the highest temperature cells of the computational fluid dynamics domain. Additional parametric sweeps from the computational fluid dynamics simulations, including sweeps of speed, load, intake manifold pressures and temperature, dilution level and valve and direct injection timings, showed that the assumption of a homogeneous charge (equivalence ratio and residuals) is appropriate for ignition modelling under the conditions studied, considering the strong sensitivity of ignition timing to temperature and its weak compositional dependence. Use of the adiabatic core temperature predicted from the adiabatic core model resulted in temperatures within ±1% of the peak temperatures of the computational fluid dynamics domain near the time of ignition. Thus, the adiabatic core temperature can be used within an auto-ignition integral as a simple and effective method for estimating the onset of homogeneous charge compression ignition auto-ignition. The ignition model is then validated with an experimental 92.6 anti-knock index gasoline-fuelled homogeneous charge compression ignition dataset consisting of 290 data points covering a wide range of operating conditions. The tuned ignition model predictions of [Formula: see text] have a root mean square error of 1.7° crank angle and R2 = 0.63 compared to the experiments.

Simulation of Aldehyde Emissions from an Ethanol Fueled Spark Ignition Engine and Comparison with FTIR Measurements

This paper presents a mathematical model that calculates aldehyde emissions in the exhaust of a spark ignition engine fueled with ethanol. The numerical model for aldehyde emissions was developed using FORTRAN software, with the input data obtained from a dedicated engine cycle simulation software, AVL BOOST. The model calculates formaldehyde and acetaldehyde emissions, formed from the partial oxidation of methane, ethane and unburned ethanol. The calculated values were compared with experimental data obtained by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The experiments were performed with a mid-size sedan powered by a 1.4-liter spark ignition engine on a chassis dynamometer. In general, the results demonstrate that the concentrations of aldehydes and the source elements increased with engine speed and exhaust gas temperature. A reasonable agreement between simulated and measured values was achieved.

Thermodynamic model for homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion with recompression valve events and direct injection: Part II—Combustion model and evaluation against transient experiments

This two-part article presents a combustion model for boosted and moderately stratified homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion for use in thermodynamic engine cycle simulations. The model consists of two parts: one an ignition model for the prediction of auto-ignition onset and the other an empirical combustion rate model. This article focuses on the development of the combustion model which is algebraic in form and is based on the key physical variables affecting the combustion process. The model is fit with experimental data collected from 290 discrete automotive homogeneous charge compression ignition operating conditions with moderate stratification resulting from both the direct injection and negative valve overlap valve events. Both the ignition model from part 1 and the combustion model from this article are implemented in GT-Power and validated against experimental homogeneous charge compression ignition data under steady-state and transient conditions. The ignition and combustion model are then exercised to identify the dominant variables affecting the homogeneous charge compression ignition and combustion processes. Sensitivity analysis reveals that ignition timing is primarily a function of the charge temperature, and that combustion duration is largely a function of ignition timing.

A comparison between Miller and five-stroke cycles for enabling deeply downsized, highly boosted, spark-ignition engines with ultra expansion

It has been well known that the engine downsizing combined with intake boosting is an effective way to improve the fuel conversion efficiency without penalizing the engine torque performance. However, the potential of engine downsizing is not yet fully explored, and the major hurdles include the knocking combustion and the pre-turbine temperature limit, owing to the aggressive intake boosting. Using the engine cycle simulation, this paper compares the effects of the Miller and five stroke cycles on the performance of the deeply downsized and highly boosted SI engine, taking the engine knock and pre-turbine temperature into consideration. In the simulation, the downsizing is implemented by reducing the combustion cylinder number from four to two, while a two stage boosting system is designed for the deeply downsized engine to ensure the wide-open-throttle (WOT) performance comparable to the original four cylinder engine. The Miller cycle is realized by varying the intake valve timing and lift, while the five stroke cycle is enabled with addition of an extra expansion cylinder between the two combustion cylinders. After calibration and validation of the engine cycle simulation models using the experimental data in the original engine, the performances of the deeply downsized engines with both the Miller and five stroke cycles are numerically studied. For the most frequently operated points on the torque-speed map, at low loads the Miller cycle exhibits superior performance over the five-stroke cycle in terms of fuel conversion efficiency, while at higher loads the thermal efficiency of the five stroke cycle, owing primarily to elimination of fuel enrichment operations, is higher than that of the Miller cycle engine. For the WOT operation, even with the two-stage boosting system, at the engine speed below 1700rpm the deeply downsized engine with the Miller cycle fails to deliver the torque comparable to the original engine, while the targeted WOT torque can be achieved with the five stroke cycle engine at all the engine speeds but 800rpm. The mechanism of the efficiency differences between the Miller and five stroke cycles is discussed in depth with the energy balance and influencing factor analysis on thermal efficiency.

An assessment of the biodiesel low-temperature combustion engine under transient cycles using single-cylinder engine experiment and cycle simulation

An operational strategy was developed to implement LTC (low-temperature combustion) with 50% biodiesel blended fuel (B50), named B-LTC, and evaluated under a combination of a single-cylinder engine experiment and a cycle simulation. The fuel consumption, regulated emissions, and exhaust gas temperature maps were constructed from experiments in a single-cylinder diesel engine at the speed range between 1000 and 1600 rev/min. A dataset of pumping and friction of a 6-cylinder diesel engine was employed to construct a 6000-cm3 B-LTC engine from the SCRE (single-cylinder research engine) experimental results. The engine maps of the virtual 6-cylinder B-LTC engine were then input into a zero-dimensional (0-D) model for the transient-cycle simulation. The cycle simulation was performed under the two representative transient cycles, namely the WHTC (worldwide harmonized transient cycle) and the NRTC (non-road transient cycle). The WHTC simulation estimated the engine-out CSNOx (cycle-specific NOx) of 0.94 g/kWh, which was lowered to 0.30 g/kWh by the SCR (selective catalytic reduction), while CSFC (cycle-specific fuel consumption) and cycle-specific soot (CSsoot) were 310 g/kWh and 0.01 g/kWh, respectively. The NRTC simulation results also showed that the engine-out CSsoot emission was 0.01 g/kWh. The urea-dosing SCR model reduced CSNOx from 0.99 g/kWh to 0.25 g/kWh. The CSFC was 274 g/kWh in the NRTC simulation.

Two-Stage Turbocharging for the Downsizing of SI V-Engines

One of the most critical challenges for the specific power increase of turbocharged SI engines is the low end torque, limited by two aspects. First, the big size of the compressor necessary to deliver the maximum airflow does not allow high boost pressures at low speed, due to the surge line proximity. Second, the flame front velocity may become slower than the end gas auto-ignition rate, thus increasing the risk of knocking.This study is based on a current SI GDI V8 turbocharged engine, modeled by means of CFD tools, both 1d and 3d. The goal of the activity is to lower by 20% the displacement, without reducing brake torque, all over the engine speed range.It was decided to adopt a smaller bore, keeping stroke constant. Obviously, the combustion chamber, the valves and the intake-exhaust ports have been re-designed, as well as the whole intake and exhaust system. Instead of the two turbochargers, one for each bank of cylinders, a triple-turbocharger layout has been considered.The development of the engine has been carried out by means of 1D engine cycle simulations, using predictive knock models, calibrated with the support of both experiments and CFD-3d simulations. A few operating conditions for the final configuration have been also analyzed by means of a 3-d CFD tool.The paper presents the results of this activity, and describes in details the guidelines followed for the development of the engine.

Prediction of Fatigue Strength of Motorcycle Exhaust System Considering Vibrating and Thermal Stresses

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">A method applicable in the design stage to predict fatigue strength of a motorcycle exhaust system was developed. In this prediction method, a vibrating stress, thermal stresses, stresses resulting from the assembling of the exhaust system components and a deterioration of fatigue strength of materials originated from high temperature were simultaneously taken into account. For the prediction of the vibrating stress, flexible multibody dynamics was applied to get modeling accuracy for vibration characteristics of the entire motorcycle and the exciting force delivered from engine vibrations. The thermal conduction analysis and the thermal deformation analysis based on finite element method (FEM) were applied for the prediction of thermal stresses in the exhaust system components. The temperature distribution on the surfaces of the exhaust system components is required for calculations of the thermal stresses. The heat transfer analysis, which was composed by combing a one-dimensional (1D) engine cycle simulation and an air flow simulation around the vehicle by 3D-CFD, was used for the estimation of temperature distributions. To validate the developed method, the correlations between the simulations and the actual measurements were analyzed for the vibrating stress, the temperature distribution, the thermal stresses and the fatigue safety factor. High correlations were yielded between them proving the validity of the new method.</div></div>

Development and validation of a new turbocharger simulation methodology for marine two stroke diesel engine modelling and diagnostic applications

Engine cycle simulation models are increasingly used in diesel engine simulation and diagnostic applications, reducing experimental effort. Turbocharger simulation plays an important role in model's ability to accurately predict engine performance and emissions.The present work describes the development of a complete engine simulation model for marine Diesel engines based on a new methodology for turbocharger modelling utilizing physically based meanline models for compressor and turbine. Simulation accuracy is evaluated against engine bench measurements. The methodology was developed to overcome the problem of limited experimental maps availability for compressor and turbine, often encountered in large marine diesel engine simulation and diagnostic studies. Data from the engine bench are used to calibrate the models, as well as to estimate turbocharger shaft mechanical efficiency. Closed cycle and gas exchange are modelled using an existing multizone thermodynamic model.The proposed methodology is applied on a 2-stroke marine diesel engine and its evaluation is based on the comparison of predictions against measured engine data. It is demonstrated model's ability to predict engine response with load variation regarding both turbocharger performance and closed cycle parameters, as well as NOx emission trends, making it an effective tool for both engine diagnostic and optimization studies.

An engine cycle analysis of diesel-ignited ethanol low-temperature combustion

Modification of the fuel–air charge properties has the potential to improve the load range of low-temperature combustion with ultra-low nitrogen oxide emissions (less than 0.2 g/kW h) and ultra-low smoke emissions (less than 0.01 g/kW h). The ignition characteristics of the cylinder charge are altered by injecting the highly reactive diesel fuel into a homogeneous lean air–fuel mixture of low-reactivity fuel. The ethanol–diesel combination has been of particular recent interest since ethanol is a renewable biofuel. The additional advantages of ethanol include excellent anti-knock properties, high volatility and reduction in the compression work through charge cooling. In this work, a detailed investigation using diesel-ignited ethanol experiments was conducted on a high-compression-ratio (18.2:1) diesel engine. The emissions, the combustion performance and the thermal efficiency characteristics are analysed at different values of the exhaust gas recirculation, the intake boost pressure, the ethanol fraction and the diesel injection timing. The empirical investigations supported by detailed zero-dimensional engine cycle simulations indicate that a diesel injection timing close to top dead centre provides direct control over the ignition timing across the engine load range. The nitrogen oxide–soot trade-off of conventional diesel combustion, which is affected by exhaust gas recirculation, is minimized to achieve clean combustion over a wide load range (indicated mean effective pressure, 4–17 bar) with increased ethanol fraction and moderate intake dilution through a combination of modulation of the exhaust gas recirculation level and an increase in the intake boost pressure. The operation at low loads is constrained by the minimum diesel amount necessary for stable and efficient combustion while progressively retarded combustion phasing is necessary at higher loads to satisfy the physical engine constraints (peak cylinder pressure, less than 170 bar; peak pressure rise rate, less than 15 bar/deg crank angle). The improved understanding of this combustion strategy through experimental and theoretical research provides the necessary guidance for obtaining clean efficient full-load operation (demonstrated at an indicated mean effective pressure of 19.2 bar).