Geometric Compression Ratio Research Articles

Thermodynamic cycle performance modeling and numerical simulation of higher Mach scramjet with inlet pre-injection

This paper focuses on the thermodynamic cycle performance modeling and numerical investigation of a high Mach number scramjet with inlet pre-injection of hydrogen. The scramjet model used in this study was the Hyshot-Ⅱ engine model. Flight experiments using this model at high Mach number have been conducted previously, which provides a unique testbed for validating the computational prediction of supersonic combustion. A thermodynamic cycle performance model with inlet pre-injection was developed for operating characteristics studies of the scramjet engine. A set of three-dimensional Reynolds average Navier-Stockes (RANS) simulations of the reactive flow was performed with a 9-specie and 19-step kinetic mechanism for hydrogen combustion. The turbulence is modeled by k-ω shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model. The thermodynamic cycle performance analysis results indicate that inlet pre-injection can enhance the hydrogen mixing efficiency, and a small amount of advanced heat release can improve the overall thermal cycle efficiency. Detailed flow analysis from the three-dimensional simulation results indicates flow can be ignited in the first shock wave induced boundary layer separation (SIBLS) region. Inlet pre-injection enables the propagation of the flame toward the core flow compared to the throat injection. The inlet fuel pre-injection proved to be a promising injection method due to the higher combustion efficiency, elevated from 0.75 to 0.85, and higher specific impulse potential, increased from 1570 s to 1810 s. As the ER of inlet pre-injection increases within the examined range, the performance curve exhibits an optimal point. As the geometric compression ratio increases, the entire combustion process advances, leading to a significant increase in the performance potential of the engine. The comparative analysis of the thermodynamic cycle performance modeling and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling indicates the model shows a good prediction on the performance of the scramjet engine with the inlet pre-injection, with the same trend of performance curves and an error of less than 10 % compared to the numerical simulation.

Evaluation of Ammonia Co-fuelling in Modern Four Stroke Engines

Ammonia is emerging as a promising alternative fuel for longer range decarbonised heavy transport, particularly in the marine sector due to highly favourable characteristics as an effective hydrogen carrier. This is despite generally unfavourable combustion and toxicity attributes, restricting end use to applications where robust health and safety protocols can be upheld. In the currently reported work, a spark ignited thermodynamic single cylinder research engine equipped with gasoline direct injection was upgraded to include gaseous ammonia port injection fuelling, with the aim of understanding maximum viable ammonia substitution ratios across the speed load operating map. The work was conducted under overall stoichiometric conditions with the spark timing re-optimised for maximum brake torque at all stable logged sites. The experiments included industry standard measurements of combustion, performance and engine-out emissions (including ammonia ‘slip’). With a geometric compression ratio of 12.4:1, it was possible to run the engine on pure ammonia at low engine speeds (1000–1800 rpm) at low to moderate engine loads in a fully warmed up state. When progressively dropping down below a threshold load limit, an increasing amount of gasoline co-firing was required to avoid engine misfire. Due to the favourable antiknock characteristics, pure ammonia operation was up to 5% more efficient than pure gasoline operation under stable operating regions. A maximum net indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) of 40% was achieved, with efficiency tending to increase with speed and load. For the co-fuelling of gasoline and ammonia in a pure ammonia attainable operating region, it was found that addition of gasoline improved the combustion, but these improvements were not sufficient to translate into improved thermal efficiency. Emissions of ammonia slip reduced with increased gasoline co-fuelling, albeit with increased NOx. However, the reduction in ammonia slip was nearly ten times the increase in NOx emissions. Comparing pure ammonia and pure gasoline operation, NOx reduced by ~60% when switching from pure gasoline to pure ammonia (as the latter is associated with longer and cooler combustion). Results were finally compared to those obtained a modern multicylinder Volvo ‘D8’ turbo-diesel engine modified for dual-fuel operation with ammonia port fuel injection (PFI), with the focus of the comparison being ammonia slip and NOx emissions.

Performance analysis of methanol fuelled SI engine with boosted intake pressure and LIVC: A thermodynamic simulation and optimization approach

Methanol (CH3OH) is a low-carbon alternative fuel that can be derived through renewable power-to-fuel conversion, offering lower emissions and a higher resistance to knock in SI engines. However, the sole methanol-powered SI engine delivers less brake power. Fuels with a higher calorific value have been blended to solve this problem. However, this may cause overburden with storage, handling, and correct blending (like when methane and hydrogen are blended). To resolve this, this research suggested a novel approach for increasing the power and efficiency of a SI engine using the LIVC (late inlet valve closing) miller cycle and boosted intake pressure under 14 geometrical compression ratio (GCR) with the addition of the start of spark timing (SOI) and equivalency ratio (λ) effects. A quasi-dimensional thermodynamic model (QTDM) was applied to simulate the engine performance with respect to operating variables of 0.6–1.0 λ, 35.50 ––650 aBDC (after Bottom Dead Centre) LIVC timing, 30.00 ––150 bTDC (before Top Dead Centre) SOI Timing and 0.8–1.5 bar intake pressure. After that, design of experiments (DoE) based response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to determine optimum operating setting to maximize power and efficiency and minimize emission and fuel consumption. The results from the RSM illustrate the optimum input parameters to be 0.793 equivalence ratio, 46.900 aBDC-LIVC, 20.750 bTDC-SOI timing, and 1.5 bar intake pressure. Correspondingly, response output performances were found to be 12.36 kW-indicated power (IP), 11.20 kW- brake power (BP), 43.32 % indicated thermal efficiency (ITE), 39.32 % brake thermal efficiency (BTE), 9150.6 kJ/kWh brake specific energy consumption (BSEC), and 0.3 V%- carbon mono oxide (CO), 1247.8 ppm-nitric oxide (NO) emission at exhaust valve opening (EVO). The ANOVA regression models resulted in 95 % accuracy in forecasting output response and composite desirability of optimization of 0.83. Overall, it was found that miller-based LIVC and boosted intake pressure considerably improve the performance of SI engines, and the results projected would be helpful for further study and industry application.

Effects of asynchronous late intake valve closing combined with high geometric compression ratio and exhaust gas recirculation on combustion and fuel consumption in a turbocharged SI engine:An experimental study

To achieve low-carbon transportation, a novel Miller cycle was implemented by using asynchronous late intake valve closing (ALIVC) in the high compression ratio turbocharged SI engine. The effects of the Miller cycle on combustion and performance were investigated and compared with the original Otto cycle. Based on this, EGR was introduced and its effects on Miller cycle engine performance and energy balance were investigated. The results show that the Miller-CR12.5 can reduce pumping loss and suppress knock without sacrificing power output. Compared to the Otto-CR10.5, the Miller-CR12.5 achieves a 6.7 % reduction in BSFC at the lowest fuel consumption point and a 10–11.4 % reduction at high loads. The lower peak combustion temperature allows the Miller-CR12.5 to eliminate fuel-enriched injection at high loads, reducing the heat transfer and combustion loss. The introduction of EGR in the ALIVC Miller cycle engine decreases the peak HRR and extends the combustion duration. However, the advanced 50 % combustion position and increased effective expansion ratio can improve engine performance. At 10 % EGR rate, the BSFC obtains a 2.1 % reduction and NOx emissions are reduced by 62 %. As the EGR rate increases, the heat transfer and exhaust loss decrease, but there is a slight increase in combustion loss.

Evaluation of ammonia-gasoline co-combustion in a modern spark ignition research engine

Ammonia (NH3) is emerging as a potential favoured fuel for longer range decarbonised heavy transport, particularly in the marine sector, predominantly due to highly favourable characteristics as an effective hydrogen carrier. This is despite generally unfavourable combustion and toxicity attributes, restricting end use to applications where robust health and safety protocols can always be upheld. In the currently reported work, a spark ignited thermodynamic single cylinder research engine equipped with gasoline direct injection was upgraded to include gaseous ammonia port injection fuelling, with the aim of understanding maximum viable ammonia substitution ratios across the speed-load operating map. The work was conducted at varied effective compression ratios under overall stoichiometric conditions, with the spark timing re-optimised for maximum brake torque at all stable logged sites. The experiments included industry standard measurements of combustion, performance, and engine-out emissions (including NH3 “slip”). With a geometric compression ratio of 11.2:1, it was found possible to run the engine on pure ammonia at low engine speeds (1000-1800 rpm) and loads of 12 bar net IMEP. When progressively dropping down below this load limit an increasing amount of gasoline co-firing was required to avoid engine misfire. When operating at 1800 rpm and 12 bar net IMEP, all emissions of carbon (CO2, CO, unburned hydrocarbons) and NOx decreased considerably when switching to higher NH3 substitution ratios, with NOx reduced by ~ 45% at 1800 rpm/12 bar when switching from pure gasoline to pure NH3 (associated with longer and cooler combustion). By further increasing the geometric compression ratio to 12.4 and reducing the intake camshaft duration for maximum effective compression ratio, it was possible to operate the engine on pure ammonia at much lower loads in a fully warmed up state (e.g., linear low load limit line from 1000 rpm/6 bar net IMEP to 1800 rpm/9 bar net IMEP). Under all conditions, the indicated thermal efficiency of the engine was either equivalent to or slightly higher than that obtained using gasoline-only due to the favourable anti-knock rating of NH3. Ongoing work is concerned with detailed breakdown of individual NOx species together with measuring the impact of hydrogen enrichment across the operating map.

Efficiency improvement investigation through Miller cycle strategy for SI engine operating on stoichiometric producer gas and methane blends

Decentralized power generation through gasifier-engine system is an attractive alternative for reducing environmental impact and power grid dependency. For effective sewage sludge-waste to end-use electricity generation by engine integration, this work aims to simulate and investigate thermal efficiency enhancement in SI engine by employing late inlet valve close (LIVC) strategy with 12.0:1 geometrical compression ratio miller cycle and operating engine with sewage sludge-based producer gas (SSPG) by blending methane in various proportions. A quasi-dimensional thermodynamic model is simulated to explore SI engine performance, after validation from an experimental reference. Effects of blending SSPG to methane, varying LIVC and spark timing were analyzed respective to indicated thermal efficiency (ITE), indicated power (IP), brake thermal efficiency (BTE), brake power (BP), brake-specific energy consumption (BSEC) and emissions (CO and NO). Parametric results were found in trade-off nature of performance corresponding to engine efficiency and power. Thus, response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to find the best operating conditions for enhancing performance and diminishing emissions of the blended fuel SI engine. 64.7 % SSPG Blend, 70.33⁰ (ABDC) LIVC, and 34.03⁰ (BTDC) SOI were found as optimum operating parameters corresponding to the generated optimal responses of 35.47 % ITE, 5.18 kW IP, 27.95 % BTE, 4.08 kW BP, 12.671 MJ/kWh BSEC, and 0.688 V% CO, 1456.93 ppm NO emissions. The ANOVA-based regression model shows composite desirability of 0.8 with 95 % confidence level. In summary, the optimization method and optimal operation parameters offer significant reference for improving engine performance for high CR miller cycle-based LIVC approach.

Divided Exhaust Period Assessment for Fuel-Enrichment Reduction in Turbocharged Spark-Ignition Engines

<div>Turbocharged spark-ignition (SI) engines, owing to frequent engine knocking events, utilize retarded spark timing that causes combustion inefficiency, and high turbine inlet temperature (Trb-In T) levels. Fuel enrichment is implemented at high power levels to prevent excessive Trb-In T levels, resulting in an additional fueling penalty and higher CO emissions. In current times, fuel-enrichment reductions are of high strategic importance for engine manufacturers to meet the imminent emissions regulations. To that end, the authors investigated the divided exhaust period (DEP) concept in a 2.2 L turbocharged SI engine with a geometric compression ratio of 14 by decoupling blowdown (BD) and scavenge (SC) events during the exhaust process. Using a validated 1D engine model, the authors first analyzed the DEP concept in terms of pumping mean effective pressure (PMEP) and engine knocking (KI) reduction. Subsequently, the authors examined the effectiveness of the DEP concept using a “low-restriction exhaust flowpath” and varying late intake valve closing (LIVC) duration.</div> <div>First, using DEP, significant PMEP and KI reductions benefits were observed at high power engine conditions along with a large increase in Trb-In T from the early blowdown event. Subsequently, use of a low restriction exhaust flowpath and a shortened LIVC duration further elevated the DEP benefits, including Trb-In T reduction that facilitated enrichment reduction. At 4,000 RPM/20 bar BMEP, ~70% lower PMEP and a 2.2 point increase in ITEg were noted relative to the base engine. However, the 2,000 RPM peak torque engine condition was compromised using DEP, due to knock limitation and deteriorated stock turbocharger performance. Finally, DEP design integrated with an off-the-shelf (new) turbocharger system remedied the low-end torque challenges and demonstrated a notable enrichment reduction and thermal efficiency benefits at the full load engine curve including the 200 kW rated condition.</div>

Co-optimization of miller degree and geometric compression ratio of a large-bore natural gas generator engine with novel Knock models and machine learning

Large-bore natural gas reciprocating generator engines will play crucial roles in future low-carbon energy systems. Knock, as an abnormal combustion phenomenon, is a bottleneck for long time to restrict the engine performance improvement. Development and application of the reliable knock model can contribute the predictive engine control and optimization to further improve the engine efficiency and performance. The biggest challenge of developing the predictive knock model is the stochastic nature of the knock phenomenon. To bridge the technological gap, this study aims to develop a novel predictive knock model for a large-bore natural gas engine and showcase its application for co-optimization of the engine design and control parameters, together with the machine learning. The knock model, taking the effects of hot spots heat release rate and energy density into account, is calibrated by the statistical phenomenological knock factor. The 1-D engine simulation model embedded with the knock model is built and calibrated. The data-driven model based on machine learning is developed and used to predict the relation between the key parameters and the engine performance. The genetic algorithms are employed to achieve the multi-objectives global optimization of geometric compression ratio, Miller degree and other control parameters of the engine to reduce the exhaust gas temperature and improve the engine performance. The co-optimized results show that the engine exhaust gas temperature can be remarkably lowered and the indicated thermal efficiency is increased by 1–3% depending on the operational conditions, without degrading the engine power output and increasing the exhaust NOx emissions.

Numerical investigation on selecting appropriate piston bowl geometry and compression ratio for gasoline-fuelled homogeneous charge compression ignited light-duty diesel engine

The gasoline-fuelled homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion is a promising approach to mitigate the significant limitations of the traditional compression-ignition combustion for light-duty engine applications. In the present work, the required autoignition quality of gasoline was achieved by blending 2-ethylhexyl nitrate (EHN) with gasoline to ensure combustion stability at the achieved engine loads. A reduced chemical reaction mechanism consisting of 185 species and 219 reactions was developed in the present study for EHN-gasoline-fuelled-HCCI combustion. The mechanism was validated by conducting multi-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of HCCI combustion in a modified light-duty diesel engine. A detailed numerical study was done using the validated CFD model to select the suitable piston bowl geometry and geometric compression ratio for better engine performance and lower regulated emissions. Eleven different piston bowl geometries were explored, which also included piston bowl designs popular in traditional compression-ignition (toroid) and spark-ignition (flat) engines. The results indicated that the flat-shaped piston bowl exhibited a 17% improvement in the gross indicated thermal efficiency and a 16% and 40% reduction in UHC and CO emissions while maintaining very low NOx and smoke levels compared to the baseline hemisphere-shaped piston bowl. The engine performance remained the same for the flat-shaped piston bowl geometry even for a 17% increased compression ratio with the added benefit that the reduced EHN concentration (by 48 vol.%) was needed to achieve the same combustion phasing. Thus, the present numerical work proposes a promising approach to improve the overall performance of gasoline-fuelled HCCI combustion by piston bowl design and compression ratio optimization.

Quasi-Realistic Performance Analysis of Modern Atkinson Cycle

In this study, a quasi-realistic thermodynamic analysis was performed to investigate the effects of design and operating parameters on the performance of a single-cylinder modern Atkinson cycle engine. Fortran was used for all calculations. It was assumed that the fuel-air mixture was used as the working fluid, and iso-octane was used as the fuel. The Wiebe function was used for the combustion process and it was assumed that the specific heat of the working fluid varies with temperature. In the calculations, heat transfer loss, combustion efficiency, mechanical friction, and pumping losses were taken into account. In the analysis, the closing of the intake valve, equivalence ratio, geometric compression ratio, and the initial conditions of the intake proses were used as independent variables. The effects of these variables on brake mean effective pressure, effective power, specific fuel consumption, and thermal efficiency were investigated. Increasing the inlet pressure, increasing the geometric compression ratio, and delaying the closing of the intake valve increased the mean effective pressure, thermal efficiency, engine output power, and torque. The increase in the inlet temperature adversely affected the engine performance and the specific fuel consumption increased. Engine performance parameters worsened when the equivalence ratio fell below 0.8 and rose above 0.9.

SPECIFIC NET WORK AND MEAN EFFECTIVE PRESSURE BASED THERMODYNAMIC ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF IDEAL ATKINSON CYCLE

In this study, the criteria for maximum values of specific net work and mean effective pressure in the air standard Atkinson cycle, which is the ideal thermodynamic cycle of internal combustion engines used in hybrid electric vehicles, were examined. For this, it was assumed that the cycle operates in a certain temperature range. Thus, while the maximum temperature of the cycle is constant, the compression ratio was optimized for maximum specific net work and maximum mean effective pressure. A case study was conducted for this study. For the case study, assuming the geometric expansion ratio of 12, the maximum temperature value of the cycle was determined as 1961.923 K. Based on this maximum temperature value, the maximum values of the specific net work and the ambient effective pressure were determined as 580.139 kJ/kg and 373.857 kPa, respectively. In addition, the geometric compression ratios for the maximum values of the specific net work and the ambient effective pressure were determined as 15.462 and 31.063, respectively. Looking at the geometric compression ratio values of today's engines, it was seen that these values were closer to the compression ratio at which the maximum specific net work was achieved. It was observed that the thermal efficiency increased when the compression ratio was optimized for the conditions where the maximum average effective pressure was achieved. The results obtained from this study are particularly attractive to engine designers.

Assessment of the Operation of an SI Engine Fueled with Ammonia

Recently, the research interest regarding ammonia applications in energy systems has been increasing. Ammonia is an important hydrogen carrier that can also be obtained starting from renewable energy sources. Furthermore, ammonia can be used as a carbon-free fuel in combustion systems. In particular, the behavior of internal combustion engines (ICEs), fueled by ammonia, needs to be further investigated. The main disadvantage of this kind of fuel is its low laminar flame speed when it is oxidized with air. On the other hand, considering a spark-ignition (SI) engine, the absence of knock phenomena could allow a performance improvement. In this work, a 1D numerical approach was used in order to assess the performance and the operating limits of a downsized PFI SI engine fueled with pure ammonia. Furthermore, the reliability of the 1D model was verified by means of a 3D approach. Both throttled and unthrottled engine operation was investigated. In particular, different boost levels were analyzed under WOT (wide-open throttle) conditions. The potential of the 1D approach was also exploited to evaluate the effect of different geometrical compression ratio on the ammonia engine behavior. The results show that the low laminar flame speed of ammonia–air mixtures leads to increased combustion durations and optimal spark timings more advanced than the typical ones of SI engines. On the other hand, knock phenomena are always avoided. Due to the engine operating limits, the maximum rotational speed guaranteeing proper engine operation is 3000 rpm, except for at the highest boost level. At this regime, the load regulation can be critical in terms of unburned fuel emissions. Considering increased compression ratios and no boost conditions, even the 4000 rpm operating point guarantees proper engine operation.

Experimental investigation on the effects of Miller cycle coupled with asynchronous intake valves on the performance of a high compression ratio GDI engine

In this study, a series of comparative experiments were conducted on a gasoline direct ignition (GDI) turbocharged engine to investigate the effects of asynchronous intake valve Miller cycle (AIVMC) on the performance, combustion and emissions characteristics. The results show that using the asynchronous valve closing in the test engine can not only realize the Miller cycle, but also flexibly control the load, effectively reduce pump loss and improve fuel economy compared to the late intake valve closing. The minimum brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of the test engine equipped with and without the AIVMC are 235.59 g/kwh and 255.2 g/kwh at the condition of 2600 rpm and brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) 8 bar, which obtains a reduction of 7.7% compared to the baseline engine. In addition, the corresponding brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of test engine used the AIVMC is 35.6%, which is improved 8.2%. Besides, under the same geometric compression ratio, using the AIVMC in the test engine effectively improves the antiknock performance, keeps the 50% combustion location (CA50) closer to top dead center, shortens combustion duration, and expands the load range of low fuel consumption. As for emission performance, compared with baseline engine, though the application of AIVMC has lower mean in-cylinder temperature, the NOx emissions increases at low and medium loads but decreases at high load while HC emissions increases.

Evaluating the stretching/compression effect of Richtmyer–Meshkov instability in convergent geometries

Richtmyer–Meshkov (RM) instability in convergent geometries (such as cylinders and spheres) plays a fundamental role in natural phenomena and engineering applications, e.g. supernova explosion and inertial confinement fusion. Convergent geometry refers to a system in which the interface converges and the fluids are compressed correspondingly. By applying a decomposition formula, the stretching or compression (S(C)) effect is separated from the perturbation growth as one of the main contributions, which is defined as the averaged velocity difference between two ends of the mixing zone. Starting from linear theories, the S(C) effect in planar, cylindrical and spherical geometries is derived as a function of geometrical convergence ratio, compression ratio and mixing width. Specifically, geometrical convergence stretches the mixing zone, while fluid compression compresses the mixing zone. Moreover, the contribution of geometrical convergence in the spherical geometry is more important than that in the cylindrical geometry. A series of cylindrical cases with high convergence ratio is simulated, and the growth of perturbations is compared with that of the corresponding planar cases. As a result, the theoretical results of the S(C) effect agree well with the numerical results. Furthermore, results show that the S(C) effect is a significant feature in convergent geometries. Therefore, the S(C) effect is an important part of the Bell–Plesset effect. The present work on the S(C) effect is important for further modelling of the mixing width of convergent RM instabilities.

Experimental study on combustion and emission characteristics of LIVC Miller cycle with asynchronous intake valves

An experiment was conducted to explore the performance, combustion, and emission characteristics of the Miller cycle by asynchronous late intake valve closing (LIVC) on a direct-injection turbocharged gasoline engine. Asynchronous LIVC Miller cycle uses geometric compression ratio (GCR) of 12.5:1 (Miller-CR12.5), compared with Otto cycle original engine with GCR of 12.5:1 (Otto-CR12.5) and 10:1 (Otto-CR10). The study indicates that one late intake valve closing can not only realize the Miller cycle but also control the load to effectively reduce the pumping loss. When the brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) is below 4 bar, Miller-CR12.5 shows a very short combustion duration and lower combustion cycle variation compared with the Otto cycle, which solves the problem of low combustion efficiency due to the low actual compression ratio of the Miller cycle. In addition, the Miller cycle of asynchronous LIVC is similar to that of synchronous LIVC, which all can improve knock resistance at medium and high loads. Based on the above factors, Miller-CR12.5 reduces fuel consumption, especially at low and heavy loads. Besides, Miller-CR12.5 shows great fuel-saving potential at high speeds. In terms of emissions, Miller-CR12.5 significantly increases CO and THC emissions within the range of tested loads, but the NOx emissions are reduced under low and high loads.

Modeling and Optimization of the Flue Gas Heat Recovery of a Marine Dual-Fuel Engine Based on RSM and GA

Implementation of flue gas waste heat recovery is an effective way to improve the energy utilization of marine engines. This paper aims to model and optimize a marine four-stroke dual-fuel (DF) engine coupled with a flue gas waste heat recovery system. Firstly, the DF engine and waste heat recovery system were respectively modeled in GT-Power and Simulink environments and verified with experimental data. Then, a regression model was built using the response surface method, with the intake temperature, compression ratio, and pilot fuel injection timing as input parameters and parametric analysis was performed. Finally, multi-objective optimization of the waste heat recovery system was performed using a genetic algorithm. The result showed that the optimal solution is obtained when the intake temperature is 306.18 K, the geometric compression ratio is 14.4, and the pilot fuel injection timing is −16.68 °CA after the top dead center. The corresponding brake-specific fuel consumption was 155.18 g/kWh, reduced by 3.24%, and the power was 8025.62 kW, increased by 0.32%. At the same time, 280.98 kW of flue gas waste heat generation was obtained.

Thermodynamic analysis of improving fuel consumption of natural gas engine by combining Miller cycle with high geometric compression ratio

The goal of this work is to solve the problem of low thermal efficiency of stoichiometric natural gas engines by combining the Miller cycle with a high geometric compression ratio (GCR). A one-dimensional thermodynamic model of a stoichiometric natural gas engine with turbocharger is established, and its effectiveness is verified by experimental data. On this basis, the influence of the high GCR combined with the Miller cycle achieved by early intake valve closing (EIVC) or late intake valve closing (LIVC) on the fuel consumption is studied in detail. The results show that the reasonable matching of the GCR and intake valve lift profile is beneficial to improve fuel consumption. The upper limit of fuel consumption improvement is determined by the performance of the turbocharger. The EIVC50 + GCR14 and LIVC75 + GCR13.5 solutions can not only ensure that the load and knock level are consistent with the baseline engine (IVC558 + GCR11.5), but also obtain the optimal fuel economy. Thermodynamic analysis further reveals the fuel-saving mechanism. The fuel consumption can be improved by 4.1%, mainly thanks to a good balance between theoretical efficiency and combustion loss. In addition, the reduction in gas exchange loss further improves fuel consumption. Unfortunately, the increase in heat transfer loss and friction loss limits the further improvement in fuel consumption.

Assessment of the Miller cycle operation in a spark ignition engine via 1D numerical simulation

The article presents the results of a 1D numerical simulation of a spark ignition engine developed to operate in Miller cycle. Miller cycle offers better thermal efficiency compared to Otto cycle due to higher volumetric expansion than compression, which in the current context is of paramount importance. In an engine with fixed geometric compression ratio, Miller cycle operation could be realized by means of either early intake valve closing (EIVC) or late intake valve closing (LIVC). Both cases lead however to a lower volumetric efficiency, thus reducing the indicating mean effective pressure, which in its turn results to a lower power output. The simulation’s aim is not only to assess the impact of implementing the Miller cycle but also to obtain the necessary results for imposing the boundary conditions in a 3D CFD simulation whose purpose is to analyse the influence of the Miller cycle on the internal aerodynamics of the engine.

A new comparative study on performance of engine cycles under maximum thermal efficiency condition

As the parameters involved in the brake thermal efficiency of the engine cycles affect each other, the simultaneous investigation of the critical parameters, non-critical parameters, and the maximum temperature of the working fluid involved to optimize the brake thermal efficiency of the engine cycles is vital to implement the theoretical proposition into practical design perspectives. For this reason, a new method to compare the thermal efficiency of the engine cycles has been carried out with the simultaneous application of the optimal cycle design parameters (the geometric-compression ratio, expansion–compression​ ratio, and pressure ratio), the operating parameters (the heat-transfer loss, heat-release during combustion, friction loss, temperature-dependent specific heat ratio of the working fluid, and initial temperature of the working fluid), and the maximum temperature of the working fluid. The numerical examples show that the largest brake thermal efficiency is for the Dual-Miller cycle (46.32%) as compared to that for the classical-Otto (42.41%), classical-Diesel, classical-dual (40.22%), Otto-Miller (45.32%), Diesel-Miller (40.27%), Otto-Atkinson (42.31%), Diesel-Atkinson (32.19%), and dual-Atkinson (42.34%) cycles. When the heat-release during combustion and temperature-dependent specific heat ratio of the working fluid increased, the brake thermal efficiency of the Dual-Miller cycle rises and then begins to abate. As the heat-transfer coefficient, friction coefficient and initial temperature of the working fluid increased by about 20%, the brake thermal efficiency of the Dual-Miller cycle decreases by about 1.3%, 1.1%, and 3%, respectively. The numerical examples also show that the brake thermal efficiency of the Dual-Miller cycle first increases with increasing the maximum temperature of the working fluid, reaches its maximum value (43.01%) and then remains constant with further increases in the maximum temperature of the working fluid.

Fuel economy improvement of a turbocharged gasoline SI engine through combining cooled EGR and high compression ratio

HEV (hybrid electric vehicles, HEV) is considered to be one of the most important automotive technical roadmaps. Fuel efficiency level of the engine used in HEV has significant impact on vehicle fuel consumption. This paper studies the performance and fuel economy potential of applying high GCR (geometrical compression ratio, GCR) and cooled EGR in turbocharged gasoline SI engines dedicated to the use in HEVs. A 1-D simulation model for a turbocharged EGR engine has been established based on a baseline 1.5T engine. Then the effects of cooled EGR and higher GCRs on engine combustion and performance have been studied and optimized. As increasing GCR from 9.7:1 to higher values that are 12.5:1 and 14:1, the full load torque decreases obviously with the maximal relative decrease of 7.6% and 21.9% respectively mainly because EGR is used to suppress the knock reducing the volumetric efficiency. The fuel economy in the most speed and load range is greatly improved mainly because of higher constant volume degree, combustion efficiency and less heat transfer and exhaust losses. In HEVs, engines mainly work in the efficient operating range, the torque reduction can be compensated by drive motor, and an appropriately high GCR is advantageous.