High Temperature Heat Release Research Articles

Effect of Ethanol and Iso-Octane Blends on Isolated Low-Temperature Heat Release in a Spark Ignition Engine

<div>Low-temperature heat release (LTHR) is of interest for its potential to help control autoignition in advanced compression ignition (ACI) engines and mitigate knock in spark ignition (SI) engines. Previous studies have identified and investigated LTHR in both ACI and SI engines before the main high-temperature heat release (HTHR) event and, more recently, LTHR in isolation has been demonstrated in SI engines by appropriately curating the in-cylinder thermal state during compression and disabling the spark discharge. Ethanol is an increasingly common component of market fuel blends, owing to its renewable sources. In this work, the effect of adding ethanol to iso-octane (2,2,4-trimethylpentane) blends on their LTHR behavior is demonstrated. Tests were run on a motored single-cylinder engine elevated inlet air temperatures and pressures were adjusted to realize LTHR from blends of iso-octane and ethanol without entering the HTHR regime. The blends were tested with inlet temperatures of 40°C–140°C at equivalence ratios of 0.5, 0.67, and 1.0 with boosted (1.5 barA) conditions. The measured LTHR decreased with increasing ethanol content for all conditions tested; iso-octane–ethanol blends with above 20% ethanol content (by volume) showed minimal LTHR under engine conditions. These net effects resulted from the combination of thermal effects (charge cooling) and chemical effects (reactivity changes at low temperatures). The effect of temperature, pressure, fuel composition, and equivalence ratio on ignition delay times calculated from chemical kinetic modeling are presented alongside pressure–temperature trajectories of the in-cylinder gases to explain the trends. The underlying cause of the trends is explained by using a sensitivity analysis to determine the contribution of each reaction within the chemical kinetic mechanism to first-stage ignition, revealing the effect of introducing ethanol on the OH radical pool and resulting LTHR intensity.</div>

Exergy destruction behavior of chemical reactions during the auto-ignition of methane doped with hydrogen

Chemical reaction is the major source of combustion irreversibility in premixed conditions, and revealing the details of exergy destruction can provide a more essential perspective on exploring high-efficiency combustion strategies. The present study focuses on the homogeneous combustion process of CH4/H2/air mixtures, aiming to reveal the exergy destruction behavior of chemical reactions from the viewpoint of different combustion stages and oxidation paths. Results indicate that exergy destruction is mainly accumulated in the ignition delay stage, and the exergy destruction caused by different elementary reactions depends on the temperature at which the reaction takes place and the resulting change of free energy. By dividing the chemical reactions into four groups, the main reaction channels that contribute to the change in exergy destruction with combustion boundaries have been identified. Global reaction flux analysis reveals the effect mechanism of different oxidation paths on exergy destruction. Furthermore, the staged combustion concept with endothermic reactions reacting firstly at lower temperatures followed by dilute combustion in the high-temperature heat release stage is discussed from the point of the exergy destruction evolution, which offers the potential to simultaneously reduce exergy destruction and suppress NOx formation.

Optical diagnostics of methanol active-thermal atmosphere combustion in compression ignition engine

Methanol has become one of the research hotspots of internal combustion engine in recent years. One method of methanol compression ignition is that create in-cylinder active-thermal atmosphere to ignite direct injection (DI) of methanol. However, the combustion essences and related mechanisms in methanol active-thermal atmosphere combustion (ATAC) have not been comprehended. In current study, the characteristics of methanol ATAC were investigated on a light-duty engine using different optical diagnostics. Polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers (PODE2) and n-heptane were chosen as port injection (PI) fuel respectively, and methanol was used as DI fuel. The experiment results indicate that methanol ATAC with PI of PODE2 is divided into two combustion processes. One process is the premixed combustion of PODE2 and the partially premixed combustion (PPC) of methanol, which appears that the premixed blue flames of PODE2 and the partially premixed yellow flames of methanol. The other is PODE2 premixed combustion and methanol diffusion combustion, which presents that the premixed blue flames of PODE2 and the yellow spray diffusion flames of methanol. Both the heat release rate and the flame structure of methanol ATAC can be adjusted by changing DI timing. The increase of PI energy proportion advances the timing of premixed blue flames of PODE2. The DI of methanol is driven by spray diffusion flames unless the methanol injection timing is earlier than high temperature heat release of PODE2. The capability of PODE2 to make methanol auto-ignited is higher than that of n-heptane. The methanol energy proportion can achieve 70% in PODE2 case, while achieve merely 30% in n-heptane case. Kinetic analysis reveals that the ignition delay times of PODE2 are lower than that of n-heptane even at lower equivalence ratio. The KL factor of methanol diffusion flame ranges from 0.02 to 0.04, which is remarkable lower than diesel spray flames. The methanol ATAC achieves higher substitution rate of methanol and the flexible combustion process can be obtained using PODE2 as PI fuel.

Optical diagnostics of misfire in partially premixed combustion under low load conditions

To clarify the misfire mechanism is important for stabilizing combustion in partially premixed combustion (PPC) under low load. Fuel-tracer planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF), formaldehyde PLIF, flame and OH* natural luminosity imaging were utilized to qualify the local equivalence ratio, low-temperature reaction and the high-temperature flame features in an optical engine. Results show that in high direct injection (DI) pressure (1000 bar), due to excessive premixing, the local equivalence ratio in the initial timing of the high temperature heat release (HTHR) is low. Although the auto-ignition flame kernels are formed in high DI pressure, they cannot stably develop, resulting in misfire during the flame development process. In late DI timing (-5 crank angle degree after top dead center, °CA ADTC), since the whole heat release process occurs in the expansion stroke, the in-cylinder temperature and pressure continue decreasing. Although the local equivalence ratio in some regions is high enough, the in-cylinder thermodynamic environment does not support the generation of more auto-ignition flame kernels, thus a small amount of auto-ignition flame kernels can only develop through flame propagation. In short, the misfire of PPC occurs in regions where the equivalence ratio is low or the in-cylinder thermodynamic environment does not further support flame development. Therefore, the trade-off relationship between equivalence ratio and temperature determines the formation of auto-ignition kernels. The local equivalence ratio and temperature distribution near the initial timing of HTHR is the key factor to ensure the subsequent stable combustion. Taking the ambient pressure of 18 bar as an example, the boundary condition where the autoignition kernels are most likely formed or the charge is most likely ignited by the nearby flame kernels is in the range of 0.53–0.62 for equivalence ratio and 740–757 K for temperature. The misfire region most likely appears when the equivalence ratio is lower than 0.49. It can be concluded that the misfire of PPC results from the synergistic effect of local equivalent ratio and temperature. The controlling parameters of injection pressure and injection timing are actually optimizing the suitable combinations of equivalence ratio and temperature to stabilize combustion.

Experimental investigation into the effects of pilot fuel and intake condition on combustion and emission characteristics of RCCI engine

Due to the excellent physicochemical properties, coal to liquid (CTL) is suitable for use as an alternative fuel in internal combustion engines. It is conducive to promoting efficient and clean utilization of coal. In this study, the experiment of using CTL and conventional diesel as pilot fuel and gasoline as the premixed fuel was carried out on a modified dual-fuel engine. The combustion boundary conditions, including gasoline ratio, intake flow rate, and intake temperature, were modulated at an engine speed of 1400 rpm and under low load. The combustion parameters and emission characteristics were fully discussed. The results show that both gasoline/CTL reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI) mode and gasoline/diesel RCCI mode contain low temperature heat release (LTHR) and high temperature heat release (HTHR) phases. Among them, the gasoline/CTL RCCI mode has a higher proportion of LTHR, and the low-temperature combustion occurs later than gasoline/diesel. Besides, the ignition delay (ID) of gasoline/CTL RCCI mode is generally shorter, and CA50 is more forward than that of gasoline/diesel RCCI. Compared with gasoline/diesel RCCI mode, the intake air flow has a more significant effect on the indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) and particle emissions of gasoline/CTL RCCI. In particular, the problem of high accumulation mode particles brought by the CTL can be solved by appropriately increasing the intake flow rate. There is an optimal intake temperature for the ITE of gasoline/CTL RCCI mode, while the ITE of gasoline/CTL RCCI mode remains almost constant as the intake temperature increases. Compared with diesel, when using high cetane number (CN) CTL as a pilot fuel, the combustion is more stable, and the ITE of that at each operating condition is about 3% higher. Under optimum intake conditions, the gasoline/CTL RCCI mode achieves higher thermal efficiency and products lower CO, HC, and particle emissions, but NOx emissions increase slightly.

Experimental study on the effects of injection timing and n-butanol energy ratio on combustion and emissions of n-butanol/diesel DFDI engine

In this paper, a dual-fuel direct injection (DFDI) system was designed by utilizing two common-rail direct-injection systems in a modified single-cylinder engine. Diesel and n-butanol were directly injected to realize the stratifications of fuel-air mixtures and reactivity. The effects of the n-butanol energy ratio (BER) and fuel injection timing on engine combustion and emission characteristics were studied under low and medium load. The combustion phase was retarded, indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) decreased and COV of IMEP increased as increasing BER under each load. Under low load, the n-butanol injection timing was suggested near 125° CA BTDC to increase ITE, by modifying the stratification of the n-butanol at a favorable level. With an advance of diesel injection timing, the combustion phase was advanced at first and then retarded; ITE was also increased firstly and then decreased. Under medium load, the two-stage high temperature heat release event could be observed. Early n-butanol injection condition was preferred to achieve higher ITE and lower COV of IMEP. The early diesel injection operation was suggested under medium load for increased ITE, together with the decreased nitrogen oxide and soot emissions. In general, compared with pure diesel operation, stable and high-efficient combustion could be achieved in n-butanol/diesel DFDI mode, while the ITE could increase 2.8%; NOx and Soot emission decreased 82% and 79%.

Analysis of Low- and High-Temperature Heat Release in Dual-Fuel RCCI Engine and Its Relationship With Particle Emissions

Abstract This study presents the influence of low-temperature heat release (LTHR) and high-temperature heat release (HTHR) on the combustion and particle number characteristics of the RCCI engine. The study investigates the relationship between the amount of LTHR, HTHR, and particle number emission characteristics. In this study, gasoline and methanol are used as low reactivity fuel (LRF), and diesel is used as a high reactivity fuel (HRF). The LRF is injected into the intake manifold using a port-fuel injection (PFI) strategy, and HRF is directly injected into the cylinder using a direct injection strategy. A particle sizer is used to measure particle emission in size ranging from 5 to 1000 nm. First, the LTHR and HTHR are analyzed for different diesel injection timing (SOI) for RCCI operation. Later, the variation of particle emissions with LTHR and HTHR is characterized. Additionally, empirical correlations are developed to understand the relation between the LTHR and HTHR with particle emission. Two-staged auto-ignition of charge has been observed in RCCI combustion. Results depict that LTHR varies with diesel injection timing and the phasing of HTHR depends on the amount and location of LTHR. Results also showed that HTHR and LTHR significantly influence the formation of particle number concentration in RCCI combustion. The developed empirical correlation depicts a good correlation between diesel SOI and the ratio of HTHR to LTHR to estimate total particle number concentration.

Numerical investigations of low load diesel-methane dual fuel combustion at early diesel injection timings

The present work focuses on the development and validation of a CFD simulation setup of diesel-methane dual fuel combustion in a single-cylinder research engine (SCRE). The validated setup is used to provide insight about dual fuel combustion at low-load operation. The computational campaign consisted of evaluating three different diesel injection timings of 310, 320, and 330 CAD at a methane percent energy substitution (PES) of 80%, 5.1 bar gross IMEP, 500 bar diesel injection pressure, and 1.5 bar manifold air pressure where 360 CAD corresponds to firing top dead center. The computational setup ability to capture combustion, performance, and emissions trends accurately is demonstrated by good agreement with experimental data. The validated setup is further utilized to provide insights into the nature of dual fuel combustion, particularly, the effect of methane on diesel autoignition. Analysis of the computational results showed that the onset of both low-temperature heat release and high-temperature heat release of n-dodecane (the chemical surrogate used for diesel) is delayed by the presence of methane in the system. For early diesel injection in a dual-fuel engine at low-load, initial high-temperature combustion arises from the burning of n-dodecane followed by methane combustion. Most of the methane present in the piston compression ring crevices, areas near the piston top and the liner, remained unreacted after combustion is done. The effect of diesel and methane fuel amount on engine performance at low-load was also explored.

Optical diagnostics and chemical kinetic analysis on the dual-fuel combustion of methanol and high reactivity fuels

Dual-fuel combustion is an effective method to utilize methanol because of its high octane number and latent heat of evaporation. Two ways to use methanol are discussed. One is port-injected high reactivity fuel and directed-injected methanol, named as active-thermal atmosphere combustion (ATAC). The other is port-injected methanol and direct-injected high reactivity fuel, which is reactivity-controlled compression ignition (RCCI). In the current work, both methanol combustion modes were investigated in an optical engine. Several optically diagnostic methods were utilized to characterize flame features, including flame natural luminosity imaging, OH* natural luminosity imaging and two-color method by wavelength integration. Meantime, the chemical kinetics simulation was also combined to investigate the effects of active atmosphere and thermal atmosphere on methanol combustion. Results show that as for methanol ATAC, when the methanol is direct-injected during the low temperature heat release (LTHR) stage of n-heptane, it causes significant effects on the combustion phasing of the following high temperature heat release (HTHR). When the methanol is direct-injected during the HTHR stage of n-heptane, the single-peak HTHR turns to the double-peak HTHR. Besides, the yellow diffusion flame of methanol can also be observed. Affected by the in-cylinder vortex, the area and intensity of the OH* signal in the vortex squeeze zone are greater than those in the vortex stretch zone. The flame temperature of methanol maintains in 1800–2500 K at CA50 (the crank angle of 50% mixtures is burned completely), while the maximum KL factor maintains in 0.04–0.05. The thermal atmosphere created by the n-heptane combustion has the dominant effects on shortening the ignition delay of methanol. The effects of active atmosphere are limited. As for methanol/high reactivity fuel RCCI, because of the existence of homogeneous low reactivity methanol, the misfire condition occurs when the direct injection (DI) timing is late. With the DI timing of high reactivity fuel advancing, the combustion stability improves. But the flame development progress is mainly low-speed flame propagation, which results in long combustion duration. The combustion characteristics can be further improved by utilizing higher reactivity fuel, such as n-dodecane, specifically, the combustion phasing advances and the number of auto-ignition spots increases.

Comparative investigation of ignition behavior of butanol isomers using constant volume combustion chamber under diesel-engine like conditions

Butanol is a sustainable carbon–neutral fuel that can be derived from a variety of biomass resources. It can be potentially be used as an alternative fuel to blend with diesel to decrease greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions. In this paper, three butanol isomers (n-butanol, tert-butanol, and iso-butanol) are blended with diesel in various volume ratios. The combustion characteristics of butanol isomers are experimentally determined in a constant volume vessel under engine-like conditions. The effects of blend ratio, chamber temperature, and chamber pressure on ignition delay and combustion process are investigated. It is shown that the ignition delay decreases at high temperature and at low butanol blend ratio regardless of the isomer type. The combustion characteristics of butanol/diesel blends differ from neat butanol. Both low temperature heat release (LTHR) and high temperature heat release (HTHR) are observed for the three butanol isomers/diesel blends. Under current operating conditions, the ignition delay of three butanol isomer/diesel blends is ordered according to iso-butanol > n-butanol > tert-butanol. Notwithstanding its higher octane number, tert-butanol/diesel blends show the fastest LTHR and thereafter the shortest ignition delay. This is because of the absence of H atom on the alpha carbon of tert-butanol, which contributes to consumption of OH radicals. Consequently, oxidation of diesel is less suppressed. However, the HTHR of tert-butanol/diesel blends is much slower than that of n-butanol/diesel. At 80% blend ratio, a higher chamber pressure is required to improve the reactivity and ignition. Overall, the low reactivity of butanol is beneficial to be applied in diesel engines to increase the fuel/air mixing time so as to attenuate soot emissions.

Effects of fuel trapping in piston crevice on unburned hydrocarbon emissions in early-injection compression ignition engines

Early injection strategy is employed in many advanced combustion concepts of modern compression-ignition engines to promote the fuel-air premixing, but it could result in fuel spray impingement on the cylinder wall and potential fuel trapping in the crevice regions. The impact of the fuel trapping on the formation and distribution of unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) in the advanced compression-ignition concepts is not well understood. In this study, the planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) technique was applied in a single-cylinder optical engine to visualize the fuel distribution before combustion and the formaldehyde formation during combustion. A three-dimensional computational model was established to explore the detailed mechanism of UHC formation in the piston crevice. Three cases with injection timings of 20°, 40° (SOI-40), and 100° (SOI-100) were compared. The PLIF and simulation results indicate that, under early injection conditions, the squish region and piston crevice trap a considerable amount of fuel, resulting in increased UHC emission and reduced engine work, and the main combustion zone resides in the squish region. The simulation shows that the amount of UHC formation from the trapped fuel is highly dependent on the local equivalence ratio distribution formed by different injection timings. The local equivalence ratio within the piston crevice region for the SOI-40 case exceeds 2 before combustion; the charge sequentially undergoes both low- and high-temperature heat release (LTHR and HTHR) processes and produces less UHC in the crevice region. However, the SOI-100 case produces an overall leaner mixture with a local equivalence ratio lower than 1 before combustion; the charge undergoes LTHR without noticeable HTHR and becomes UHC near the cylinder wall. The injector dribbling results in more UHC formation in the central part of the cylinder under very early injection timing, and thus an accurate injector dribbling model is required to better reproduce the UHC emissions.

Effects of intake conditions and octane sensitivity on GCI combustion at early injection timings

Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) engines favor low-octane fuels (RON = 60–80). However, low-octane fuels possessing low-temperature reactions strongly interact with in-cylinder thermodynamic conditions, which in turn significantly affect GCI combustion characteristics. In this work, using a toluene primary reference fuel (TPRF) with RON = 75, the effects of intake pressure and temperature on combustion evolutions, low-temperature heat release (LTHR), high-temperature heat release (HTHR), and indicated thermal efficiency were numerically investigated in a single-cylinder GCI engine, allowing for the role of octane sensitivity. An early injection timing was considered to obtain relatively homogeneous mixtures and large variations in intake pressure were employed to simulate low to medium loads. The results show that for a given equivalence ratio, the peak of the LTHR and HTHR and the main combustion phasing positively correlates with intake pressure. However, an opposite tendency in the peak of the HTHR is observed for a fixed amount of fuel injection. When octane sensitivity is elevated, the peak of in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate is reduced and ignition timing is retarded, especially for the HTHR. Elevating intake temperature facilitates high-temperature combustion while suppresses low-temperature reactions, which results in nonlinear variations in combustion phasing at a certain range of intake temperatures. The correlations of operating conditions and combustion evolutions are evaluated by pressure-temperature trajectory and Livengood-Wu integration, which indicates the significance of intake pressure in GCI combustion. Finally, combustion evolutions show that low-temperature reactions first take place at fuel-lean regions and hot flame pockets develop in fuel-rich regions, which suggests that low-temperature ignition is more sensitive to ambient temperatures while high-temperature ignition is more dependent on equivalence ratio.

Potential of Semi-Empirical Heat Transfer Models in Predicting the Effects of Equivalence Ratio on Low Temperature Reaction and High Temperature Reaction Heat Release of an HCCI Engine

In this paper, the influence of equivalence ratio on the low-temperature reaction heat release (LTR-HR) and high-temperature reaction heat release (HTR-HR) of homogeneous charge compression ignition engine has been experimentally and numerically examined. The numerical study was performed using zero-dimensional (0D) single-zone model by considering the chemical kinetic of fuel combustion. Annand, Woschni, Hohenberg, Chang (Assanis), and Hensel semi-empirical heat transfer models were employed in the 0D single-zone simulations. In this study, the in-cylinder pressure, rate of heat release, LTR-HR and HTR-HR were investigated. The Hensel heat transfer model was the only model that predicted the combustion in all of the operating conditions. The Hohenberg model properly recognized the effects of equivalence ratio changes on the HTR-HR.

Large-eddy simulation of tri-fuel ignition: diesel spray-assisted ignition of lean hydrogen–methane–air mixtures

We present 3D numerical results on tri-fuel (TF) combustion using large-eddy simulation and finite rate chemistry. The TF concept was recently introduced by Karimkashi et al. (Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 2020) in 0D. Here, the focus is on spray-assisted ignition of methane–hydrogen blends. The spray acts as a high-reactivity fuel (HRF) while the ambient premixed methane-hydrogen blend acts as a low-reactivity fuel (LRF) mixture. Better understanding on such a TF process could enable and motivate more extensive hydrogen usage in e.g. compression ignition marine engines where spray-assisted dual-fuel (DF) combustion is already utilised. The studied spray set-up is based on the modified ECN Spray A case, see Kahila et al. (Combustion and Flame, 2019) for DF combustion. The ambient pressure and temperature are 900 K and 60 bar. The hydrogen content of the LRF blend is varied systematically by changing the molar fraction , . The main added value of the study is that we extend the TF concept to 3D. The particular findings of the study are as follows: 1) Consistent with Karimkashi et al. 2020, hydrogen delays ignition also in 3D and the effect becomes significant for . 2) The ratio between the first- and second-stage ignition delay times and . Furthermore, the ratio between 3D and 0D ignition delay times is given as for all TF cases. 3) Finally, consistent with Karimkashi et al. 2020, also in 3D the high-temperature combustion heat release mode is shown to appear stronger in TF than the low-temperature combustion mode compared to DF methane–diesel combustion.

Experimental study of independent two-stage in-cylinder heat release using jet controlled compression ignition

To extend the load range of premixed combustion, the jet controlled compression ignition (JCCI) mode with dual-direct injectors was adopted in a high-speed light-duty diesel engine. The pre-mixture was flexibly prepared by the direct pre-injection of blended fuels, and the ignition timing could be controlled robustly by the diesel jet-injection. Engine experiments were conducted at 75% engine load with an engine speed of 3000 rpm. The results indicate that an obvious two-stage high-temperature heat release process is achieved by modulating the injection parameters of dual-direct injectors independently. The late combustion phasing resulted from the retarded diesel jet-injection effectively depress the reaction rate. When the pre-injection is delayed within the sensitivity interval, the local richer premixed charge accelerates the pre-mixture combustion stage. The indicated thermal efficiency is increased by 7.4%, and nitrogen oxide emission is reduced by 16.9% compared to the conventional diesel combustion mode. The increased pre-injection pressure can suppress the reaction rate but causes wall-wetting issues. The stratification of the equivalence ratio prepared by the double direct pre-injection strategy diminishes the maximum pressure rise rate by over 64% compared to that with single direct pre-injection. It is also revealed that the start of the second pre-injection plays a dominant role in modulating the combustion process, which illustrates the potential to extend the engine load of premixed combustion mode.

Influence of pilot-fuel mixing on the spatio-temporal progression of two-stage autoignition of diesel-sprays in low-reactivity ambient fuel-air mixture

The spatial and temporal locations of autoignition for direct-injection compression-ignition engines depend on fuel chemistry, temperature, pressure, and mixing trajectories in the fuel jets. Dual-fuel systems can provide insight into both fuel-chemistry and physical effects by varying fuel reactivities and engine operating conditions. In this context, the spatial and temporal progression of two-stage autoignition of a diesel-fuel surrogate, n-heptane, in a lean-premixed charge of synthetic natural-gas (NG) and air is imaged in an optically accessible heavy-duty diesel engine. The lean-premixed charge of NG is prepared by fumigation upstream of the engine intake manifold. Optical diagnostics include high-speed (15kfps) cool-flame chemiluminescence-imaging as an indicator of low-temperature heat-release (LTHR) and OH* chemiluminescence-imaging as an indicator high-temperature heat-release (HTHR). NG prolongs the ignition delay of the pilot fuel and increases the combustion duration. Zero-dimensional chemical-kinetics simulations provide further understanding by replicating a Lagrangian perspective for mixtures evolving along streamlines originating either at the fuel nozzle or in the ambient gas, for which the pilot-fuel concentration is either decreasing or increasing, respectively. The zero-dimensional simulations predict that LTHR initiates most likely on the air streamlines before transitioning to HTHR, either on fuel-streamlines or on air-streamlines in regions of near-constant ϕ. Due to the relatively short pilot-fuel injection-durations, the transient increase in entrainment near the end of injection (entrainment wave) is important for quickly creating auto-ignitable mixtures. To achieve desired combustion characteristics, e.g., multiple ignition-kernels and favorable combustion phasing and location (e.g., for reducing wall heat-transfer or optimizing charge stratification), adjusting injection parameters could tailor mixing trajectories to offset changes in fuel ignition chemistry.

Three-stage auto-ignition of n-heptane and methyl-cyclohexane mixtures at lean conditions in a flat piston rapid compression machine

One approach to enhancing the thermal efficiency of combustion systems is to burn fuels at ultra-lean conditions (equivalence ratio below 0.5). It has been recently reported that the auto-ignition of some hydrocarbon fuels, under specific temperature, pressure, and mixture conditions, releases heat in three distinctive stages. The three auto-ignition stages can be divided as a first low-temperature auto-ignition stage with conventional low temperature, and a high-temperature stage separated into two sub-stages. This study presents ignition delay time measurements of n-heptane and methyl-cyclohexane (MCH) mixtures in a flat piston rapid compression machine (RCM) under ultra-lean conditions. It provides experimental evidence of three-stage auto-ignition. This phenomenon of delayed high-temperature heat release is seldom reported in the literature and this is the first time to be reported for these types of fuels. The experiments cover two binary n-heptane/MCH mixtures of 15/85 and 70/30 by volume, pressures of 11 bar and 16 bar, temperature range of 700 to 900 K, and equivalence ratio of 0.4. The RCM optical access was utilized for high-speed chemiluminescence imaging. Detailed chemical kinetic simulations in a homogenous batch reactor with variable volume were conducted to further interrogate the three-stage auto-ignition phenomenon. Chemiluminescence shows that three-stage auto-ignition occurs in the adiabatically compressed end-gas, which indicates that this phenomenon is chemically-driven and is not induced by a thermal stratification in the RCM experiments. The model predicts the features of three-stage auto-ignition, which were experimentally observed at temperatures approximately below 750 K. As expected, significant discrepancies are observed in the ignition delays of experiment and simulation in the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) region. The simulation of the n-heptane/MCH 70/30 mixture shows better agreement with experiments in the Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) region compared to the 15/85 mixture.

Study on dual fuel combustion in an optical research engine by infrared diagnostics varying methane quantity and engine speed

Dual fuel combustion represents a possible solution for decreasing the emission produced by diesel engine, while maintaining the efficiency rate at comparable values. In this activity, methane and diesel are used for dual fuel combustion. Methane is injected in the intake manifold, when the intake valves are closed; meanwhile the diesel is delivered directly into the cylinder. The aim of this work is to study the effect of increasing methane concentration at two engine speeds (1500 and 2000 rpm, respectively), on the start and evolution of dual fuel combustion in a compression ignition research engine using infrared diagnostics.Infrared diagnostic has the advantage of being not intrusive, it gives a high spatial and temporal resolution of combustion phenomenon and it is able to qualitatively identify the local concentration of chemical species. Infrared camera detects the energy that the target emits as electromagnetic waves from 3 to 5.5 μm wavelength. Hence, no light sources or multiple optical accesses are needed; and commercial fuels can be used because they emit in the infrared as well.In the experiments, two filters are adopted to follow the whole combustion phenomenon from injection of diesel fuel to late combustion phase with high spatial and temporal resolution. Using the band-pass 3.3 μm, qualitative information about fuel vapour distribution and ignition location during low and high temperature heat release has been provided. Moreover, the combustion evolution is investigated by means of the band-pass filter at 4.2 μm, which is the characteristic of the asymmetric stretch of the CO2 molecule. In particular, autoignition and combustion evolution of the DF combustion are investigated increasing premixed ratio of methane. Differences with the conventional diesel combustion are highlighted. Diesel is the driven fuel that manages the autoignition and combustion of the DF mode in the investigated test cases.

Multi-stage heat release in lean combustion: Insights from coupled tangential stretching rate (TSR) and computational singular perturbation (CSP) analysis

There is a growing interest in leaner burning internal combustion engines as an enabler for higher thermodynamic efficiency. The extension of knock-limited compression ratio and the increase in specific heat ratio with lean combustion are key factors for boosting efficiency. Under lean burning conditions, there is emerging evidence that certain fuels exhibit unusual heat release characteristics. It has been reported that fuel/air mixtures undergo three-stage heat release or delayed high temperature heat release: starting with an initial low temperature heat release, similar to the one observed in two stage ignition, followed by an intermediate stage where thermal runaway is inhibited, and then advances to a relatively slow third stage of combustion. The focus of this study is to examine the conditions under which various fuels exhibit three stage ignition or delayed high temperature heat release. The auto-ignition of hydrocarbons/air mixtures is simulated in a closed adiabatic homogenous batch reactor where the charge is allowed to auto-ignite at constant volume vessel under predefined initial temperature and pressure. The simulations cover pressures of 10–60 bar, temperatures of 600 K–900 K, and fuel to air ratio from stoichiometry (equivalence ratio) of 0.3–1.0. Tangential stretching rate (TSR) and the computational singular perturbation Slow Importance Indices for temperature are used to identify important reactions contributing to the temperature growth rate at critical time instants of the auto-ignition process. Overall, three-stage ignition or delayed high temperature heat release is found to be present for most fuels under lean fuel/air mixtures, high pressures, and low temperature conditions. The radical termination reactions of H, OH, and HO2 during the high temperature heat release are leading factors for the distinct separation of heat release stages.

Investigation on the dual-fuel active-thermal atmosphere combustion strategy based on optical diagnostics and numerical simulations

The dual-fuel active-thermal atmosphere combustion strategy has the potential to make the homogeneous combustion compression ignition more controllable, achieving low fuel consumption and engine emissions. However, the detailed combustion process and chemical interaction between the high- and low- reactivity fuels have not been fully understood. This work investigated the premixed iso-octane combustion assisted by the two-stage reaction of n-heptane on an optical engine. High-speed imaging technique was applied to visualize the natural flame luminosity and a data-processing method based on Cantera was proposed to evaluate the detailed chemical kinetics process. Results indicate that the high-temperature heat release stage changes from partially premixed combustion with distinct blue flames into the mixing-controlled combustion, showing evident signs of soot radiation when the two-stage ignition transits into three-stage ignition. Heat release from the premixed n-heptane is initially dominated by reaction HCO + O2 = CO + HO2 and turns into hydrogen-oxygen reactions with increasing temperature. In the primary reacting regions for the cases with latter injection timings, reactions C3H5 + H(+M) = C3H6(+M) and C3H3 + H(+M) = C3H4(+M) play the major role, which promotes the formation of soot precursors. Formaldehyde can represent the mixture reactivity. Reaction pathway of premixed n-heptane generated reactive species that promote the consumption of iso-octane. Reactions of iso-octane also enhance the formation of reactive species that further accelerate the combustion process. Retardation of the iso-octane injection timing reduces the local mixture reactivity and weakens the chemical interaction between iso-octane and n-heptane. This lowers the heat release rate, and, objectively, results in the transition of two-stage ignition to three-stage ignition.