Light-duty Spark Ignition Research Articles

Assessment of combustion development and pollutant emissions of a spark ignition engine fueled by ammonia and ammonia-hydrogen blends

Ammonia is a promising carbon-free fuel for internal combustion engines, but its combustion properties are very poor if compared with conventional fuels. Thus, hydrogen enrichment can be the proper solution in order to overtake the issues related to neat ammonia fueling. In this paper, the authors use a 3D numerical model coupled with a chemical kinetic approach to assess the operation of a light-duty spark-ignition engine fueled by neat ammonia and ammonia-hydrogen blends (up to 15% of hydrogen by volume). The proposed model reproduces the analyzed experimental operating points with a good accuracy. As example, considering the in-cylinder pressure peak, the difference between the calculated maximum pressure and the mean measured one ranges between 1.6% and 6.8% for the examined cases. The 3D approach enables an in-depth analysis of flame development that also allows to detect the effect of hydrogen enrichment on both combustion development and emissions. Unburned ammonia trends are captured, reproducing the measured decrease of ammonia emissions for increasing hydrogen enrichment. The emissions of NOx are also well reproduced. Simulations also highlighted that dissociation of ammonia produces H2, which is detected in the combustion chamber also if neat ammonia is burned and, at least according to the chemical mechanism used, not all the produced hydrogen oxidizes. Only very small quantities of intermediates related to ammonia combustion are calculated at exhaust valve opening, decreasing for an increasing hydrogen content in the fuel mixture.

Particulates, unregulated and regulated emissions and catalytic converter efficiency evaluation of methanol (M15) fuelled BS-VI compliant light-duty spark-ignition engine

Methanol adaptation in the transport sector is being encouraged worldwide. Methanol, a high-octane fuel, is emerging as a strong fuel candidate for powering spark-ignition (SI) engines and it can be indigenously produced from low-value agricultural biomass waste and high-ash coal. This study investigated particulates and unregulated and regulated emissions from M15 (15 % v/v methanol, 82 % v/v gasoline, 3 % v/v propanol) fueled Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) 2020 compliant light-duty SI engine equipped with a multipoint port fuel injection system and compared it with baseline gasoline fueled engine. The catalytic conversion efficiency for controlling regulated and unregulated emission species are also discussed for both test fuels. The experimental results showed a reduction in carbonaceous emissions from M15 fueled engine. Hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate emissions reduced, while oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions were comparable to baseline gasoline-fueled engine. The catalytic conversion of CO emission was higher for M15 but lower for HC and NOx emissions. Various unregulated trace emission components such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, methane, ethene and propene reduced with methanol addition to gasoline. Considerable reductions in benzene and toluene trace emissions were observed for M15, but methanol and ethane trace emissions were higher. The catalytic conversion of all unregulated trace emission components was comparable for both test fuels except alcohols, where M15 exhibited increased trace emission values. The study reflected that M15 could easily replace gasoline in BS-VI-compliant light-duty SI transportation engines. However, verification of all regulatory emission compliances, diagnostics and durability compliances need be ascertained before large-scale implemetation.

Numerical Modeling and Simulation of a Spark-Ignition Engine Fueled with Ammonia-Hydrogen Blends

Carbon-free fuels, in particular ammonia and hydrogen, could play a significant role in the decarbonization of the mobility sector. In this work, the authors assessed the operation of a light-duty spark-ignition engine fueled with an ammonia–hydrogen blend (85% ammonia and 15% hydrogen by volume) using a 1D predictive model. Three-dimensional computations have been used in order to verify the reliability of the 1D model. The addition of hydrogen to the air–fuel mixture allows the operating capacity of the engine to be extended with respect to neat ammonia fueling. The engine can be properly regulated between 1500 rpm and 3000 rpm. Its operating range reduces as engine speed increases, and it cannot run at 6000 rpm. This is due to different engine operating constraints being exceeded. The maximum engine torque is about 240 Nm and is reached at 1500 rpm. The engine efficiency ranges between 42% and 19%, and the specific fuel consumption varies from about 350 g/kWh to about 750 g/kWh. The results provide both performances and operating ranges of the engine allowing us to define optimized engine maps obtained by means of a constrained optimization.

Development and Validation of a CFD Combustion Model for Natural Gas Engines Operating with Different Piston Bowls

Nowadays, an accurate and precise description of the combustion phase is essential in spark-ignition (SI) engines to drastically reduce pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase thermal efficiency. To this end, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be used to study the different phenomena involved, such as the ignition of the charge, combustion development, and pollutant formation. In this work, a validation of a CFD methodology based on the flame area model (FAM) was carried out to model the combustion process in light-duty SI engines fueled with natural gas. A simplified spherical kernel approach was used to model the ignition phase, whereas turbulent flame propagation was described through two variables. A zero-dimensional evolution of the flame kernel radius was used in combination with the Herweg and Maly formulation to take the laminar-to-turbulent flame transition into account. To estimate the chemical composition of burnt gas, two different approaches were considered—one was based on tabulated kinetics, and the other was based on chemical equilibrium. Assessment of the combustion model was first performed by using different operating points of a light-duty SI engine fueled with natural gas and by using the original piston. The results were validated by using experimental data on the in-cylinder pressure, apparent heat release rate, and pollutant emissions. Afterward, two other different piston bowl geometries were investigated to study the main differences between one solution and the others. The results showed that no important improvements in terms of combustion efficiency were obtained by using the new piston bowl shapes, which was mainly due to the very low (+4%) or null increase in turbulent kinetic energy during the compression stroke and due to the higher heat losses (+20%) associated with the increased surface area of the new piston geometries.

Model-based residual gas fraction control with spark advance optimization

Abstract Residual gas fraction and combustion phase are two important variables in spark ignition engines since affect thermal efficiency, emissions and combustion stability. In-cylinder pressure sensors are the most extended signal used as feedback for closed-loop spark advance and residual gas fraction control. However, pressure sensors are still affected by challenges such as durability and cost. This work presents a model-based residual gas fraction control with spark advance optimization. The controller is validated in a light-duty spark ignition engine, being able to control the residuals both in steady and transient conditions, showing the potential to replace in-cylinder pressure sensors.

CFD modeling of combustion of a natural gas Light-Duty Engine

A CFD methodology to model natural gas Light-Duty SI (Spark-Ignition) engines is here proposed. The ignition stage is modeled by means of a simplified Eulerian spherical kernel approach (deposition model). Then, the fully turbulent flame propagation is reproduced by the Coherent Flamelet Model (CFM), where turbulence effects are taken into account by considering the flame surface density evolution. The laminar to turbulent flame transition is managed by the CFM model and it is assumed to occur when the flame radius reaches a fraction of the integral length scale. This methodology was validated with experimental data of in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate at different loads and speeds.

Supercharging the Double-Fueled Spark Ignition Engine: Performance and Efficiency

Internal combustion engine development focuses mainly on two aspects: fuel economy improvement and pollutant emissions reduction. As a consequence, light duty spark ignition (SI) engines have become smaller, supercharged, and equipped with direct injection and advanced valve train control systems. The use of alternative fuels, such as natural gas (NG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), thanks to their lower cost and environmental impact, widely spread in the automotive market, above all in bifuel vehicles, whose spark ignited engines may run either with gasoline or with gaseous fuel. The authors in previous works experimentally tested the strong engine efficiency increment and pollutant emissions reduction attainable by the simultaneous combustion of gasoline and gaseous fuel (NG or LPG). The increased knock resistance, obtained by the addition of gaseous fuel to gasoline, allowed the engine to run with stoichiometric mixture and best spark timing even at full load. In the present work, the authors extended the research by testing the combustion of gasoline–NG mixtures, in different proportions, in supercharged conditions, with several boost pressure levels, in order to evaluate the benefits in terms of engine performance, efficiency, and pollutant emissions with respect to pure gasoline and pure NG operation. The results indicate that a fuel mixture with a NG mass percentage of 40% allows to maximize engine performance by adopting the highest boost pressure (1.6 bar), while the best efficiency would be obtained with moderate boosting (1.2 bar) and NG content between 40% and 60% in mass.

Effects of Cold Temperature and Ethanol Content on VOC Emissions from Light-Duty Gasoline Vehicles.

Emissions of speciated volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including mobile source air toxics (MSATs), were measured in vehicle exhaust from three light-duty spark ignition vehicles operating on summer and winter grade gasoline (E0) and ethanol blended (E10 and E85) fuels. Vehicle testing was conducted using a three-phase LA92 driving cycle in a temperature-controlled chassis dynamometer at two ambient temperatures (-7 and 24 °C). The cold start driving phase and cold ambient temperature increased VOC and MSAT emissions up to several orders of magnitude compared to emissions during other vehicle operation phases and warm ambient temperature testing, respectively. As a result, calculated ozone formation potentials (OFPs) were 7 to 21 times greater for the cold starts during cold temperature tests than comparable warm temperature tests. The use of E85 fuel generally led to substantial reductions in hydrocarbons and increases in oxygenates such as ethanol and acetaldehyde compared to E0 and E10 fuels. However, at the same ambient temperature, the VOC emissions from the E0 and E10 fuels and OFPs from all fuels were not significantly different. Cold temperature effects on cold start MSAT emissions varied by individual MSAT compound, but were consistent over a range of modern spark ignition vehicles.

Components of Particle Emissions from Light-Duty Spark-Ignition Vehicles with Varying Aromatic Content and Octane Rating in Gasoline.

Typical gasoline consists of varying concentrations of aromatic hydrocarbons and octane ratings. However, their impacts on particulate matter (PM) such as black carbon (BC) and water-soluble and insoluble particle compositions are not well-defined. This study tests seven 2012 model year vehicles, which include one port fuel injection (PFI) configured hybrid vehicle, one PFI vehicle, and six gasoline direct injection (GDI) vehicles. Each vehicle was driven on the Unified transient testing cycle (UC) using four different fuels. Three fuels had a constant octane rating of 87 with varied aromatic concentrations at 15%, 25%, and 35%. A fourth fuel with higher octane rating, 91, contained 35% aromatics. BC, PM mass, surface tension, and water-soluble organic mass (WSOM) fractions were measured. The water-insoluble mass (WIM) fraction of the vehicle emissions was estimated. Increasing fuel aromatic content increases BC emission factors (EFs) of transient cycles. BC concentrations were higher for the GDI vehicles than the PFI and hybrid vehicles, suggesting a potential climate impact for increased GDI vehicle production. Vehicle steady-state testing showed that the hygroscopicity of PM emissions at high speeds (70 mph; κ > 1) are much larger than emissions at low speeds (30 mph; κ < 0.1). Iso-paraffin content in the fuels was correlated to the decrease in WSOM emissions. Both aromatic content and vehicle speed increase the amount of hygroscopic material found in particle emissions.

Effect of Ambient Temperature and Fuel on Particle Number Emissions on Light-Duty Spark-Ignition Vehicles

To better understand the impact of ambient temperature and fuel on the emissions of ultrafine particles from spark ignition light-duty vehicles, experiments were conducted to examine the impact of ethanol-gasoline mixtures, compressed natural gas (CNG), and ambient temperature, on the size distribution and number emissions of particles. Vehicles were tested on a chassis dynamometer under controlled conditions of ambient temperature spanning from 60 to 85°F. A dual fuel vehicle operating with CNG and 6% ethanol-gasoline blends (E6); and a flex fuel vehicle operating with four different ethanol-gasoline blends E6, 35% ethanol (E35), 65% ethanol (E65) and 85% ethanol (E85) was evaluated to understand fuel effects. Changes in vehicle operating temperature, which included the combustion air temperature, over the ranges of 60 to 85°F showed no clear impact on fine particle emissions. Likewise, no significant changes in particle number or particle size distributions were observed between CNG and E6 fuels. However, tests with the flex fuel vehicle, which were able to examine higher ethanol concentrations in the fuel showed large decreases in particle number emissions as ethanol levels increased to E65 and E85.

Simulation of Organic Rankine Cycle Electric Power Generation from Light-Duty Spark Ignition and Diesel Engine Exhaust Flows

Simulation of Organic Rankine Cycle Electric Power Generation from Light-Duty Spark Ignition and Diesel Engine Exhaust Flows

An examination of the effect of ethanol–gasoline blends' physicochemical properties on emissions from a light-duty spark ignition engine

The addition of ethanol to gasoline has been shown to reduce certain types of emissions, but increase others. Ethanol is rarely used neat as an automotive fuel; blends with standard gasoline are much more common. Low (5%–15%) and higher (85%) ethanol–gasoline blends are currently used; the use of higher blends requires modifications in both the calibration and engine hardware. A series of tests was conducted to determine various physicochemical properties of a range of ethanol–gasoline blends, from E5 (5% ethanol, 95% gasoline) up to E50 (50% ethanol, 50% gasoline). These ethanol–gasoline blends were laboratory tested in an unmodified European passenger car on a chassis dynamometer over the New European Driving Cycle, using a constant volume sampler and analyzers for quantification of both regulated and unregulated exhaust gas compounds. Additionally, particulate mass was quantified by filtering the exhaust gas, and particle number emissions were quantified using a condensation particle counter. The results revealed non-linear changes in response to the addition of ethanol to the base fuel regarding certain parameters; and linear responses regarding others. Regulated emissions, certain unregulated emissions and particulate matter emissions all varied according to the fuel blend employed.

Source apportionment of diesel and spark ignition exhaust aerosol using on-road data from the Minneapolis metropolitan area

Air quality measurements were made on interstate highways in the Minneapolis metropolitan area. Gas and aerosol concentrations were measured on weekdays and weekends. By exploiting the difference in the relative volumes of heavy duty (HD) diesel and light duty (LD) spark ignition (SI) vehicles on weekdays and weekends, we were able to estimate apportioned fuel specific emissions. The on-road, apportioned, fuel specific particle number emissions factors, estimated from condensation particle counter (CPC) measurements were 1.34±0.2×1016 particles kg−1 for diesels and 7.1±1.6×1015 particles kg−1 for spark ignition vehicles. Estimates from the scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) measurements were 2.1±0.3×1015 particles kg−1 for diesels and 3.9±0.6×1014 particles kg−1 for SI vehicles. The difference between CPC and SMPS measurements is mainly due to different lower size detection limits of the instruments, ∼3 and ∼10 nm, respectively. On a weekly weighted basis and on weekdays, the majority of particle number was attributed to HD diesel traffic. Weekend production of particles can be primarily attributed to light duty SI automobiles. On a per vehicle basis, HD vehicles produced substantially greater numbers of particles. On a fuel specific basis, HD vehicles produce slightly higher concentrations of particles than light duty vehicles. The relative contribution of LD vehicles to particle number emissions increased as particle size decreased. The HD apportioned size distributions were similar to size distributions measured during other on-road and laboratory studies. The LD apportioned size distribution was bounded by laboratory and on-road size distributions. Our work is representative of summer, highway cruise conditions. It is likely that under cold start and high load operating conditions LD emissions will increase relative to HD emissions.

A Quantitative Description of Vehicle Exhaust Particle Size Distributions in a Highway Tunnel

During the period May 18-May 22, 1999, a comprehensive study was conducted in the Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to measure real-world motor-vehicle emissions. As part of this study, size distributions of particle emissions were determined using a scanning mobility particle sizer. Each measured size distribution consisted of two modes: a nucleation mode with midpoint diameter less than 20 nm and an accumulation mode with midpoint diameter less than 100 nm. The nucleation and accumulation components in some distributions also exhibited second maxima, which implies that such particle size distributions are superpositions of two particle size distributions. This hypothesis was utilized in fitting the particle size distributions that exhibited second maxima with four lognormal distributions, two for the nucleation mode and two for the accumulation mode. The fitting assumed that the observed particle size distribution was a combination of two bimodal log-normal distributions, one attributed to the heavy-duty diesel (HDD) vehicles and another attributed either to a different class of HDD vehicles or to the light-duty spark ignition vehicles. Based on this method, estimated particle production rates were 1.8 × 1013 and 2.8 × 1014 particles/vehicle-km for light-duty spark ignition and HDD vehicles, respectively, which agreed with independently obtained estimates.

Tailpipe, resuspended road dust, and brake-wear emission factors from on-road vehicles

Intensive mass and chemical measurements were performed at roadside locations in Reno, Nevada, and Durham/ Research Triangle Park), North Carolina to derive tailpipe, resuspended road dust, and brake-wear emission factors from in-use vehicles. Continuous particulate matter (PM) data were utilized to derive total emission factors while integrated PM data were used to attribute the calculated emission factors to different mechanisms using chemical mass balance receptor modeling and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Resuspended road dust and tailpipe emissions were found to be the dominant mechanisms that contribute significantly to the total PM10 and PM2.5 emission factors, respectively. Small contributions from brake-wear were observed at locations where strong braking occurs, but no tirewear was seen at any sampling location. PM10 emission rates from light-duty sparkignition (LDSI) vehicles ranged from 40 to 780 mg/km, 10 to 70 mg/km, and 0 to 80 mg/km per vehicle for road dust, tailpipe, and brake-wear, respectively. PM10 emission rates from heavy-duty vehicles ranged from 230 to 7800 mg/km, 60 to 570 mg/km, and 0 to 610 mg/km per vehicle for road dust, tailpipe, and brake-wear, respectively. PM2.5 emission rates from LDSI vehicles ranged from 2 to 25 mg/km, 10 to 50 mg/km, and 0 to 5 mg/km per vehicle for road dust, tailpipe, and brake-wear, respectively. PM2.5 emission rates from heavy-duty vehicles ranged from 15 to 300 mg/km, 60 to 480 mg/km, and 0 to 15 mg/km per vehicle for road dust, tailpipe, and brake-wear, respectively. r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of a multi-lag regression approach to determine on-road PM10 and PM2.5 emission rates

Intensive measurements were performed at roadside locations in Reno, Nevada, and Durham/Research Triangle Park, North Carolina to derive mass emission factors from on-road vehicles. Measurements included continuous particulate matter (PM) concentrations (PM2.5, and PM10), wind speed, wind direction, and vehicle number, class, and speed. A multi-lag linear regression approach was applied to calculate mass emission rates using the continuous data. The output of the multi-lag regression model, the regression coefficients, along with the vehicle specifications and the wind speed/direction at each site were then used to calculate mass emission factors for light-duty spark ignition (LDSI) and heavy-duty diesel (HDD) vehicles. PM10 emission factors ranged from 530 to 9100 mg/km, and from 90 to 850 mg/km for HDD and LDSI vehicles, respectively. PM2.5 emission factors ranged from 120 to 170 mg/km, and from 10 to 90 mg/km for HDD and LDSI vehicles, respectively.

Assessment of Nontailpipe Hydrocarbon Emissions from Motor Vehicles

ABSTRACT This report evaluates tailpipe and nontailpipe hydrocarbon (HC) emissions from light-duty spark-ignition (SI) vehicles. The sources of information were unpublished data sets, generated mainly from 1990 through 1994, on emissions from volunteer fleets of in-use vehicles in chassis dynamometer and sealed housing for evaporative determination tests, and published chemical mass balance (CMB) source apportionments of HC in roadway tunnels and in urban air. The nontailpipe emissions evaluated comprise running-loss, hot soak, diurnal emissions, and resting-loss emissions. Relations between pressure and purge test failures and actual nontailpipe emissions were also examined.