Lower Fuel Consumption Rate Research Articles

Flue gas waste heat thermoelectric generator: Laboratory experiment and demonstration application

Promoting the efficiency of internal-combustion engine has great benefits, including low fuel-consumption rate and environmental friendliness. Flue gas waste heat thermoelectric generator (TEG) is such a promising solution owning to its solid-state energy conversion and structural simplicity. In this work, a novel heat collection enhancing strategy is first proposed to improve the uniformity of hot-end temperature distribution, which greatly augments the power generation performance under limited pressure drops. A flue gas waste heat TEG unit with 24 TE modules is able to generate an electric power of 103 W under the pressure drop of 375 Pa. The corresponding heat collection, TE, and overall efficiencies of the TEG unit are 36.53 %, 4.30 %, and 1.58 %, respectively. Several important parameters, including flue gas inlet temperature, cooling intensity, cooling mode, and TEG unit arrangement are explored in detail. A demonstration application of an 8-unit waste heat TEG is installed in an 800-ton inland waterway vessel on China's Grand Canal, and the waterway vessel is put into service for over three months. The generated electric power varies between 23.3 W and 463 W, and the average electric power is 177.6 W during the trip.

A Review of Research on Emission Characteristics of Ethanol-Diesel Blends in Diesel Engines

This paper reviews research on the emission characteristics of blended ethanol and other fuels. With the rapid development of modern industry, the extensive use of fuel engines has led to increasingly prominent contradictions between energy and the environment. In order to respond to sustainable development and reduce engine emissions in various countries, many scientific research institutions have conducted research on mixed fuels. The research of blended fuel mainly focuses on its sustainability, economy and environmental protection. Compared with gasoline engines, diesel engines have a lower fuel consumption rate and are widely used in heavy industry. But its fuel comes from refining crude oil, which is non-renewable and has poor cleanliness. As an emerging renewable fuel, ethanol is a fuel with good development prospects due to its good cleanliness, wide range of sources and renewable. If ethanol can be used as an alternative fuel for traditional internal combustion engines and diesel engines, it can save some traditional fuels and improve the emission problems of internal combustion engines to a certain extent. This paper introduces the research status of ethanol blended fuels, and the emission characteristics of engines (NOx, HC and CO) under different ethanol ratios and different operating conditions. It can be seen that with the increase of ethanol blending ratio, NOx content will increase, while CO and HC emissions will decrease.

Empirical Model of Uniflow Scavenging for Ultra-Long-Two-Stroke Marine Diesel Engines

_ Low-speed two-stroke diesel engines are widely employed in the marine industry, especially in tanks, owing to their advantages of fuel economy and reliability. However, with the emerging ultra-long-stroke trend, existing scavenging models, which are based on the configuration of cylinders with short strokes, are no longer applicable. In this study, we investigate the flow field and residual exhaust gas distribution in a cylinder using particle image velocimetry and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The result shows a strong Burgers vortex structure upstream of the scavenger flow and dissipates gradually as it moves downstream. Furthermore, the scavenging process comprises three processes according to the detailed CFD analysis: displacement, mixing scavenging, and short circuit. Inspired by the results, a tailored empirical model of ultra-long-stroke uniflow scavenging comprising three sub-models is proposed. Specifically, a logarithmic relationship between the concentration level and scavenging deliver ratio is proposed to describe the mixing scavenging process. Finally, the model was validated against CFD results. The results demonstrate that the discrepancy in the scavenging efficiency curve predicted by this model and CFD is less than 1%, thereby demonstrating model reliability. Introduction Owing to the advantages of a large power range, high thermal efficiency, low fuel consumption rate, and good reliability, marine low-speed engines are widely used to provide power to civil ships (Heywood 1999). The market for low-speed engines is vast and is improving the performance of low-speed engines through research has great economic and environmental significance (Woodyard 2004). To meet the requirements of ship owners for lower fuel consumption and the IMO’s regulation of halving the greenhouse gas emissions of newly built ships, the ultra-long stroke of low-speed engines has become a trend (Lamas & Vidal 2012). With an ultralong stroke, the combustion speed of low-quality fuel oil is slow, and an ultra-long-stroke cylinder can prolong the expansion process, improve the combustion process, and reduce the fuel consumption rate (Fenghua 2014). The ultra-long-stroke diesel engine further creates fuel savings of 3.5–7% based on the original low fuel consumption. Previously, ultra-long strokes could not be achieved, limited by materials and manufacturing processes. However, in recent years, with the advancement of materials and processes, ultra-long strokes have been widely adopted as they have demonstrated superior competitiveness.

Analysis of Gas Turbine Power Plant Production and Fuel Consumption

The main problem of gas turbine generating units operating in the simple cycle system is their relatively low thermal efficiency, which leads to large thermal energy losses. The current research aims to study the economic analysis of Kirkuk gas power plant. Field data of gas turbine unit for the year of 2019 were used. The results of the study showed that the cost of exported energy is higher than the cost of energy produced. The results showed a 23% increase in the cost of energy produced in summer compared to winter. A decrease in actual production compared to the planned production is observed by 12.8%, where the highest actual production for the month of March was 162,108 MW, while the planned was 186,000 MW. Also, the month of July witnessed a very low fuel consumption rate for natural gas compared to the rest of the months, where the average fuel consumption was 0.273 m3/kW, while the month of January has a high fuel consumption rate for natural gas compared to the rest of the year with average fuel consumption of 0.312 m3/kW. The rate of increase in fuel consumption between July and January was 14.2%, and the results also showed that the ratio of production to design capacity for January was the highest and amounted to 87%, and the highest efficiency reached 33%, while July was the lowest production rate in terms of design capacity, reaching 53% and efficiency of 29.8%.

Heating and cooling device for motorhomes and caravans

Disasters, extreme weather conditions and rural recreation makes the availability of a portable heating and cooling device as a must. There are many devices that work on the heating and power generation in the market. The air-conditioner which works on the heat pump principle is well known. Harsh weather conditions, natural disasters and recreation in rural areas (deserts and mountains) requires the availability of a heating and cooling device that works on well available fuel and has a low fuel consumption rate. Such a device will help in saving lives and encourage rural tourism. In this paper, a heating and cooling device is proposed for rural places, harsh weather conditions and natural disasters where no electricity is available. The device is working on the principle of heat pump (HP) to optimize its performance. The source of energy selected for this device is fossil fuels; fossil fuel is used for its convenience where no electricity is available. Low vibration low noise Stirling Engine (SE) is used to drive the heat pump that produces heating/cooling effects. Analysis of the proposed device is performed for each of its components. The results attained from analysis coincide with the results in literature. An electricity free, low vibration, silent and improved performance CHC device was attained. With suitable selected sub-devices an OHR of 2.429 was achieved by the proposed device compared to currently available devices.

Evolution of gear shift patterns for six speed automatic transmission vehicle

The increasing level of stringent exhaust emission regulations and the rising index of carbon dioxide emissions from the road transport sector have pushed vehicle manufacturers and designers to develop solutions for more efficient vehicles, with well designed vehicle transmission and gear shift patterns among the alternative approaches employed. For a six speed automatic transmission, the current article proposes a design method for developing a suitable gear ratio set and gear shift patterns. The MATLAB/Simulink platform was used to create the Maruti Suzuki 2020 four speed transmission model and the results were verified using experiment data. The effectiveness of the new selected gear ratio set and gear shift patterns was then evaluated using a six speed transmission model based on the validated four speed transmission model. To investigate fuel consumption and acceleration performance, all models were simulated based on motor vehicle emissions groups. Sport mode, eco mode, and combined both mode patterns were developed and analyzed. Based on the eco mode pattern, the six speed transmission model has a 2.74% lower fuel consumption rate than the four speed transmission model, indicating that the proposed design method is feasible and effective.

Economic and ecological assessment of integrated agricultural bio-energy and conventional agricultural energy frameworks for agriculture sustainability

Abstract Agriculture production cost and production system sustainability are key factors to sustain food production for the growing human race. This study assessed two farming frameworks; Integrated Agricultural Bio-Energy (IAB) and Conventional Agricultural Energy (CAE) with an emphasis on fuel, fertilization, and household energy. The IAB depended on Jatropha biodiesel-petro-diesel blend (JB88) + solar energy + organic fertilizer, while CAE used petrol-diesel + hydro-electric energy + chemical fertilizer. The study was planned in the Randomized Complete Block Design with 4 replications. Analysis of the results revealed that CAE produced the highest maize, soybean, and Andrographis paniculata yields but due to its higher variable production cost and the low market price of inorganic food, the profit gained, and the benefit-cost ratio were lesser. The variable production cost/year of IAB was reduced due to the less fuel cost (66%) and low fuel consumption rate (1.98%) of JB88 compared to the petrol-diesel of CAB. JB88 also recorded high market-priced products that intend to give more profit when compared to CAE. The gaseous emissions of HC (24.42 ppm) and CO (0.03%) of IAB were 30.3% and 95.9%, respectively lesser compared to CAE which emitted 35.03 ppm of HC and 0.74% of CO, respectively. Thus the economic gain, the less harmful gases released, and the known benefits of organic fertilizer used in IAB makes it a more efficient and environmentally friendly framework for a sustainable agriculture production.

Effect of Waste Plastic Oil on Engine Performance and Durability

Thailand has had the policies supporting the production and uses of renewable and alternative energies in order to reduce the imports of the fuels from other countries. Producing the fuels from plastic wastes can lower the pollution and energy problems in the country in order to ensure that the fuels can actually be the alternatives. The purpose of this research study is to compare the effects of using the diesel fuel from the plastic wastes on the single cylinder engines by comparing the performances and wears of the engines with the commercial diesel fuel and waste plastic oil. There were two tests: 1) the engine performance test and 2) the engine wear test. According to the results of the engine performance test, it was found that the waste plastic oil resulted in the torque and brake power lower than those of the commercial diesel fuel for about 3% at 2,200 revolutions per minute. However, the waste plastic oil had the lower fuel consumption rate than that of the commercial diesel fuel. As a result, the waste plastic oil had the specific fuel consumption that was lower than that of the commercial diesel fuel for about 2%. Regarding the engine wears, it was found that the waste plastic oil caused slightly more wears than the commercial diesel fuel. It was concluded that the waste plastic oil was an alternative energy that had the potentials of the commercial diesel fuel without modifying the engines.

Validation of foam filled tube model and optimization result using Weibull distribution

Abstract Passenger safety and low fuel consumption rate are the most important factors that need to be considered when designing modern transportations. This study validates the crash behavior and optimum values of foam-filled structures under the dynamic oblique impact using the Weibull distribution. The optimization method aimed to absorb maximum energy with minimum peak crushing force. Furthermore, the metamodel and optimization techniques such as RBF and NSGA-II were used to ensure accurate validation of the Weibull distribution method. The result showed that the finite element model is comparable to the experimental data in the reference, while the metamodel method, which is directly verified, affects optimization results. The Weibull distribution method shows that the optimum value and the simulation have good accuracy or R2> 0.85.

Performance analysis of a novel integrated solar combined cycle with inlet air heating system

A combined cycle power plant with solar hybrid inlet air heating (CCPP-SIAH) system is proposed to enhance the space heat capacity in winter. The models of conventional CCPP system and the CCPP with inlet air heating system (CCPP-IAH) are validated by the designed values from the manufacturer. The part-load performance of proposed CCPP-SIAH is compared with the convention CCPP and the CCPP-IAH. Results show that both the systems of CCPP-IAH and CCPP-SIAH have higher overall power efficiency, lower fuel consumption rate and heat rate than convention CCPP system, however the CCPP-SIAH system shows highest overall thermal efficiency. Additionally, the proposed CCPP-SIAH contributes the largest primary energy saving ratio of 0.88% under the ΔT of 25 °C, the total thermal efficiency increases from 67.13% to 68.78% due to the solar energy utilized in the proposed system. Moreover, the TES can provide space heating energy of 5.89 MW under power load of 80%, which is less than that of 27.8 MW under the power load of 60%.

Effects of Grate Size on Grinding Productivity, Fuel Consumption, and Particle Size Distribution

Abstract Matching the right feedstock quality to a biomass conversion technology effectively facilitates the energy conversion process and improves the economic feasibility of forest biomass for energy production. In this study, we conducted a controlled experiment on a horizontal grinder to evaluate the effect of three different grate size combinations on grinding productivity, fuel consumption, and particle size distribution for two different biomass types (mixed conifer slash and hardwood whole trees). Mixed conifer slash resulted in higher grinding productivity (39.0 to 45.1 bone dry US tons/h) and a lower fuel consumption rate (0.57 to 0.90 gal/h) than hardwood whole trees. Small grate size configurations (2-, 3-, and 3-in. holes) in the grinder had low grinding productivity and higher fuel consumption rates compared with large grate size configurations (3-, 4-, and 4-in. holes). High grinding productivity and low fuel consumption rates were accomplished by using a new anvil type that is manufactured with holes in the plate. The study also showed that production of small feedstock particles (length, <2 in.) from logging slash was operationally feasible by using small grates and a newly designed anvil. Additional research is needed to further control oversized materials and improve our knowledge about the effect of moisture content on grinding productivity, especially with a wide range of grate size combinations.

Stability and Emission Characteristics of Diesel-Ethanol-Coconut Methyl Ester Blends for the Diesel Engines

The stability and emission characteristics of diesel-ethanol-coconut methyl ester (CME) blends were studied to determine the most suitable fuel blends to be applied in diesel engines. This is done in order to assess the potential of the blends as a substitute for commercially available diesel fuel used in diesel engine. The stability results of the blends using 100% and 99.5% ethanol purity showed that the fuel blends containing ethanol up to 10% and CME of 5% and greater exhibited high mutual solubility at any temperature range and were resistant to microbial growths after 3 months storage. Engine operations at low speed especially at idle-no load and using a bigger size engine lead to a minimum ignition delay and result in lower fuel consumption rate. The emission test results with the new- blended fuels showed a reduction in CO2 and increasing percentage by volume of CO2 compared to commercially available diesel. The blends could deliver an efficient combustion and could run efficiently since production of the CO2 gases is higher than that of CO. The blends of 80% diesel, 5% ethanol, 10% CME; and 80% diesel, 10% ethanol, 10% CME could reduce the smoke opacity compared to commercially available diesel.

Induction Machine Design and Analysis for General Motors e-Assist Electrification Technology

The integrated starter generator replaces the conventional starter and alternator with one electrical machine handling both functions. Start/Stop functionality, vehicle launch assistance, and higher speed transient power supplementing enhance the vehicle performance at the lower fuel consumption rate. This functionality requires the electrical machine to provide high starting and launch assistant torque in motoring mode and relatively high power capability over the wide speed range for battery charging. The overall cost of the system is the underlining concern and crucial part of the design optimization. This paper focuses on advantages of induction machines (IMs) in automotive industry and an approach to design a cost-effective electrical machine for belted starter–alternator applications. Design optimization of the IM is described to achieve desired performance, including rotor bar count, solid conductor (bar winding) versus stranded winding design, rotor bar shape optimization, and finally performance maps for the electrical machine, including both predicted and measured results. A thermal study of the machine is also presented, as well as the noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) consideration in the design selection.

Optimal Intercity Transportation Services With Heterogeneous Demand and Variable Fuel Price

Optimal Intercity Transportation Services With Heterogeneous Demand and Variable Fuel Price

舶用ディーゼル主機関のガバナ制御アルゴリズムによる燃料消費率低減

When a little fluctuation of the revolutions on a marine propulsion diesel engine might be accepted, its fuel consumption rate would be reduced without any modifications to the engine. In the process of developing a new type engine governor, it was found that an insensitive diesel engine revolution control can get lower fuel consumption than a sensitive one. However, an insensitive governor will course some trouble such as "Over speed trip" of the engine during operation in rough seas. The fluctuation of revolution on marine propulsion engines are caused with hull movements, especially pitching motions, which have strong effect. Considering those facts, the idea that to estimate the pitching motion in near future and apply it to the control of an engine's revolutions came to our mind.This paper is introducing a new algorism for the engine governor that is how to get a lower fuel consumption rate with preventing over-speed without any modifications to the engine itself. These effects of the new algorism were confirmed with using the training ship "SHIOJI MARU" in Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology.Newly developed this "DDVC Governor" has the function of on-line change for any parameters with using digital controller. And it proved that the confirmation of effects of new algorithm for engine governor was quite easy.

Comparison of fuel properties and emission characteristics of two- and three-phase emulsions prepared by ultrasonically vibrating and mechanically homogenizing emulsification methods

Emulsions have long been considered as an alternative fuel for combustion equipment in order to achieve better fuel economy and pollution reduction. While a mechanical homogenizing method is frequently used to prepare emulsions, the use of an ultrasonic emulsification method to do so is still rather limited, and is mostly applied to two-phase emulsions only. Hence, two-phase W/O and three-phase O/W/O emulsions, prepared by a mechanical homogenizer and an ultrasonic vibrator, respectively, were prepared and used as engine fuel. The emulsion properties, engine performance, and engine emission characteristics between these two emulsification methods were measured and compared. The potential of the ultrasonic emulsification method was also evaluated. The experimental results show that the emulsions prepared by the ultrasonic vibrator appeared to have more favorable emulsification characteristics such as smaller dispersed water droplets that were distributed more uniformly in the continuous oil phase, lower separation rate of water droplets from the continuous phase of diesel fuel and thus a lower separating rate of the dispersed water droplets from the emulsion, larger emulsion stability, and larger emulsion viscosity than the emulsions produced using a mechanical homogenizer. In addition, a larger content of water was emulsified when the emulsion was prepared using the ultrasonic vibrator than the mechanical homogenizer. The emulsions prepared by the ultrasonic vibrator also had a lower fuel consumption rate, lower bsfc, and significantly lower CO emission while at the same time having a larger black smoke opacity. When comparing the two-phase W/O and the three-phase O/W/O emulsions prepared by either the ultrasonic vibrator or the mechanical homogenizer, the two-phase W/O emulsions appeared to have a lower fuel consumption rate, bsfc, CO, and a lower black smoke opacity than the three-phase O/W/O emulsions, regardless of whether they were prepared by ultrasonic vibrator or mechanical homogenizer.

Experimental studies on optimal operating conditions for different flow field designs of PEM fuel cells

In this work, the main focus is to measure the optimal cathode fuel flow rate effects with different flow field designs. In addition, the effects of different flow field designs (flow channel number, flow channel length, corner numbers and baffle effects) on the cell performance of the PEM fuel cells under the different operating conditions are examined. The experimental results reveal that the temperature effects generate the same trend in the five cathode flow field designs. When the cell temperature increases from 50 to 70 °C, the proton exchange membrane (PEM) experiences an insufficient hydration which causes an increase in ionic transport resistance. Therefore, the cell performance decreases with an increase in the cell temperature. In addition, increasing the cathode humidification improves the cell performance through enhancing the hydration level of the membrane and hence its ionic conductivity. For the effects of the cathode fuel flow rate on the cell performance, the PEM fuel cell with interdigitated flow field shows a better cell performance than that with the conventional flow field due to the baffle effect which forces the reactant gas through the gas diffuser layer. Furthermore, compared with conventional flow field, the PEM fuel cell with an interdigitated flow field can reach the same cell performance with a lower fuel consumption rate. Under the optimal fuel flow rate conditions, the PEM fuel cell with a parallel flow field with baffle provides the best cell performance among the five flow field designs.

Analysis of Turbulent Combustion in Simplified Stratified Charge Conditions.

The stratified charge combustion system has been widely studied due to the significant potentials for low fuel consumption rate and low exhaust gas emissions. The fuel-air mixture formation process in a direct-injection stratified charge engine is influenced by various parameters, such as atomization, evaporation, and in-cylinder gas motion at high temperature and high pressure conditions. It is difficult to observe the in-cylinder phenomena in such conditions and also challenging to analyze the following stratified charge combustion. Therefore, the combustion phenomena in simplified stratified charge conditions aiming to analyze the fundamental stratified charge combustion are examined. That is, an experimental apparatus which can control the mixture distribution and the gas motion at ignition timing was developed, and the effects of turbulence intensity, mixture concentration distribution, and mixture composition on stratified charge combustion were examined. As a result, the effects of fuel, charge stratification, and turbulence on combustion characteristics were clarified.

本邦製鋼技術の進歩

The iron and steel industry in Japan was full of great difficulties for several years after the cessation of World War-I due to social chaos, shortage of coal and electric power which are the prime moving power of industries, and poor qualitif; s of raw materials.However, with the importation of iron ores from Feb.1948, the iron and steel industry gradually started to rehabilitate to its normal production. Furthermore, after 1949 with the kind assistance of the United States of America, it was possible to modernize the steel making facilities and improve its operation by introducing the American technical “know-how”. Especially, by using fuel oil for firing the open hearth furnaces, its operation were greatly rationalized by controlling its operation with instruments and also adopting the epoch making process of oxygen steelmaking method, both of which greatly contributed in improving the efficiency cf steel making.Consequently some of the shops in Japan has achieved an excellent record with such low fuel consumption rate of 700,000 Kcal per ton of steel, which is the highest standard in the world. With the blowing-in of the converter in Japan belonging to Nippon Steel Tube Co. for the first time in 1949 since the end of the war, the blowing of open hearth furnaces and the adoption of oxygen steelmaking process, there has been made a remarkable progress in the quality and production of steel ingots.Thus the production of steel ingots in 1953 has, broke the record of 7,650,000 tons and exceeded it with the operation of only 56% of the total furnaces in Japan. Today Japan has completely recovered from the chaos of war in the field of steelmaking and the author took this opportunity to report the development in technical progress.

Gas turbine electric locomotive: Electrical Engineering, Vol. 66, No. 5

A combined cycle power plant with solar hybrid inlet air heating (CCPP-SIAH) system is proposed to enhance the space heat capacity in winter. The models of conventional CCPP system and the CCPP with inlet air heating system (CCPP-IAH) are validated by the designed values from the manufacturer. The part-load performance of proposed CCPP-SIAH is compared with the convention CCPP and the CCPP-IAH. Results show that both the systems of CCPP-IAH and CCPP-SIAH have higher overall power efficiency, lower fuel consumption rate and heat rate than convention CCPP system, however the CCPP-SIAH system shows highest overall thermal efficiency. Additionally, the proposed CCPP-SIAH contributes the largest primary energy saving ratio of 0.88% under the ΔT of 25 °C, the total thermal efficiency increases from 67.13% to 68.78% due to the solar energy utilized in the proposed system. Moreover, the TES can provide space heating energy of 5.89 MW under power load of 80%, which is less than that of 27.8 MW under the power load of 60%.