Search Results

A comparative study on engine performance and emissions (NOx, soot) formation has been carried out for the Volvo D12C diesel engine fueled by Rapeseed Methyl Ester, RME and conventional diesel oil. The fuel and combustion models used in this paper are the modifications of those described in [1–3]. The numerical results for different load cases illustrate that for both fuels nearly 100% combustion efficiency was predicted; in the case of RME, the cumulative heat release was compared with the RME LHV, 37.2 kJ/g. To minimize soot and NOx emissions, 25–30% EGR levels depending on the engine loads and different injection timings were analyses. To illustrate the optimal engine performance conditions, a special technique based on the time-transient parametric ϕ-T maps [4] has been used.

In recent years, interest has been growing in the 2-Stroke Diesel cycle, coupled to high speed engines. One of the most promising applications is on light aircraft piston engines, typically designed to provide a top brake power of 100-200 HP with a relatively low weight. The main advantage yielded by the 2-Stroke cycle is the possibility to achieve high power density at low crankshaft speed, allowing the propeller to be directly coupled to the engine, without a reduction drive. Furthermore, Diesel combustion is a good match for supercharging and it is expected to provide a superior fuel efficiency, in comparison to S.I. engines. However, the coupling of 2-Stroke cycle and Diesel combustion on small bore, high speed engines is quite complex, requiring a suitable support from CFD simulation.

In order to investigate the effects of split injection on emission formation and engine performance, experiments were carried out using a heavy duty single cylinder diesel engine. Split injections with varied dwell time and start of injection were investigated and compared with single injection cases. In order to isolate the effect of the selected parameters, other variables were kept constant. In this investigation no EGR was used. The engine was equipped with a common rail injection system with a piezo-electric injector. To interpret the observed phenomena, engine CFD simulations using the KIVA-3V code were also made. The results show that reductions in NOx emissions and brake specific fuel consumption were achieved for short dwell times whereas they both were increased when the dwell time was prolonged. No EGR was used so the soot levels were already very low in the cases of single injections.

The effect of ammoniac deoxidizing agent (Urea) on the reduction of NOx produced in the Diesel engine was investigated numerically. Urea desolved in water was directly injected into the engine cylinder during the expansion stroke. The NOx deoxidizing process was described using a simplified chemical kinetic model coupled with the comprehensive kinetics of Diesel oil surrogate combustion. If the technology of DWI (Direct Water Injection) with the later injection timing is supposed to be used, the deoxidizing reactants could be delivered in a controlled amount directly into the flame plume zones, where NOx are forming. Numerical simulations for the Isotta Fraschini DI Diesel engine are carried out using the KIVA-3V code, modified to account for the “co-fuel” injection and reaction with combustion products. The results showed that the amount of NOx could be substantially reduced up to 80% with the injection timing and the fraction of Urea in the solution optimized.

Further restrictions on NOx emissions and the extension of current driving cycles for passenger car emission regulations to higher load operation in the near future (such as the US06 supplement to the FTP-75 driving cycle) requires attention to low emission combustion concepts in medium to high load regimes. One possibility to reduce NOx emissions is to increase the EGR rate. The combustion temperature-reducing effects of high EGR rates can significantly reduce NO formation, to the point where engine-out NOx emissions approach zero levels. However, engine-out soot emissions typically increase at high EGR levels, due to the reduced soot oxidation rates at reduced combustion temperatures and oxygen concentrations.

This paper describes an analysis of the Diesel Oil Surrogate (DOS) model used at Chalmers University (Sweden), including 70 species participating in 310 reactions, and subsequent improvements prompted by the model's systematic tendency to under-predict the combustion intensity in simulations of kinetically-driven combustion modes, e.g. Homogeneous Charged Compression Ignition (HCCI). Key bases of the model are the properties of a model Diesel fuel with the molecular formula C14H28. In the vapor phase, a global reaction decomposes the starting fuel, C14H28, into its constituent components; n-heptane (C7H16) and toluene (C7H8). This global reaction was modified to yield a higher n-heptane:toluene ratio, due to the importance of preserving an n-heptane-like cetane number.

A novel concept of combined hydrogen production and power generation system based on the combustion of aluminum in water is explored. The energy conversion system proposed is potentially able to provide four different energy sources, such us pressurized hydrogen, high temperature steam, heat, and work at the crankshaft on demand, as well as to fully comply with the environment sustainability requirements. Once aluminum oxide layer is removed, the pure aluminum can react with water producing alumina and hydrogen while releasing a significant amount of energy. Thus, the hydrogen can be stored for further use and the steam can be employed for energy generation or work production in a supplementary power system. The process is proved to be self-sustained and to provide a remarkable amount of energy available as work or hydrogen.

A semi-detailed chemical mechanism for combustion of gasoline-ethanol blends, which is based on sub-mechanisms of gasoline surrogate and for ethanol is developed and validated aiming at CFD engine modeling. The gasoline surrogate is composed of iso-octane, toluene, and n-heptane in volumetric proportions of 55%:35%:10%, respectively. In this way, the hydrogen-carbon atomic ratio H/C, which is around 1.87 for real gasoline, is accurately reproduced as well as a mixture equivalence ratio that is important for Gasoline Direct Injection engine applications. The integrated mechanism for gasoline-ethanol blends includes 120 species participating in 677 reactions. The mechanism is tested against experimental data on ignition delay times and laminar flame speeds, obtained for various n-heptane/iso-octane/toluene/ethanol-air mixtures under various equivalence ratios, initial temperatures, and pressures. Chemical, thermodynamic and transport properties used in the calculations are discussed.

A validation study of the numerical model of n-heptane spray combustion based on experimental constant-volume data [1] was done, by comparing auto-ignition delays for different pre - turbulence levels and initial temperatures, flame contours, and soot distributions under Diesel-like conditions. The basic novelty of the methodology developed in [2] - [3] is the implementation of the partially stirred reactor (PaSR) model accounting for detailed chemistry / turbulence interactions. It is based on the assumption that the chemical processes proceed in two successive steps: micro mixing, simulated on a sub - grid scale, is followed by the reaction act. When the all Re number RNG k-ε or LES models are employed, the micro mixing time can be consistently defined giving the combustion model a “well-closed” form incorporated into the KIVA-3V code.

A skeletal reaction mechanism (101 species, 479 reactions) for a range of aliphatic hydrocarbons was constructed for application to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Gasoline Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine modeling. The mechanism is able to predict shock tube ignition delays and premixed flame propagation velocities for the following components: hydrogen (H2), methane (CH4), acetylene (C2H2), propane (C3H8), n-heptane (C7H16) and iso-octane (C8H18). The mechanism is integrated with a simulation code combining both modeling of detailed chemistry and gas exchange processes. This simulation tool was constructed by connecting the SENKIN code of the CHEMKIN library to the AVL BOOST™ engine cycle simulation code. Using a complete engine cycle simulation code instead of a code that only considers the combustion process has a major advantage. The initial conditions at the intake valve closure (IVC) have no longer to be set.

For the application to Gasoline Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) modeling, a multi-zone model was developed. For this purpose, the detailed-chemistry code SENKIN from the CHEMKIN library was modified. In a previous paper, the authors explained how piston motion and a heat transfer model were implemented in the SENKIN code to make it applicable to engine modeling. The single-zone model developed was successfully implemented in the engine cycle simulation code AVL BOOST™. A multi-zone model, including a crevice volume, a quench layer and multiple core zones, is introduced here. A temperature distribution specified over these zones gives this model a wider range of application than the single-zone model, since fuel efficiency, emissions and heat release can now be predicted more accurately. The SENKIN-BOOST multi-zone model predictions are compared with experimental data.

The new EDC model formulation based on the operator-splitting procedure applied to the mass conservation equations for species participating in reversible chemical reactions which can be interpreted as representing combustion in a partially stirred reactor (PaSR) volume is presented. The model has been implemented in the KIVA-3V code, and examples of the model application to spray and gas combustion are illustrated, first, by the results of the 3-D modeling of the Diesel DI Volvo D12C engine. The combustion mechanism of diesel oil surrogate included of 68 species (including soot aromatic precursors) participating in 280 reversible reactions. Mean features of diesel spray engine combustion under conditions of delayed injection when auto-ignition has much in common with HCCI process are predicted in accordance with experimental data.

To reproduce the Diesel fuel structural effect on soot formation, the diesel oil surrogate chemical model has been developed, validated using constant volume and applied to 3-D engine calculations using the KIVA-3V code. To better predict soot production, the presence of toluene, A1CH3, which is a product of benzene alkylation, in the reaction mechanism of n-heptane oxidation has been assumed. Soot formation as a solid phase has been simulated via a finite-rate transition of the gaseous precursor of soot, A2R5, to graphite. The final mechanism consists of 68 species and 278 reactions. Reasonable agreement of predictions with constant volume experimental data, on ignition delay times, flame appearance, accumulated amount of soot produced and soot cloud evolution has been achieved. Then, the fuel surrogate model has been applied to 3-D simulation (on a sectored mesh) of the Volvo NED5 DI Diesel engine.

When using dimethyl ether (DME) to fuel diesel engines at high load and speed, applying high amounts of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) to limit NOX emissions, carbon monoxide (CO) emissions are generally high. To address this issue, the combustion and emission processes in such engines were analyzed with the three-dimensional CFD KIVA3V code. The combustion sub-mechanism (76 species and 375 reactions) was validated by comparing simulated ignition delays and flame velocities to reference data under diesel-like and atmospheric conditions, respectively. In addition, simulated and experimentally determined rate of heat release (RoHR) curves and emission data were compared for a heavy-duty single-cylinder DME engine (displaced volume, 2.02 liters) with DME-adapted piston and nozzle geometries. The simulated RoHR curves captured the main features of the experimentally measured curves, but deviated in the premixed (higher peak) and late combustion phases (too high).

A detailed reaction mechanism for the combustion of biodiesel fuels has recently been developed by Westbrook and co-workers. This detailed mechanism involves 5037 species and 19990 reactions, which prohibits its direct use in computational fluid dynamic (CFD) applications. In the present work, various mechanism reduction methods included in the Reaction Workbench software were used to derive a semi-detailed biodiesel combustion mechanism, while maintaining the accuracy of the master mechanism for a desired set of engine conditions. The reduced combustion mechanism for a five-component biodiesel fuel was employed in the FORTÉ CFD simulation package to take advantage of advanced chemistry solver methodologies and advanced spray models. Simulations were performed for a Volvo D12C heavy diesel engine fueled by RME fuel using a 72° sector mesh. Predictions were validated against measured in-cylinder parameters and exhaust emission concentrations.

Enhanced calibration strategies and innovative engine combustion technologies are required to meet the new limits on exhaust gas emissions enforced in the field of marine propulsion and on-board energy production. The goal of the paper is to optimize the control parameters of a 4.2 dm3 unit displacement marine DI Diesel engine, in order to enhance the efficiency of the combustion system and reduce engine out emissions. The investigation is carried out by means of experimental tests and CFD simulations. For a better control of the testing conditions, the experimental activity is performed on a single cylinder prototype, while the engine test bench is specifically designed to simulate different levels of boosting. The numerical investigations are carried out using a set of different CFD tools: GT-Power for the engine cycle analysis, STAR-CD for the study of the in-cylinder flow, and a customized version of the KIVA-3V code for combustion.

In this study, the effects of varying the start of injection in a Free Piston Engine (FPE) have been investigated, using the KIVA-3V CFD code. In order to simulate the FPE the code has been modified by replacing the conventional crank shaft controlled piston motion by a piston motion profile calculated using a MATLAB/SIMULINK model. In this model, the piston motion is controlled by Newton's second law and the combustion process is represented by a simplified model based on ignition delay integrals and Wiebe functions. The results were tuned using predictions from the SENKIN software which are based on the detailed chemical kinetics mechanism of a Diesel oil surrogate represented by a blend of the main aliphatic (70% n-heptane) and aromatic (30% toluene) components. In order to help analyze the emission formation resulting from the HCCI/PPCI combustion modes in the engine, a special approach based on the temperature-equivalence ratio maps has been developed.

An investigation of the possibility to extend the 3-dimensional modeling capabilities from conventional diesel to the HCCI combustion mode simulation was carried out. Experimental data was taken from a single cylinder engine operating with early injections for the HCCI and a split-injection (early pilot+main) for the high speed Diesel engine operation. To properly phase the HCCI mode in the experiments, high amounts of cooled EGR and a decreased compression ratio were used. In numerical simulation performed using KIVA3-V code, modified to incorporate the Detailed Chemistry Approach the same conditions were reproduced. Special attention is paid on the analysis of the events leading up to the auto-ignition, which was reasonably well predicted.

Until recently, the application of the detailed chemistry approach as a predictive tool for engine modeling has been sort of a “taboo” for different reasons, mainly because of an exaggerated rigor to the chemistry/turbulence interaction modeling. In terms of this ideology, if the interaction cannot be simulated properly, the detailed chemistry approach makes no sense. The novelty of the proposed methodology is the coupling of a generalized partially stirred reactor, PaSR, model with the high efficiency numerics to treat detailed oxidation kinetics of hydrocarbon fuels. In terms of this approach, chemical processes are assumed to proceed in two successive steps: the reaction follows after the micro-mixing is completed on a sub-grid scale.

This paper reports the numerical studies of self-ignition and early combustion process of n-heptane sprays under various diluted air conditions. The numerical simulations employ a detailed chemistry approach, coupled directly with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A “subgrid” Partially Stirred Reactor (PaSR) model has been developed to account for the turbulence-chemistry-interaction. This model has been implemented into the KIVA3V CFD code. A detailed chemical mechanism of reduced size (65 species and 273 elementary reactions) for the n-heptane fuel has been derived and applied to the simulations of spray combustion. The studies focus on sprays injected into a high-pressure constant-volume chamber. Firstly, the validation of the current numerical model has been carried out for the case in which the injection and initial conditions are similar to those used in the “classical” Aachen experiments (50bar and 800K).