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Diesel engines provide the necessary power for accomplishing heavy tasks across the industries, but are known to produce high levels of noise. Additionally, each type of fuel possesses unique combustion characteristics that lead to different sound and vibration signatures. Noise is an indication of vibration, and components under excessive vibration may wear prematurely, leading to repair costs and downtime. New fuels that are sought to reduce emissions, and promote sustainability and energy independence must be investigated for compatibility from a sound and vibrations point-of-view also. In this research, the sound and vibration levels were analyzed for an omnivorous, single cylinder, CI research engine with alternative fuels and an advanced combustion strategy, RCCI. The fuels used were ULSD#2 as baseline, natural gas derived synthetic kerosene, and a low reactivity fuel n-Butanol for the PFI in the RCCI process.

This study investigates the use of a natural gas derived fuel, synthetic Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) paraffinic kerosene, in both it’s neat form and blended with ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD#2), in a naturally aspirated indirect injected engine. A blend of a mass ratio with 20% of the F-T fuel and 80% ULSD#2 was studied for its combustion characteristics, emissions, and efficiency compared to conventional ULSD#2 at a constant speed of 2400 RPM and operating at IMEP range from 4.5 to 6.5 bar. The F-T blend produced ignition delays 17% shorter than ULSD#2 resulting in slightly lower peak apparent heat release rates (AHRR) along with decreased peak combustion temperatures, by up to 50°C. Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions of the F-T blend decreased by 4.0% at 4.5 bar IMEP and at negligible amounts at 6.5 bar IMEP. The F-T blend decreased soot significantly at 5.4 bar IMEP by 40%. Efficiencies of the F-T blend were similar to ULSD#2.