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Due to stringent emission standards, the demand for higher efficiency engines has been unprecedentedly high in recent years. Among several existing combustion modes, pre-chamber spark ignition (PCSI) emerges to be a potential candidate for high-efficiency engines. Research on the pre-chamber concept exhibit higher indicated efficiency through lean limit extension while maintaining the combustion stability. In this study, a unique pre-chamber geometry was tested in a single-cylinder heavy-duty engine at low load lean conditions. The geometry features a narrow throat, which was designed to be packaged inside a commercial diesel injector pocket. The pre-chamber was fueled with methane while the main chamber was supplied with an ethanol/air mixture.

Dual fuel (DF) combustion technology as a feasible approach controlling engine-out emissions facilitates the concept of fuel flexibility in diesel engines. The abundance of natural gas (90-95% methane) and its relatively low-price and the clean-burning characteristic has attracted the interest of engine manufacturers. Moreover, with the low C/H ratio and very low soot producing tendency of methane combined with high engine efficiency makes it a viable primary fuel for diesel engines. However, the fundamental knowledge on in-cylinder combustion phenomena still remains limited and needs to be studied for further advances in the research on DF technology. The objective of this study is to investigate the ignition delay with the effect of, 1) methane equivalence ratio, 2) intake air temperature and 3) pilot ratio on the diesel-methane DF-combustion. Combustion phenomenon was visualized in a single cylinder heavy-duty diesel engine modified for DF operations with an optical access.

Fuel has a huge port in the operating costs of agribusiness, the increase on the price and the shortage of this energy resource has a direct impact on agricultural production costs. In this context, regions that are farther from refineries and lack the presence of fuel distribution centers tend to suffer more from the availability and cost of this resource. Economically speaking, agribusiness has a prominent position in the national scenery. The world fuel source had an evolution from the predominance of solid fuels to the current age of liquid fuels derived from petroleum and seeing the future and growing age of gas fuels as the predecessor stage of electric vehicles in some markets.

Natural gas (NG) is an alternative fuel for spark-ignition engines. In addition to its cleaner combustion, recent breakthroughs in drilling technologies increased its availability and lowered its cost. NG consists of mostly methane, but it also contains heavier hydrocarbons and inert diluents, the levels of which vary substantially with geographical source, time of the year and treatments applied during production or transportation. To investigate the effects of NG composition on engine performance and emissions, a 3D CFD model of a heavy-duty diesel engine retrofitted to NG spark ignition simulated lean-combustion engine operation at low speed and medium load conditions. The work investigated three NG blends with similar lower heating value (i.e., similar energy density) but different Methane Number (MN). The results indicated that a lower MN increased flame propagation speed and thus increased in-cylinder pressure and indicated mean effective pressure.

Diesel Dual Fuel, DDF, is a concept which promises the possibility to utilize CNG/biogas in a compression ignition engine maintaining a high compression ratio, made possible by the high knock resistance of methane, and the resulting benefits in thermal efficiency associated with Diesel combustion. Presenter Fredrik K�nigsson, AVL Sweden

Exhaust emissions of non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) and methane were measured from a Tier 3 dual-fuel demonstration locomotive running diesel-natural gas blend. Measurements were performed with the typical flame ionization detector (FID) method in accordance with EPA CFR Title 40 Part 1065 and with an alternative Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy method. Measurements were performed with and without oxidation catalyst exhaust aftertreatment. FTIR may have potential for improved accuracy over the FID when NMHC is dominated by light hydrocarbons. In the dual fuel tests, the FTIR measurement was 1-4% higher than the FID measurement of. NMHC results between the two methods differed considerably, in some cases reporting concentrations as much as four times those of the FID. However, in comparing these data it is important to note that the FTIR method has several advantages over the FID method, so the differences do not necessarily represent error in the FTIR.

Bench reactor experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of operating temperature, precious metal loading, space velocity, and air-fuel (A/F) ratio on the performance of palladium (Pd) catalysts under simulated natural gas vehicle (NGV) exhaust conditions. The performance of these catalysts under simulated gasoline vehicle (GV) conditions was also investigated. In the case of simulated NGV exhaust, where methane was used as the prototypical hydrocarbon (HC) species, peak three-way conversion was obtained under richer conditions than required with simulated GV exhaust (propane and propene HC species). Moreover, the hydrocarbon efficiency of the catalyst under simulated NGV exhaust conditions was more sensitive to both A/F ratio and perturbations in A/F ratio than the HC efficiency under GV exhaust conditions.

A dual-fuel conversion for the 3406-B Caterpillar marine diesel engine has been developed. The purpose of this conversion is to use lower priced natural gas as a fuel, thus providing substantial cost savings for large fuel consumers. The conversion applies dual-fuel technology to the smaller high-speed direct-injected diesel engine. Parameters are identified which allow a dual-fuel conversion to operate with similar performance as a diesel engine while simultaneously maintaining parameters that promote engine life. Test data is presented comparing various characteristics of both dual-fuel and diesel operation. Details of the conversion system are given. Data is presented showing fuel consumption, conditions leading to engine knock, conditions promoting methane flame propagation, and air-fuel ratios required for efficient combustion.

Natural gas is an attractive fuel for heavy-duty internal combustion engines as it has the potential to reduce CO2, particulate, and NOx emissions. This study reports optical investigations on the effect of methane stratification at lean combustion conditions in a heavy-duty optical diesel engine converted to spark-ignition operation. The combination of the direct injector (DI) and port-fuel injectors (PFI) fueling allows different levels of in-cylinder fuel stratification. The engine was operated in skip-firing mode, and high-speed natural combustion luminosity color images were recorded using a high-speed color camera from the bottom view, along with in-cylinder pressure measurements. The results from methane combustion based on port-fuel injections indicate the lean burn limit at λ = 1.4. To improve the lean limit of methane combustion, fuel stratification is introduced into the mixture using direct injections.

We assessed gaseous and particulate matter (PM) emissions from a current technology stoichiometric natural gas waste hauler equipped with a 2011 model year 8.9L Cummins Westport ISL-G engine with cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and three-way catalyst (TWC). Testing was performed on five fuels with varying Wobbe and methane numbers over the William H. Martin Refuse Truck Cycle. The results showed lower nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions for the low methane fuels (i.e., natural gas fuels with a relatively low methane content) for the transport and curbside cycles. Total hydrocarbon (THC) and methane (CH4) emissions did not show any consistent fuel trends. Non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) emissions showed a trend of higher emissions for the fuels containing higher levels of NMHCs. Carbon monoxide (CO) emissions showed a trend of higher emissions for the low methane fuels.

In 2009 - 2011, a comprehensive project on urban buses was carried out in cooperation with IEA's Implementing Agreements on Alternative Motor Fuels and Bioenergy, with input from additional IEA Implementing Agreements. The objective of the project was to generate unbiased and solid data for use by policy- and decision-makers responsible for public transport using buses. The project comprised four major parts: (1) a well-to-tank (WTT) assessment of alternative fuel pathways, (2) an assessment of bus end-use (tank-to-wheel, TTW) performance, (3) combining WTT and TTW data into well-to-wheel (WTW) data and (4) a cost assessment, including indirect as well as direct costs. Experts at Argonne National Laboratory, Natural Resources Canada and VTT worked on the WTT part. In the TTW part, Environment Canada and VTT generated emission and fuel consumption data by running 21 different buses on chassis dynamometers, generating data for some 180 combinations of vehicle, fuel and driving cycle.

This paper deals with the experimental and numerical investigation of a 2.0 litre single cylinder Heavy Duty Diesel Engine fuelled by natural gas and diesel oil in Dual Fuel mode. Due to the gaseous nature of the main fuel and to the high compression ratio of the diesel engine, reduced emissions can be obtained. An experimental study has been carried out at three different load level (25%, 50% and 75% of full engine load). Basing on experimental data, the authors recreated a 45° mesh sector of the engine cylinder and performed CFD simulations for the cases at 50% and 75% load levels. Numerical simulations were carried out on the 3D code Ansys FORTE. The aim of this work is to study combustion phenomena and, in particular, the interaction between natural gas and diesel oil, respectively represented by methane and n-dodecane. A reduced kinetic scheme for methane auto-ignition was implemented while for n-dodecane two set of reactions were utilised.

With increased awareness and scrutiny of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the heavy-duty truck industry is on the lookout for solutions that can maximize GHG savings, through either lowering fuel consumption and lowering methane slip. This paper focuses on whether it is possible to provide a differentiated Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) that supports the further improvement of a High-Pressure Direct Injection (HPDI) Engine. Desired improvements from this LNG blend are the lowering or substitution of the pilot Diesel use of the current HPDI engine, the lowering of the raw exhaust gas methane concentration and any additional performance improvements. Sixty-five substances were identified that could potentially be blended into cryogenic methane thus creating a differentiated LNG fuel.

There is a strong request for heavy-duty gas engines in the Nordic countries for environmental reasons. Therefore, several research projects are going on. This paper describes two of them: a Finnish Sisu truck and a MAN bus, both operating in the city of Espoo, the hometown of the Technical Research Centre. The truck is equipped with a 7.4 litre Finnish Valmet 612 engine. The development work has included engine tests and tests with a vehicle in laboratory conditions. A 3,3 litre 3-cylinder engine was used for the engine tests. The engine runs on stoichiometric mixture, and has a three-way catalyst based on metal substrate. The engine was run on both methane (compr. ratio 12:1) and propane (compr. ratio 10:1). Emissions were extremely low with both fuels. In the European 13-mode test 0.4 g CO, 0.1 g HC and 0.1 g NOx per kWh were achieved. Peak thermal efficiency was 35 % for both fuels. Maximum mean effective pressure (BMEP) for a naturally aspirated engine is 9 - 9,5 bar.

Research activities in the development of reliable computational models for aftertreatment systems are constantly increasing in the automotive field. These investigations are essential in order to get a complete understanding of the main catalytic processes which clearly have a great impact on tailpipe emissions. In this work, a 1D chemical reaction model to simulate the catalytic activity of a Pd/Rh Three-Way Catalyst (TWC) for a Natural Gas heavy-duty engine is presented. An extensive database of tests carried out with the use of a Synthetic Gas Bench (SGB) has been collected to investigate the methane abatement pathways, linked to the lambda variation and oxide formation on palladium surface. Specific steady-state tests have shown a dynamics of the methane conversion even at fixed λ and temperature conditions, essentially due to the Pd/PdO ratio.

Abstract Addition of hydrogen to hydrocarbons in premixed turbulent combustion is of technological interest due to their increased reactivity, flame stability and extended lean extinction limits. However, such flames are a challenge to reaction modelling, especially as the strong preferential diffusion effects modify the physical processes, which are of importance even for highly turbulent high-pressure conditions. In the present work, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) modelling is carried out to investigate pressure and hydrogen content on methane/hydrogen/air flames.

Compression ignition internal combustion engines provide unmatched power density levels, making them suitable for numerous applications including heavy-duty freight trucks, marine shipping, and off-road construction vehicles. Fossil-derived diesel fuel has dominated the energy source for CI engines over the last century. To mitigate the dependency on fossil fuels and lessen anthropogenic carbon released into the atmosphere within the transportation sector, it is critical to establish a fuel source which is produced from renewable energy sources, all the while matching the high-power density demands of various applications. Dimethyl ether (DME) has been used in non-combustion applications for several decades and is an attractive fuel for CI engines because of its high reactivity, superior volatility to diesel, and low soot tendency. A range of feedstock sources can produce DME via the catalysis of syngas.

Globally, many jurisdictions are working toward greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles that will take effect in the next decade and require GHG reductions of up to 25% from 2017 legislated levels. While diesel engines will require increasingly complex improvements, high pressure direct injection (HPDI) of natural gas can provide GHG reductions of approximately 20% (75% or more with renewable natural gas / bio-methane) while preserving the same power density, torque and performance as diesel. This paper will provide an overview of the improvements in the Westport™ HPDI 2.0 components as well as performance and emissions results demonstrated to-date. The potential and challenges of higher injection pressures will be explored while also investigating sources of and methods to eliminate methane venting on the vehicle.

To replace conventional Diesel and to make the transport sector CO2 neutral, liquid bio methane or liquefied biogas (LBG) is one possible solution to replace conventional fuel. Due to the ongoing development of methane engines for trucks and the possible perspective of realizing closed CO2 cycles, a pilot project "Use of LBG (Liquefied Biogas) for Swiss heavy-duty transportation" has been launched in Switzerland. This project is intended to demonstrate the performance of LBG trucks as well as their environmental benefits. The emission behavior of the vehicles is a critical point in the evaluation of the idea of using methane as a fuel. In the present paper the conducted real drive emission measurements of two different methane gas and one Diesel powered truck, as reference, with the parallel use of a standard and FTIR-PEMS are presented. The configuration of both PEMS systems mounted on a trailer is shown, as well as the real drive scenario.

An experimental study has been carried out with the end goal of minimizing engine-out methane emissions with Premixed Micro Pilot Combustion (PMPC) in a natural gas-diesel Dual-Fuel™ engine. The test engine used is a heavy-duty single cylinder engine with high pressure common rail diesel injection as well as port fuel injection of natural gas. Multiple variables were examined, including injection timings, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) percentages, and rail pressure for diesel, conventional Dual-Fuel, and PMPC Dual-Fuel combustion modes. The responses investigated were pressure rise rate, engine-out emissions, heat release and indicated specific fuel consumption. PMPC reduces methane slip when compared to conventional Dual-Fuel and improves emissions and fuel efficiency at the expense of higher cylinder pressure.