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The HAJI (Hydrogen Assisted Jet Ignition) system for S.I. engines utilises direct injection of small amounts of hydrogen to enhance the combustion of a variety of automotive fuels. Although not the primary purpose of HAJI, the hardware, once in place, also lends itself to the possibility of hydrogen-only running during a cold start. Cold-start simulations have been performed using a single cylinder engine. Results are presented, comparing hydrogen-only tests with standard HAJI operation and normal spark-ignition operation. HAJI and spark ignition tests were carried out with gasoline as the main-chamber fuel. Emission levels and combustion stability characteristics were recorded as the engine warmed up. The differences between the various fueling/ignition scenarios are presented and the implications for possible automotive applications are discussed in light of current and proposed emissions legislation.

HAJI (Hydrogen Assisted Jet Ignition) is an advanced combustion initiation system for otherwise standard S.I engines. It utilises the fluid mechanics of a turbulent, chemically active jet, combined with the reliability of spark igniting rich hydrogen mixtures. The result is an extremely robust ignition system, capable of developing power from an engine charged with air-fuel mixtures as lean as λ = 5. Experiments have been performed using a single cylinder engine operating on gasoline in the speed range of 600-1800 r/min. Data are presented in the form of maps which describe fuel efficiency, combustion stability and emissions with respect to load, speed, air-fuel ratio and throttle. The results are incorporated into a model of a known engine and vehicle and this is used to estimate performance over the Federal drive-cycle.

Two coupled finite element analysis (FEA) programs were written to determine the transient and steady state temperature distribution in a spark ignition engine piston. The programs estimated the temperatures at each crank angle degree (CAD) through warm-up to thermal steady state. A commercial FEA code was used to combine the steady state temperature distribution with the mechanical loads to find the stress response at each CAD for one complete cycle. The first FEA program was a very fast and robust non-linear thermal code to estimate spatial and time resolved heat flux from the combustion chamber to the aluminum alloy piston crown. This model applied the energy conservation equation to the near wall gas and includes the effects of turbulence, a propagating heat source, and a quench layer allowing estimates of local, instantaneous near-wall temperature gradients and the resulting heat fluxes.

This paper is based on extensive experimental research with lean burn, high compression ratio engines using LPG, CNG and gasoline fuels. It also builds on recent experience with highly boosted spark ignition gasoline and LPG engines and single cylinder engine research used for model calibration. The final experimental foundation is an evaluation of jet assisted ignition that generally allows a lean mixture shift of more than one unit in lambda with consequential benefits of improved thermal efficiency and close to zero NOx. The capability of an ultra lean burn spark ignition engine is described. The concept is operation at air-fuel ratios similar to the diesel engine but with essentially homogenous charge, although some stratification may be desirable. To achieve high thermal efficiency this engine has optimized compression ratio but with variable valve timing which enables reduction in the effective compression ratio when desirable.

The application of a Scotch Yoke crank mechanism to a reciprocating internal combustion engine reduces the engine's size and weight and, with the sinusoidal piston motion it provides, it changes the combustion parameters and simplifies the requirements for perfect balancing of the engine. This paper makes a theoretical comparison between conventional and Scotch Yoke engines with dimensional similarity of individual components where possible such as bore and stroke, and justifiable differences appropriate to each engine design such as cylinder bore off-set, piston height, connecting rod length etc. Included are variations related to differences in piston motion (true sinusoidal versus conventional) such as exhaust emissions and balancing requirements.

This paper extends previous development of the ALSI concept, by investigating the performance delivered with a turbocharged version of this engine. The research is based on extensive experimental research with lean burn, high compression ratio engines using hydrogen, LPG, CNG and gasoline fuels. It also builds on recent experience with highly boosted spark ignition gasoline and LPG engines and single cylinder engine research used extensively for model calibration. The final experimental foundation is the wide ranging evaluation of jet assisted ignition that generally allows a lean limit mixture shift of more than one unit of lambda with consequential benefits of improved thermal efficiency and close to zero NOx. The paper describes the capability of the ultra lean burn spark ignition engine with the mild boost needed provided by a Honeywell turbocharger.

The Bishop Rotary Valve (BRV) has the opportunity for greater breathing capacity than conventional poppet valve engines. However the combustion chamber shape is different from conventional engine with no opportunity for a central spark plug. This paper reports the development of a combustion analysis and design model using KIVA-3V code to locate the ignition centers and to perform sensitivity analysis to several design variables. Central to the use of the model was the tuning of the laminar Arrhenius model constants to match the experimental pressure data over the speed range 13000-20000 rpm. Piston ring crevices lands and valve crevices is shown to be an important development area and connecting rod piston stretch has also been accommodated in the modeling. For the proposed comparison, a conventional 4 valve per cylinder poppet valve engine of nearly equal IMEP has been simulated with GT-POWER.

This paper reports comparative results for liquid phase versus gaseous phase port injection in a single cylinder engine. It follows previous research in a multi-cylinder engine where liquid phase was found to have advantages over gas phase at most operating conditions. Significant variations in cylinder to cylinder mixture distribution were found for both phases and leading to uncertainty in the findings. The uncertainty was avoided in this paper as in the engine used, a high speed Waukesha ASTM CFR, identical manifold conditions could be assured and MBT spark found for each fuel supply system over a wide range of mixtures. These were extended to lean burn conditions where gaseous fuelling in the multi-cylinder engine had been reported to be at least an equal performer to liquid phase. The experimental data confirm the power and efficiency advantages of liquid phase injection over gas phase injection and carburetion in multi-cylinder engine tests.