Comparison of Performance and Emission Characteristics of a Gasoline
Engine with Laser and Spark Ignitions in Partially Stratified Mode—A
Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis 03-16-03-0022
This also appears in
SAE International Journal of Engines-V132-3EJ
Generally, homogeneous mixture combustion is preferred at high loads in
conventional spark-ignition engines. But homogeneous mixture combustion can lead
to high hydrocarbon (HC) emissions at low loads. Thereby, stratified mixture
combustion with an overall lean mixture is preferred at low loads, which can
significantly reduce HC emissions, but NOx and soot emissions will increase.
Nowadays, gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines are becoming popular because
of better thermal efficiency and low emissions at all loads. These engines work
with a stratified mixture at low-load conditions and a homogeneous mixture at
high-load conditions. But the problem with these engines is high nitrogen oxides
(NOx) and soot emissions at low-load conditions. Therefore, today, the concept
of partial stratification is tried in these engines, which is a combination of
the combustion of stratified and homogeneous mixtures, using both GDI and port
fuel injection (PFI) techniques. With the partial stratified mixture combustion,
HC, NOx, and soot emissions are expected to reduce. Also the use of laser
ignition instead of spark ignition can reduce NOx and HC emissions. Therefore,
this study deals with a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the
effect of spark and laser ignitions on the combustion, performance, and emission
characteristics of a single-cylinder engine operating under GDI-PFI mode
operating with a partially stratified mixture. Three overall equivalence ratios
(OERs) of 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 are considered for the analysis. The effects of
spark and laser ignitions on turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) formation at the
ignition spot, indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), and emissions are
analyzed. To quantify the flame speed, a parameter called relative combustion
phasing (RCP) is used. The analysis is performed by maintaining a constant CA50
(crank angle degree [CAD] position where 50% of the total heat release occur in
a combustion) by adjusting the start of spark (SOS). Analysis of results showed
that the combustion with the laser ignition is faster than that of the spark
ignition. The laser ignition with the OER of 0.7 reduced the HC and soot
emissions by 5.8% and 2.2 times, respectively, if compared to those of the spark
ignitions. The RCP of the laser ignition is about 34.5% lower than that of the
corresponding spark ignition. The IMEP for the laser ignition is improved by
about 10.4% and the NOx emissions increased by about 3.2% than that of the spark
ignition.
Citation: Bhaduri, S. and Mallikarjuna, J., "Comparison of Performance and Emission Characteristics of a Gasoline Engine with Laser and Spark Ignitions in Partially Stratified Mode—A Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis," SAE Int. J. Engines 16(3):377-397, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4271/03-16-03-0022. Download Citation
Author(s):
Sreetam Bhaduri, J.M. Mallikarjuna
Affiliated:
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Department of Mechanical
Engineering, India
Pages: 22
ISSN:
1946-3936
e-ISSN:
1946-3944
Related Topics:
Spark ignition engines
Computational fluid dynamics
Single cylinder engines
Nitrogen oxides
Fuel injection
Combustion and combustion processes
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