Humidity Effects and Compensation in a Lean Burn Natural Gas Engine 971706
The effect of humidity on the lean misfire limit and emissions from a lean burn, natural gas engine is described in this paper, along with a description of a practical humidity compensation method for incorporation into an electronic control system. Experiments to determine the effects of humidity on the lean limit and emissions are described. Humidity increases were shown to decrease the rate of combustion, reduce NOx emissions, and increase the levels of unburned hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions. Data and calculations are also presented which demonstrate that increases in humidity will cause enleanment in a typical closed loop control system utilizing a universal exhaust gas oxygen (UEGO) sensor. A prototype system for humidity sensing and subsequent compensation based on these findings was implemented, and the system was found, through additional testing, to compensate for humidity very effectively.
Citation: Kubesh, J. and Podnar, D., "Humidity Effects and Compensation in a Lean Burn Natural Gas Engine," SAE Technical Paper 971706, 1997, https://doi.org/10.4271/971706. Download Citation
Author(s):
John T. Kubesh, Daniel J. Podnar
Affiliated:
Southwest Research Institute
Pages: 10
Event:
International Spring Fuels & Lubricants Meeting & Exposition
ISSN:
0148-7191
e-ISSN:
2688-3627
Also in:
Combustion Processes in Engines Utilizing Gaseous Fuels-SP-1278
Related Topics:
Lean burn engines
Gas engines
Carbon monoxide
Natural gas
Electronic control systems
Humidity
Control systems
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