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The objective of this investigation is to optimize a light-duty diesel engine in order to minimize soot, NOx, carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) emissions and peak pressure rise rate (PPRR) while improving fuel economy in a low oxygen environment. Variables considered are the injection timings, fractional amount of fuel per injection, half included spray angle, swirl, and stepped-bowl piston geometry. The KIVA-CHEMKIN code, a multi-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program with detailed chemistry is used and is coupled to a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) along with an automated grid generator. The stepped-piston bowl allows more options for spray targeting and improved charge preparation. Results show that optimal combinations of the above variables exist to simultaneously reduce emissions and fuel consumption. Details of the spray targeting were found to have a major impact on the combustion process.

This study explores an Adaptive Injection Strategy (AIS) that employs multiple injections at both low and high pressures to reduce spray-wall impingement, control combustion phasing, and limit pressure rise rates in a Premixed Compression Ignition (PCI) engine. Previous computational studies have shown that reducing the injection pressure of early injections can prevent spray-wall impingement caused by long liquid penetration lengths. This research focuses on understanding the performance and emissions benefits of low and high pressure split injections through experimental parametric sweeps of a 0.48 L single-cylinder test engine operating at 2000 rev/min and 5.5 bar nominal IMEP. This study examines the effects of 2nd injection pressure, EGR, swirl ratio, and 1st and 2nd injection timing, for both single heat release and two-peak high temperature heat release cases. In order to investigate the AIS concept experimentally, a Variable Injection Pressure (VIP) system was developed.

This study investigates the potential of controlling premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI and HCCI) combustion strategies by varying fuel reactivity. In-cylinder fuel blending using port fuel injection of gasoline and early cycle direct injection of diesel fuel was used for combustion phasing control at both high and low engine loads and was also effective to control the rate of pressure rise. The first part of the study used the KIVA-CHEMKIN code and a reduced primary reference fuel (PRF) mechanism to suggest optimized fuel blends and EGR combinations for HCCI operation at two engine loads (6 and 11 bar net IMEP). It was found that the minimum fuel consumption could not be achieved using either neat diesel fuel or neat gasoline alone, and that the optimal fuel reactivity required decreased with increasing load. For example, at 11 bar net IMEP, the optimum fuel blend and EGR rate for HCCI operation was found to be PRF 80 and 50%, respectively.

The goal of this research is to investigate the physical parameters of stoichiometric operation of a diesel engine under a light load operating condition (6∼7 bar IMEP). This paper focuses on improving the fuel efficiency of stoichiometric operation, for which a fuel consumption penalty relative to standard diesel combustion was found to be 7% from a previous study. The objective is to keep NOx and soot emissions at reasonable levels such that a 3-way catalyst and DPF can be used in an aftertreatment combination to meet 2010 emissions regulation. The effects of intake conditions and the use of group-hole injector nozzles (GHN) on fuel consumption of stoichiometric diesel operation were investigated. Throttled intake conditions exhibited about a 30% fuel penalty compared to the best fuel economy case of high boost/EGR intake conditions. The higher CO emissions of throttled intake cases lead to the poor fuel economy.

A study of partially premixed combustion (PPC) with non-oxygenated 91 pump octane number1 (PON) commercially available gasoline was performed using a heavy-duty (HD) compression-ignition (CI) 2.44 l Caterpillar 3401E single-cylinder oil test engine (SCOTE). The experimental conditions selected were a net indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) of 11.5 bar, an engine speed of 1300 rev/min, an intake temperature of 40°C with intake and exhaust pressures of 200 and 207 kPa, respectively. The baseline case for all studies presented had 0% exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), used a dual injection strategy a -137 deg ATDC pilot SOI and a -6 deg ATDC main start-of-injection (SOI) timing with a 30/70% pilot/main fuel split for a total of 5.3 kg/h fueling (equating to approximately 50% load). Combustion and emissions characteristics were explored relative to the baseline case by sweeping main and pilot SOI timings, injection split fuel percentage, intake pressure, load and EGR levels.

Two advanced combustion models have been validated with the KIVA-3V Release 2 code in the context of two-stage combustion in a heavy duty diesel engine. The first model uses CHEMKIN to directly integrate chemistry in each computational cell. The second model accounts for flame propagation with the G-equation, and CHEMKIN predicts autoignition and handles chemistry ahead of and behind the flame front. A Damköhler number criterion was used in flame containing cells to characterize the local mixing status and determine whether heat release and species change should be a result of flame propagation or volumetric heat release. The purpose of this criterion is to make use of physical and chemical time scales to determine the most appropriate chemistry model, depending on the mixture composition and thermodynamic properties of the gas in each computational cell.

A transport equation residual model incorporating refined G-equation and detailed chemical kinetics combustion models has been developed and implemented in the ERC KIVA-3V release2 code for Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engine simulations for better predictions of flame propagation. In the transport equation residual model a fictitious species concept is introduced to account for the residual gases in the cylinder, which have a great effect on the laminar flame speed. The residual gases include CO2, H2O and N2 remaining from the previous engine cycle or introduced using EGR. This pseudo species is described by a transport equation. The transport equation residual model differentiates between CO2 and H2O from the previous engine cycle or EGR and that which is from the combustion products of the current engine cycle.

The lift-off length plays a significant role in spray combustion as it influences the air entrainment upstream of the lift-off location and hence the soot formation. Accurate prediction of lift-off length thus becomes a prerequisite for accurate soot prediction in lifted flames. In the present study, KIVA-3v coupled with CHEMKIN, as developed at the Engine Research Center (ERC), is used as the CFD model. Experimental data from the Sandia National Labs. is used for validating the model predictions of n-heptane lift-off lengths and soot formation details in a constant volume combustion chamber. It is seen that the model predictions, in terms of lift-off length and soot mass, agree well with the experimental results for low ambient density (14.8 kg/m3) cases with different EGR rates (21% O2 - 8% O2). However, for high density cases (30 kg/m3) with different EGR rates (15% O2 - 8% O2) disagreements were found.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion is being considered as a practical solution for diesel engines due to its high efficiency and low NOx and PM emissions. However, for diesel HCCI operation, there are still several problems that need to be solved. One is the spay-wall impingement issue associated with early injection, and a further problem is the extension of HCCI operation from low load to higher engine loads. In this study, a combination of Adaptive Injection Strategies (AIS) and a Two-Stage Combustion (TSC) strategy are proposed to solve the aforementioned problems. A multi-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code with detailed chemistry, the KIVA-CHEMKIN-GA code, was employed in this study, where Genetic Algorithms (GA) were used to optimize heavy-duty diesel engine operating parameters. The TSC concept was applied to optimize the combustion process at high speed (1737 rev/min) and medium load (57% load).

Stoichiometric combustion could enable a three-way catalyst to be used for treating NOx emissions of diesel engines, which is one of the most difficult species for diesel engines to meet future emission regulations. Previous study by Lee et al. [1] showed that diesel engines can operate with stoichiometric combustion successfully with only a minor impact on fuel consumption. Low NOx emission levels were another advantage of stoichiometric operation according to that study. In this study, the characteristics of stoichiometric diesel combustion were evaluated experimentally to improve fuel economy as well as exhaust emissions The effects of fuel injection pressure, boost pressure, swirl, intake air temperature, combustion regime (injection timing), and engine load (fuel mass injected) were assessed under stoichiometric conditions.

High-speed video imaging in a swirl-supported (Rs = 1.7), direct-injection heavy-duty diesel engine operated with moderate-to-high EGR rates reveals a distinct correlation between the spatial distribution of luminous soot and mean flow vorticity in the horizontal plane. The temporal behavior of the experimental images, as well as the results of multi-dimensional numerical simulations, show that this soot-vorticity correlation is caused by the presence of a greater amount of soot on the windward side of the jet. The simulations indicate that while flow swirl can influence pre-ignition mixing processes as well as post-combustion soot oxidation processes, interactions between the swirl and the heat release can also influence mixing processes. Without swirl, combustion-generated gas flows influence mixing on both sides of the jet equally. In the presence of swirl, the heat release occurs on the leeward side of the fuel sprays.

Parametric tests using various EGR amounts, boost intake pressures, fueling rates, intake valve closings (IVC), injection pressures, and start-of-injection timings were executed to explore the limitations and potential of an intake valve actuation system on a heavy-duty diesel engine. At high-speed, intermediate load (56%) operation, constant airflow and no EGR, the use of late intake valve closing enabled a 70% NOx reduction while maintaining PM levels. Through an investigation using low load operation, late IVC, and reduced intake pressure, 2010 not-to-exceed NOx and PM emissions (0.25 g/kW-hr NOx, 0.02 g/kW-hr PM) were achieved with 40% EGR. At medium load, constant air flow, and early SOI, it was found that the NOx, HC and BSFC levels at a late IVC with 30%EGR were comparable to those with the stock camshaft IVC timing of 143°BTDC with 40%EGR. In comparison, the CO and PM levels decreased by nearly 70% with the use of late IVC timing and less EGR.

Sustainable PCI combustion was achieved in a light-duty diesel engine through the installation of a 120° spray angle nozzle and modeling-generated piston bowl geometry developed for compatibility with early start-of-injection timings. Experimental studies were conducted to determine favorable settings for boost pressure, SOI timing, and EGR rate at 2000 rev/min, 5 bar BMEP. An optimal SOI timing was discovered at 43° BTDC where soot and NOx emissions were reduced 89% and 86%, respectively. A 10% increase in fuel consumption was attributed to increased HC and CO emissions as well as non-optimal combustion phasing. Combustion noise was sufficiently attenuated through the use of high EGR rates. The maximum attainable load for PCI combustion was limited by the engine's peak cylinder pressure and cylinder pressure rise rate constraints.

Optimizations were performed on a single-cylinder heavy-duty Caterpillar SCOTE 3401E engine for NOx, PM and BSFC reductions. The engine was equipped with a Caterpillar 300B HEUI fuel injection system capable of up to four injections with timings from 90 BTDC to 90 ATDC. The engine was operated at a medium load (57%), high speed (1737 rev/min) operation point. A micro-genetic algorithm was utilized to optimize a hybrid, double-injection strategy, which incorporated an early, premixed pilot injection with a late main injection. The fuel injection parameters, intake boost pressure, and EGR were considered in the optimization. The optimization produced a parameter set that met the 2007 and 2010 PM emissions mandate of 0.0134 g/kW-hr, and was within the 1.5x not to exceed NOx + HC mandate of 2.694 g/kW-hr. Following the optimization exercise, further parametric interaction studies were performed to reveal the underlying interactions and phenomena.

The heavy-duty diesel engine industry is required to meet stringent emission standards. There is also the demand for more fuel efficient engines by the customer. In a previous study on an engine with variable intake valve closure timing, the authors found that an early single injection and accompanying premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) combustion provides advantages in emissions and fuel economy; however, unacceptably high peak pressures and rates of pressure-rise impose a severe operating constraint. The use of a Pressure Reactive Piston assembly (PRP) as a means to limit peak pressures is explored in the present work. The concept is applied to a heavy-duty diesel engine and genetic algorithms (GA) are used in conjunction with the multi-dimensional engine simulation code KIVA-3V to provide an optimized set of operating variables.

A multi-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code with detailed chemistry, the KIVA-CHEMKIN-GA code, was employed in this study, where Genetic Algorithms (GA) were used to optimize heavy-duty diesel engine operating parameters. A two-stage combustion (TSC) concept was explored to optimize the combustion process at high speed (1737 rev/min) and medium load (57% load). Two combustion modes were combined in this concept. The first stage is ideally Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion and the second stage is diffusion combustion under high temperature and low oxygen concentration conditions. This can be achieved for example by optimization of two-stage combustion using multiple injection or sprays from two different injectors.

Experiments were performed on a single-cylinder heavy-duty Caterpillar SCOTE 3401E engine at high speed (1737 rev/min) and loads up to 60% of full load for fully Premixed Charge Compression Ignition (PCCI) combustion. The engine was equipped with a high pressure (150 MPa) Caterpillar 300B HEUI fuel injection system. The engine was run with EGR levels up to 75% and with equivalence ratios up to 0.95. These experiments resulted in compliance of NOx and PM emissions to 2010 emissions mandates levels up to the tested load. The set of experiments also demonstrated the importance of cylinder charge preparation by way of optimized start-of-combustion timing for sufficient in-cylinder mixing. It was found that increased EGR rates, even with the correspondingly increased equivalence ratios, increase mixing time and substantially decrease PM emissions.

Low-temperature combustion concepts that utilize cooled EGR, early/retarded injection, high swirl ratios, and modest compression ratios have recently received considerable attention. To understand the combustion and, in particular, the soot formation process under these operating conditions, a modeling study was carried out using the KIVA-3V code with an improved phenomenological soot model. This multi-step soot model includes particle inception, surface growth, surface oxidation, and particle coagulation. Additional models include a piston-ring crevice model, the KH/RT spray breakup model, a droplet wall impingement model, a wall heat transfer model, and the RNG k-ε turbulence model. The Shell model was used to simulate the ignition process, and a laminar-and-turbulent characteristic time combustion model was used for the post-ignition combustion process.

The strategy of variable Intake Valve Closure (IVC) timing, as a means to improve performance and emission characteristics, has gained much acceptance in gasoline engines; yet, it has not been explored extensively in diesel engines. In this study, genetic algorithms are used in conjunction with the multi-dimensional engine simulation code KIVA-3V to investigate the optimum operating variables for a typical heavy-duty diesel engine working with late IVC. The effects of start-of-injection timing, injection duration and exhaust gas recirculation were investigated along with the intake valve closure timing. The results show that appreciable reductions in NOx+HC (∼82%), soot (∼48%) and BSFC (∼7.4%) are possible through this strategy, as compared to a baseline diesel case of (NOx+HC) = 9.48g/kW-hr, soot = 0.17 g/kW-hr and BSFC = 204 g-f/kW-hr. The additional consideration of double injections helps to reduce the high rates of pressure rise observed in a single injection scheme.

In this paper, optimized single and double injection schemes were found using multi-dimensional engine simulation software (KIVA-3V) and a micro-genetic algorithm for a heavy duty diesel engine. The engine operating condition considered was at 1737 rev/min and 57 % load. The engine simulation code was validated using an engine equipped with a hydraulic-electronically controlled unit injector (HEUI) system. Five important parameters were used for the optimization - boost pressure, EGR rate, start-of-injection timing, fraction of fuel in the first pulse and dwell angle between first and second pulses. The optimum results for the single injection scheme showed significant improvements for the soot and NOx emissions. The start of injection timing was found to be very early, which suggests HCCI-like combustion. Optimized soot and NOx emissions were reduced to 0.005 g/kW-hr and 1.33 g/kW-hr, respectively, for the single injection scheme.