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Large Eddy Simulations (LES) and tracer-based Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) measurements were performed to study the dynamics of fuel wall-films on the piston top of an optically accessible, four-valve pent-roof GDI research engine for a total of eight operating conditions. Starting from a reference point, the systematic variations include changes in engine speed (600; 1,200 and 2,000 RPM) and load (1000 and 500 mbar intake pressure); concerning the fuel path the Start Of Injection (SOI=360°, 390° and 420° CA after gas exchange TDC) as well as the injection pressure (10, 20 and 35 MPa) were varied. For each condition, 40 experimental images were acquired phase-locked at 10° CA intervals after SOI, showing the wall-film dynamics in terms of spatial extent, thickness and temperature.

The current trend in automobiles is towards electrical vehicles, but for the most part these vehicles still require an internal combustion engine to provide additional range and flexibility. These engines are under stringent emissions regulations, in particular, for the reduction of CO2. Gas engines which run lean burn combustion systems provide a viable route to these emission reductions, however designing these engines to provide sustainable and controlled combustion under lean conditions at λ=2.0 is challenging. To address this challenge, it is possible to use a scavenged Pre-Chamber Ignition (PCI) system which can deliver favorable conditions for ignition close to the spark plug. The lean charge in the main combustion chamber is then ignited by flame jets emanating from the pre-chamber nozzles. Accurate prediction of flame kernel development and propagation is essential for the analysis of PCI systems.

It is well-known that the spatial distribution of turbulence intensity and fuel concentration at spark-time play a pivotal role on the flame development within the pre-chamber in gas engines equipped with a scavenged pre-chamber. The combustion within the pre-chamber is in turn a determining factor in terms of combustion behaviour in the main chamber, and accordingly it influences the engine efficiency as well as pollutant emissions such as NOx and unburned hydrocarbons. This paper presents a numerical analysis of fuel concentration and turbulence distribution at spark time for an automotive-sized scavenged pre-chamber mounted at the head of a rapid compression-expansion machine (RCEM). Two different pre-chamber orifice orientations are considered: straight and tilted nozzles. The latter introduce a swirling flow within the pre-chamber. Simulations have been carried out using with two different turbulence models: Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and Large-Eddy Simulation (LES).

Three-dimensional reactive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) plays a crucial role in IC engine development tasks complementing experimental efforts by providing improved understanding of the combustion process. A widely adopted combustion model in the engine community for (partially) premixed combustion is the G-Equation where the flame front is represented by an iso-level of an arbitrary scalar G. A convective-reactive equation for this iso-surface is solved, for which the turbulent flame speed ST must be provided. In this study, the commonly used and well-established Damköhler approach is compared to a novel correlation, derived from an algebraic closure for the scalar dissipation of reaction progress as proposed by Kolla et al. [1].

An existing three-stage ignition delay model which has seen successful application to Primary Reference Fuels (PRFs) has been extended to six surrogate fuels which constitute potential candidates for future Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engines. The fuels include petroleum-derived and oxygenated components and can be divided into low, intermediate and high cetane number groups. A new methodology to obtain the model parameters is presented which relies jointly on simulation and experimental data: in a first step, constant volume adiabatic reactor simulations using chemical kinetic mechanisms are performed to generate ignition delays for a very wide range of conditions, namely variations in equivalence ratio, Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR), pressure and temperature.

In this study, the ignition and combustion process in a lean burn, spark-ignited stationary gas engine was investigated using a level-set (G-equation) combustion model in the context of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations. An ignition model based on Herweg and Maly [1] and its coupling with the G-equation combustion model was implemented in the framework of the STARCD/es-ICE solver. A first validation was performed by means of spherically expanding methane/air flame measurements in an optically accessible spherical combustion bomb at elevated pressure by Lawes et al. [2]: predictions of the kernel size and the flame expansion are in good agreement with the experimental data at both stoichiometric and lean conditions. The model was subsequently applied to study combustion in a premixed lean burn stationary gas engine with a displacement volume of roughly two liters, ignited by means of a centrally located “G-type” spark plug.

Knock is often the main limiting factor for brake efficiency in spark ignition engines and is mostly attributed to auto-ignition of the unburned mixture in front of the flame. In order to study knock in a systematic way, spark angle sweeps with ethanol and iso-octane have been carried out on single cylinder spark ignition engine with variable intake temperatures at wide open throttle and stoichiometric premixed fuel/air mixtures. Much earlier and stronger knock can be observed for iso-octane compared to ethanol at otherwise same engine operating conditions due to the cooling effect and higher octane number of ethanol, leading to different cycle-to-cycle variation behavior. Detailed chemical kinetic mechanisms are used to compute ignition delay times at conditions relevant to the measurements and are compared to empirical correlations available in literature. The different correlations are used in a knock model approach and are tested against the measurement data.

Numerical simulations of a heavy-duty diesel engine fuelled with n-heptane have been performed with the conditional moment closure (CMC) combustion model and an embedded two-equation soot model. The influence of exhaust gas recirculation on the interaction between post- and main- injection has been investigated. Four different levels of EGR corresponding to intake ambient oxygen volume fractions of 12.6, 15, 18 and 21% have been considered for a constant intake pressure and temperature and unchanged injection configuration. Simulation results have been compared to the experimental data by means of pressure and apparent heat-release rate (AHRR) traces and in-cylinder high-speed imaging of natural soot luminosity and planar laser-induced incandescence (PLII). The simulation was found to reproduce the effect of EGR on AHRR evolutions very well, for both single- and post-injection cases.

Direct injection of natural gas in engines is considered a promising approach toward reducing engine out emissions and fuel consumption. As a consequence, new gas injection strategies have to be developed for easing direct injection of natural gas and its mixing processes with the surrounding air. In this study, the behavior of a hollow cone gas jet generated by a piezoelectric injector was experimentally investigated by means of tracer-based planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF). Pressurized acetone-doped nitrogen was injected in a constant pressure and temperature measurement chamber with optical access. The jet was imaged at different timings after start of injection and its time evolution was analyzed as a function of injection pressure and needle lift.

In this study, numerical simulations of in-cylinder processes associated to fuel post-injection in a diesel engine operated at Low Temperature Combustion (LTC) have been performed. An extended Conditional Moment Closure (CMC) model capable of accounting for an arbitrary number of subsequent injections has been employed: instead of a three-feed system, the problem has been described as a sequential two-feed system, using the total mixture fraction as the conditioning scalar. A reduced n-heptane chemical mechanism coupled with a two-equation soot model is employed. Numerical results have been validated with measurements from the optically accessible heavy-duty diesel engine installed at Sandia National Laboratories by comparing apparent heat release rate (AHRR) and in-cylinder soot mass evolutions for three different start of main injection, and a wide range of post injection dwell times.

This study presents an application of the conditional moment closure (CMC) combustion model to marine diesel sprays. In particular, the influence of fuel evaporation terms has been investigated for the CMC modeling framework. This is motivated by the fact that substantial overlap between the dense fuel spray and flame area is encountered for sprays in typical large two-stroke marine diesel engines which employ fuel injectors with orifice diameters of the order of one millimeter. Simulation results are first validated by means of experimental data from the Wärtsilä optically accessible marine spray combustion chamber in terms of non-reactive macroscopic spray development. Subsequently, reactive calculations are carried out and validated in terms of ignition delay time, ignition location, flame lift-off length and temporal evolution of the flame region. Finally, the influence of droplet terms on spray combustion is analyzed in detail.

This paper presents numerical simulations of in-cylinder soot evolution in the optically accessible heavy-duty diesel engine of Sandia Laboratories performed with the conditional moment closure (CMC) model employing a reduced n-heptane chemical mechanism coupled with a two-equation soot model. The influence of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on in-cylinder processes is studied considering different ambient oxygen volume fractions (8 - 21 percent), while maintaining intake pressure and temperature as well as the injection configuration unchanged. This corresponds to EGR rates between 0 and 65 percent. Simulation results are first compared with experimental data by means of apparent heat release rate (AHRR) and temporally resolved in-cylinder soot mass, where a quantitative comparison is presented. The model was found to fairly well reproduce ignition delays as well as AHRR traces along the EGR variation with a slight underestimation of the diffusion burn portion.

In this study, the influence of injector diameter on the combustion of diesel sprays in an optically accessible combustion chamber of marine engine dimensions and conditions has been investigated experimentally as well as numerically. Five different orifice diameters ranging between 0.2 and 1.2 mm have been considered at two different ambient temperatures: a “cold” case with 800 K and a “warm” case with 900 K, resulting in a total of ten different test conditions. In the experiment, the reactive spray flames were characterized by means of high-speed OH* chemiluminescence imaging. The measurements revealed a weak impact of the injector diameter on ignition delay (ID) time and flame lift-off length (LOL) whereas the influence of ambient temperature was found to be more pronounced, consistent with former studies in the literature for smaller orifice diameters.

The heat release of the low temperature reactions (LTR or cool-flame) under Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion has been quantified for five candidate fuels in an optically accessible Rapid Compression Expansion Machine (RCEM). Two technical fuels (Naphthas) and three primary reference fuels (PRF), (n-heptane, PRF25 and PRF50) were examined. The Cetane Numbers (CN) of the fuels range from 35 to 56. Variation of the operating parameters has been performed, in regard to initial charge temperature of 383, 408, and 433K, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rate of 0%, 25%, and 50%, and equivalence ratio of 0.29, 0.38, 0.4, 0.53, 0.57, and 0.8. Pressure indication measurements, OH-chemiluminescence imaging, and passive spectroscopy were simultaneously implemented. In our previous work, an empirical, three-stage, Arrhenius-type ignition delay model, parameterized on shock tube data, was found to be applicable also in a transient, engine-relevant environment.

An optically accessible Rapid Compression Expansion Machine (RCEM) has been used to investigate the homogeneous auto-ignition of five candidate fuels for Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion. Two technical fuels (Naphthas) and three primary reference fuels (PRF), (n-heptane, PRF25 and PRF50) were examined. The Cetane Numbers (CN) of the fuels range from 35 to 56. The PRF25 and PRF50 were selected in order to approximately match the CN of the two Naphthas. Variation of the operating parameters has been performed, in regard to initial charge temperature of 383, 408, and 433K, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rate of 0%, 25%, and 50%, and equivalence ratio of 0.29, 0.38, 0.4, 0.53, 0.57, and 0.8. Pressure indication measurements, OH-chemiluminescence imaging, and passive spectroscopy were simultaneously implemented.

Future engine emission legislation regulates soot from Diesel engines strictly and requires improvements in engine calibration, fast response sensor equipment and exhaust gas aftertreatment systems. The in-cylinder phenomena of soot formation and oxidation can be analysed using a pyrometer with optical access to the combustion chamber. The pyrometer collects the radiation of soot particles during diffusion combustion, and allows the calculation of soot temperature and a proportional value for the in-cylinder soot density (KL). A four-cylinder heavy-duty Diesel engine was equipped in all cylinders with prototype pyrometers and state of the art pressure transducers. The cylinder specific data was recorded crank angle-resolved for a set of steady-state and transient operating conditions, as well as exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) addition and over a wide range of soot emissions.

Numerical simulations of in-cylinder soot evolution in the optically accessible heavy-duty diesel engine of Sandia National Laboratories have been performed with the multidimensional conditional moment closure (CMC) model using a reduced n-heptane chemical mechanism coupled with a two-equation soot model. Simulation results are compared to the high-fidelity experimental data by means of pressure traces, apparent heat release rate (AHRR) and time-resolved in-cylinder soot mass derived from optical soot luminosity and multiple wavelength pyrometry in conjunction with high speed soot cloud imaging. In addition, spatial distributions of soot relevant quantities are given for several operating conditions.

Ignition systems for large lean burn gas engines are challenged by large energy deposition requirements to ensure stable and reliable inflammation of the premixed charge. In this study, two different ignition systems are investigated experimentally: ignition by means of injecting a small amount of diesel spray and its subsequent autoignition is compared to the ignition with an un-scavenged pre-chamber spark plug over a wide range of engine relevant conditions such as methane equivalence ratios and thermomechanical states. The ignition behavior as well as the combustion phase of the two systems is investigated using an optically accessible Rapid Compression Expansion Machine (RCEM). Filtered OH-chemiluminescence images of the ignition and combustion were taken with a UV intensified high speed camera through the piston window.

The behavior of spray auto-ignition and combustion of a diesel spray in a lean premixed methane/air charge was investigated. A rapid compression expansion machine with a free-floating piston was employed to reach engine-relevant conditions at start of injection of the micro diesel pilot. The methane content in the lean ambient gas mixture was varied by injecting different amounts of methane directly into the combustion chamber, the ambient equivalence ratio for the methane content ranged from 0.0 (pure air) to 0.65. Two different nozzle tips with three and six orifices were employed. The amount of pilot fuel injected ranged between 0.8 and 1.8 percent of the total energy in the combustion chamber. Filtered OH chemiluminescence images of the combustion were taken with a UV-intensified high-speed camera through the optical access in the piston.

Compact and computationally efficient reaction models capable of accurately predicting ignition delay and heat release rates are a prerequisite for the development of strategies to control and optimize HCCI engines. In particular for full boiling range fuels exhibiting two-stage ignition a tremendous demand exists in the engine development community. To this end, in a previous investigation, a global reaction mechanism was developed and fitted to data from shock tube experiments for n-heptane and five full boiling range fuels. By means of a genetic algorithm, for each of these fuels, a set of reaction rate parameters (consisting of pre-exponential factors, activation energies and concentration exponents) has been defined, without any change to the model form.