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Spray evolution in diesel engines plays a crucial role in fuel-air mixing, ignition behavior, combustion characteristics, and emissions. There is a variety of phenomenological spray models and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations have been applied to characterize the spray evolution and fuel-air mixing. However, most studies were focused on the spray phenomenon under a limited range of injection and ambient conditions. Especially, the prediction of spray geometry in multi-hole injectors remains a great challenge due to the lack of understanding of the complicated flow dynamics. To overcome the challenges, a series of spray experiments were carried out in a constant volume spray chamber (CVSC) coupled with high-speed Mie-scattering imaging to obtain the spray characteristics at various injection and ambient conditions.

Hydrogen (H2), a potential carbon-neutral fuel, has attracted considerable attention in the automotive industry for transition toward zero-emission. Since the H2 jet dynamics play a significant role in the fuel/air mixing process of direct injection spark ignition (DISI) engines, the current study focuses on experimental and numerical investigation of a low-pressure H2 jet to assess its mixing behavior. In the experimental campaign, high-speed z-type schlieren imaging is applied in a constant volume chamber and H2 jet characteristics (penetration and cross-sectional area) are calculated by MATLAB and Python-based image post-processing. In addition, the Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) approach is used in the commercial software Star-CCM+ for numerical simulations.

Decarbonization of the automotive industry is one of the major challenges in the transportation sector, according to the recently proposed climate neutrality policies, e.g., the EU 'Fit for 55' package. Hydrogen as a carbon-free energy career is a promising alternative fuel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The main objective of the present study is to investigate non-reactive hydrogen jet impingement on a piston bowl profile at different injection angles and under the effect of various pressure ratios (PR), where PR is the relative ratio of injection pressure (IP) to chamber pressure (CP). This study helps to gain further insight into the mixture formation in a heavy-duty hydrogen engine, which is critical in predicting combustion efficiency. In the experimental campaign, a typical high-speed z-type Schlieren method is applied for visualizing the jet from the lateral windows of a constant volume chamber, and two custom codes are developed for post-processing the results.

As CO2 emissions from traffic must be reduced and fossil-based traffic fuels need to phase out, bio-based traffic fuels alone cannot meet the future demand due to their restricted availability. Another way to support fossil phase-out is to include synthetic fuels that are produced from circular carbon sources with renewable energy. Several different fuel types have been proposed, while, methanol only requires little processing from raw materials and could be used directly or as a drop-in fuel for some of the current engine fleet. CO2 emissions arising from fuel production are significantly reduced for synthetic renewable methanol compared to the production of fossil gasoline. Methanol has numerous advantages over the currently used fossil fuels with high RON and flame speed in spark-ignition engines as well as high efficiency and low emissions in combustion ignition engines.

Over the past few years, the growing concerns about global warming and efforts to reduce engine-out emissions have made the dual-fuel (DF) engines more popular in marine and power industries. The use of natural gas as an alternative fuel in DF engines has both the environmental and economic advantages over the conventional diesel combustion. However, the misfire phenomenon at lean conditions limits the operating range of DF combustion and causes emissions of unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) and unburned methane (methane-slip) in the environment. The greenhouse effect of methane is considered 28 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year perspective, which raises concerns for the governments and marine engine manufacturers. In efforts to reduce the UHC and methane-slip from DF engines, this study discusses ethane enrichment of diesel-methane DF combustion in a full-metal single-cylinder research engine under lean condition (λGFB = ~2.0) while keeping the total-fuel energy rather constant.

The present-day transport sector needs sustainable energy solutions. Substitution of fossil-fuels with fuels produced from biomass is one of the most relevant solutions for the sector. Nevertheless, bringing biofuels into the market is associated with many challenges that policymakers, feedstock suppliers, fuel producers, and engine manufacturers need to overcome. The main objective of this research is an investigation of the impact of alternative fuel properties on light vehicle engine performance and greenhouse gases (GHG). The purpose of the present study is to provide decision-makers with tools that will accelerate the implementation of biofuels into the market. As a result, two models were developed, that represent the impact of fuel properties on engine performance in a uniform and reliable way but also with very high accuracy (coefficients of determination over 0.95) and from the end-user point of view.

Marine transportation sector is highly dependent on fossil-based energy carriers. Decarbonization of shipping can be accomplished by implementing biobunkers into an existing maritime fuel supply chain. However, there are many compatibility issues when blending new biocomponents with their fossil-based counterparts. Thus, it is of high importance to predict the effect of fuel properties on marine engine performance, especially for new fuel blends. In the given work, possible future solutions concentrated on liquid fuels are taken into account. Under consideration are such fuels as biodiesel (FAME), hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), straight vegetable oil (SVO), pyrolysis oil, biocrude, and methanol. Knowledge about the behavior of new fuel in an existing engine is notably important for decision makers and fuel producers. Hence, the main goal of the present work is to create a model, which can predict the engine performance from the end-user perspective.

In the present study, a new approach for modelling emissions of coke particles or cenospheres from large diesel engines using HFO (Heavy fuel oil) was studied. The model used is based on a multicomponent droplet mass transfer and properties model that uses a continuous thermodynamics approach to model the complex composition of the HFO fuel and the resulting evaporation behavior of the fuel droplets. Cenospheres are modelled as the residue left in the fuel droplets towards the end of the simulation. The mass-transfer and fuel properties models were implemented into a cylinder section model based on the Wärtsilä W20 engine in the CFD-code Star CD v.4.24. Different submodels and corresponding parameters were tuned to match experimental data of cylinder pressures available from Wärtsilä for the studied cases. The results obtained from the present model were compared to experimental results found in the literature.

This study presents a novel crank mechanism which enables easy and fast compression ratio adjustment. The novel crank mechanism and piston travel are explained and highlighted. The basic idea is that eccentric gear is installed on a crankshaft web. Eccentric gear is fitted to the big end of the connection rod and eccentricity is controlled by rotating the control gear a discrete amount. Thus the position of eccentricity is varied and controls an effective stroke length. The compression ratio is adjusted to best fit current load demand, either optimizing fuel efficiency or engine power and torque. Adjustments are individual to each cylinder. The system is capable of adjusting from min to max within 10 milliseconds [ms]. Emphasis is on reduction of CO2 emissions and reducing fuel consumption, especially at part load condition. The governing mechanical equations are presented.

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, one-dimensional fluid dynamics simulation software was utilized in producing common rail diesel fuel injection for varying injection parameters with enhanced accuracy. Injection modeling refinement is motivated by improved comprehension of the effects of various physical phenomena within the injector. In addition, refined injection results yield boundary conditions for three-dimensional CFD simulations. The criteria for successful simulation results were evaluated upon experimental test run data that have been reliably obtained, primarily total injected mass per cycle. A common rail diesel fuel delivery system and its core mechanics were presented. System factors most critical to fuel delivery were focalized. Models of two solenoid-type common rail injectors of different physical sizes and applications were enhanced.

Measurements have been done in order to obtain information concerning the effect of EGR for the smoke and NOx emissions of a heavy-duty diesel engine. Measured smoke number and NOx emissions are explained using detailed chemical kinetic calculations and CFD simulations. The local conditions in the research engine are analyzed by creating equivalence ratio - temperature (Phi-T) maps and analyzing the CFD results within these maps. The study uses different amounts of EGR and the standard EN590 diesel fuel. The detailed chemical kinetic calculations take into account the different EGR rates. The CFD calculations are made with a flamelet-based combustion model together with detailed chemistry. The results are compared to a previous study where a hybrid local flame area evolution model combined with an eddy breakup - type model was used in the CFD simulations.

The present paper focuses on gaining a deeper understanding about the turbulent flow inside an engine cylinder using large eddy simulation. While the main motivation of the current study is to gain a deeper understanding of the flow patterns and especially about the swirl, the background motivation of this study is the development and testing of suitable methods for the large eddy simulation of combustion engines and the validation of the used simulation methodology. In particular, we study the swirl and other flow features generated by the intake jets inside the cylinder. The simulated geometry is the Sisu Diesel 84 engine cylinder where the exhaust valves are closed and the intake valves have constant valve lifts. Furthermore, the piston has been removed so that the flow is able to exit from the opposite end of the cylinder.

The objective of this paper is to analyse the performance and the combustion of a large-bore single-cylinder medium speed engine running with hydrotreated vegetable oil. This fuel has a paraffinic chemical structure and high Cetane number. These features enable achievement of complete and clean combustion with different engine setups. The main benefits are thus lower soot and nitrogen oxides emissions compared to diesel fuel. The facility used in this study is a research engine, where the conditions upstream the machine, the valve timing and the injection parameters are fully adjustable. In fact, the boundary conditions upstream and downstream the engine are freely controlled by a separated supply air plant and by a throttle valve, located at the end of the exhaust pipe. The injection system is common-rail: rail pressure, injection timing and duration are completely adjustable.

This study focuses on gaining a deeper understanding on the formation of turbulence and other in-cylinder flow structures caused by the intake jets during the intake stroke in internal combustion engines. This is important as the in-cylinder turbulence has a large effect on the mixing of fuel and oxidizer. A fine resolution large eddy simulation (LES) is carried out on an incompressible flow (Re is equivalent to 100,000) over a static valve (lift d = 7 mm) alongside with three other simulations using coarser meshes. The problem is studied in a simplified valve-cylinder geometry on which experimental data by Yasar et al., (2006) is available. The vortex cores, produced by the shear layer of the intake jets, are visualized using the λ₂ definition for vortex cores. The governing flow structures are identified and some features of the flow's mixing capabilities are observed. Additionally, the mixing is studied by releasing a passive scalar into to the flow.

This paper aims to study numerically the influence of the number of fuel sprays in a single-cylinder diesel engine on mixing and combustion. The CFD simulations are carried out for a heavy-duty diesel engine with an 8 hole injector in the standard configuration. The fuel spray mass-flow rate was obtained from 1D-simulations and has been adjusted according to the number of nozzle holes to keep the total injected fuel mass constant. Two cases concerning the modified mass-flow rate are studied. In the first case the injection time was decreased whereas in the second case the nozzle hole diameter was decreased. In both cases the amount of nozzle holes (i.e. fuel sprays) was increased in several steps to 18 holes. Quantitative analyses were performed for the local air-fuel ratio, homogeneity of mixture distribution, heat release rate and the resulting in-cylinder pressure.

Real gas effects are studied during the compression stroke of a diesel engine. Several different real gas models are compared to the ideal gas law and to the experimental pressure history. Comparisons are done with both 1-D and CFD simulations, and reasons and answers are found out for the observed differences between simulations and experimental data. The engine compression ratio was measured for accurate model predictions. In addition, a 300bar extreme pressure case is also analyzed with the real gas model since an engine capable for this performance level is currently being built at the Aalto University School of Science and Technology. Real gas effects are even more important in these extreme conditions than in normal operating pressures. Finally, it is shown that the predicted pressure history during an engine compression stroke by a real gas model is more accurately predicted than by the ideal gas law.

Experimental spray tip penetrations obtained from a large-bore medium-speed optical diesel engine were compared to CFD simulations. The optical spray results are unique as they are obtained from a running large-bore (200mm) diesel engine. The experimental spray tip penetration measurements were obtained during the early spray development period when the spray evaporation had not yet reached the quasi steady-state phase. The CFD simulations were conducted in both static chamber environment and in engine conditions. The fuel injection boundary conditions were obtained from 1-D simulations. Within the error margins associated with the experimental and computational data, relatively good accuracy was obtained between measured and simulated spray tip penetration. It was also observed that it is very important to have accurate fuel injection mass flow rate data. This was observed after a sensitivity analysis was made for the injection duration and fuel mass quantity.

Renewable diesel-type fuels and their compatibility with a single-cylinder medium-speed research diesel engine were studied. The report consists of a literature study on the fuels, introduction of the simulation model designed and simulations made, and of the results and summary sections. The fuels studied were traditional biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester, FAME), hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), Fischer-Tropsch (FT) diesel fuels and dimethyl ether (DME). According to the simulations, the behaviors of different renewable diesel fuels in the fuel injection system are quite similar to one another, with the greatest deviations found with DME. The main differences in the physical properties are fuel densities and viscosities and especially with DME compressibility, which have some predictable effect. The chemical properties of the fuels are more critical for a common rail fuel injection system.

The objective of this study is to achieve high reduction of NOx emissions in a medium-speed single-cylinder research engine. The main feature of this research engine is that the gas exchange valve timing is completely adjustable with electro-hydraulic actuators. The study is carried out at high engine load and using a very advanced Miller valve timing. Since the engine has no turbocharger, but a separate charge air system, 1-D simulations are carried out to find the engine setup, which would be close to the operating points of a real engine. The obtained NOx reduction is over 40% with no penalty in fuel consumption.