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The prediction of knock onset in spark-ignition engines requires a chemical model for the autoignition of the hydrocarbon fuel-air mixture, and a description of the unburned end-gas thermal state. Previous studies have shown that a reduced chemistry model developed by Keck et al. adequately predicts the initiation of autoignition. However, the combined effects of heat transfer and compression on the state of the end gas have not been thoroughly investigated. The importance of end-gas heat transfer was studied with the objective of improving the ability of our knock model to predict knock onset over a wide range of engine conditions. This was achieved through changing the thermal environment of the end gas by either varying the inlet air temperature or the coolant temperature. Results show that there is significant heating of the in-cylinder charge during intake and a substantial part of the compression process.

Ignition delays were measured for iso-octane using a rapid compression machine at an equivalence ratio of 1, initial pressure of 300 Torr, and post-compression oxygen density of [O2]Vo=1.0, where Vo is 22,400 cm3/mole. The post-compression temperature were varied by changing specific heat ratio of mixture: this was done by blending different inert gases, i.e., CO2, N2, and Ar. Negative temperature coefficient region was observed between 750 K and 850 K. Two-stage ignition delay characteristic was observed below 830 K. Overall experimental results were found to be in good qualitative agreement with those by Shell's Thornton Research Center. The ignition delays predicted by MIT 19 reaction reduced chemical kinetic model were compared with those from the current experiment. In the model calculation, the measured pressure was fed into the model to calculate the core temperature before there is appreciable heat release due to chemical reaction.

A rapid compression machine for chemical kinetic studies has been developed. The design objectives of the machine were to obtain: 1)uniform well-defined core gas; 2) laminar flow condition; 3) maximum ratio of cooling to compression time; 4) side wall vortex containment; and, 5) minimum mechanical vibration. A piston crevice volume was incorporated to achieve the side wall vortex containment. Tests with inert gases showed the post-compression pressure matched with the calculated laminar pressure indicating that the machine achieved these design objectives. Measurements of ignition delays for homogeneous PRF/O2/N2/Ar mixture in the rapid compression machine have been made with five primary reference fuels (ON 100, 90, 75, 50, and 0) at an equivalence ratio of 1, a diluent (s)/oxygen ratio of 3.77, and two initial pressures of 500 Torr and 1000 Torr. Post-compression temperatures were varied by blending Ar and N2 in different ratios.

This paper describes experimental and theoritical studies of a turbulent combustion bomb. We find a correlation between heat transfer to the wall and the Initial turbulence intensity. Wall temperature and pressure measurements were made for three levels of initial turbulence. All tests were performed with an equivalence ratio of 1.0, and the turbulence intensity was controlled by varying the time delay between mixture intake and spark ignition. Assuming one-dimensional conduction, the surface heat flux was computed from the wall temperature data. Gas temperatures were computed from the pressure data assuming isentropic compression. Based on turbulent velocity measurements made in previous studies, these results permitted a correlation of Nusselt number with turbulent Reynolds number. Using this correlation, we estimate the heat transfer in the end gas and its effect on the gas temperature.

The laminar burning speeds of two practical multi-component hydrocarbon fuels similar to automotive gasoline were measured using a spherical combustion bomb with central ignition. Mixtures with equivalence ratios between 0.7 and 1.6, and volume fractions of simulated residual gas between 0 and 0.3 were tested at pressures from 0.4 atm to 12 atm and unburned gas temperatures from 350 K to 550 K. The laminar burning speeds were fitted to a power function expression involving the unburned gas pressure and temperature, and the diluent fraction. The pressure and temperature dependences of the laminar burning speed for undiluted mixtures agreed well with values reported by other investigators for various fuels, indicating that these dependences are independent of fuel type. The percentage reduction in laminar burning speed due to the addition of simulated residual gas was found to be a function only of the amount added, independent of the properties of the mixture.

A model for predicting the performance and emissions characteristics of Wankel engines has been developed and tested. Each chamber is treated as an open thermodynamic system and the effects of turbulent flame propagation, quench layer formation, gas motion, heat transfer and seal leakage are included. The experimental tests were carried out on a Toyo Kogyo 12B engine under both motoring and firing conditions and values for the effective seal leakage area and turbulent heat transfer coefficient were deduced. The agreement between the predicted and measured performances was reasonable. Parametric studies of the effects of reductions in seal leakage and heat transfer were carried out and the results are presented.

Measurements were made of exhaust histories of the following species: unburned hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and nitric oxide (NO). The measurements show that the exhaust flow can be divided into two distinct phases: a leading gas low in HC and high in NO followed by a trailing gas high in HC and low in NO. Calculations of time resolved equivalence ratio throughout the exhaust process show no evidence of a stratified combustion. The exhaust mass flow rate is time resolved by forcing the flow to be locally quasi-steady at an orifice placed in the exhaust pipe. The results with the quasi-steady assumption are shown to be consistent with the measurements. Predictions are made of time resolved mass flow rate which compare favorably to the experimental data base. The composition and flow histories provide sufficient information to calculate the time resolved flow rates of the individual species measured.

A performance model of a Wankel engine is developed which performs a leakage mass balance, accounts for heat transfer and flame quenching, and predicts the mass fraction burned as a function of chamber pressure. Experiments were performed on a production Wankel engine to obtain chamber pressure-time diagrams, and engine performance and emissions data. Model predictions of mass burned, global heat transfer, and hydrocarbon emission gave good agreement with measurements. Predictions of oxides of nitrogen are higher than measurements, especially at low loads. This is thought to be due to the adiabatic core gas assumption in the model. The need for a Wankel boundary layer study is identified.

A model for describing turbulent flame propagation in internal combustion engines is presented. The model is based upon the assumption that eddies having a characteristic radius ℓe are entrained by the flame front at a turbulent entrainment velocity ue and subsequently burn in a characteristic time τ = ℓe/uℓ, where uℓ is the laminar flame speed for the fuel-air mixture. An approximate analytic method for determining the equilibrium state of the burned gases is also presented. To verify the predictions of the model, experiments were carried out in a single-cylinder research engine at speeds from 1000-3200 rpm, spark advances from 30-110 deg btc and fuel-air equivalence ratios from 0.7-1.5. Simultaneous measurements of the cylinder pressure and the position of the flame front as a function of crank angle were made, and good agreement with the predictions of the model was obtained for all operating conditions.