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Pre-chamber combustion (PCC) is a promising engine combustion concept capable of extending the lean limit at part load. The engine experiments in the literature showed that the PCC could achieve higher engine thermal efficiency and much lower NOx emission than the spark-ignition engine. Improved understanding of the detailed flow and combustion physics of PCC is important for optimizing the PCC combustion. In this study, we investigated the gas exchange and flame jet from a narrow throat pre-chamber (PC) by only fueling the PC with methane in an optical engine. Simultaneous negative acetone planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) imaging and OH* chemiluminescence imaging were applied to visualize the PC jet and flame jet from the PC, respectively. Results indicate a delay of the PC gas exchange relative to the built-up of the pressure difference (△ P) between PC and the main chamber (MC). This should be due to the gas inertia inside the PC and the resistance of the PC nozzle.

Pre-chamber combustion (PCC) allows an extension on the lean limit of an internal combustion engine (ICE). This combustion mode provides lower NOx emissions and shorter combustion durations that lead to a higher indicated efficiency. In the present work, a narrow throat pre-chamber was tested, which has a unique nozzle area distribution in two rows of six nozzle holes each. Tests were carried out in a modified heavy-duty engine for optical visualization. Methane was used as fuel for both the pre-chamber and the main chamber. Seven operating points were tested, including passive pre-chamber mode as a limit condition, to study the effect of pre- and main-chamber fuel addition on the pre-chamber jets and the main chamber combustion via chemiluminescence imaging. A typical cycle of one of the tested conditions is explained through the captured images. Observations of the typical cycle reveal a predominant presence of only six jets (from the lower row), with well-defined jet structures.

Pre-chamber spark ignition (PCSI) combustion is an emerging lean-burn combustion mode capable of extending the lean operation limit of an engine. The favorable characteristic of short combustion duration at the lean condition of PCSI results in high efficiencies compared to conventional spark ignition combustion. Since the engine operation is typically lean, PCSI can significantly reduce engine-out NOx emissions while maintaining short combustion durations. In this study, experiments were conducted on a heavy-duty engine at lean conditions at mid to low load. Two major studies were performed. In the first study, the total fuel energy input to the engine was fixed while the intake pressure was varied, resulting in varying the global excess air ratio. In the second study, the intake pressure was fixed while the amount of fuel was changed to alter the global excess air ratio.

The present study experimentally examines the low-temperature autoignition area of isooctane within the in-cylinder pressure-in-cylinder temperature map. Experiments were run with the help of a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine. The boundaries of this engine were extended so that experiments could be performed outside the domain delimited by research octane number (RON) and motor octane number (MON) traces. Since homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion is governed by kinetics, the rotation speed for all the experiments was set at 600 rpm to allow time for low-temperature heat release (LTHR). All the other parameters (intake pressure, intake temperature, compression ratio, and equivalence ratio) were scanned, such as the occurrence of isooctane combustion. The principal results showed that LTHR for isooctane occurs effortlessly under high intake pressure (1.3 bar) and low intake temperature (25 °C).

With increasingly stringent emissions regulations, the use of pre-chamber combustion systems is gaining popularity in Internal Combustion Engines (ICE). The advantages of pre-chambers are well established, such as improving fuel economy by increasing the lean limit and reducing emissions, particularly NOX. In pre-chamber combustion, flame jets shoot out from the pre-chamber orifices into the main chamber, generating several ignition points that promote a rapid burn rate of the lean mixture (excess-air ratio (λ) >1) in the main chamber. This work studies the effects of using two different fuels in the main chamber and assesses the lean limit, the combustion efficiency (ηc), and the emissions of a single-cylinder heavy-duty engine equipped with a narrow-throat active pre-chamber. Ethanol (C2H5OH) was tested in the main chamber while keeping the pre-chamber fueled with methane (CH4), and the results were then compared to using methane as the sole fuel.

Future internal combustion engines demand higher efficiency but progression towards this is limited by the phenomenon called knock. A possible solution for reaching high efficiency is Octane-on-Demand (OoD), which allows to customize the antiknock quality of a fuel through blending of high-octane fuel with a low octane fuel. Previous studies on Octane-on-Demand highlighted efficiency benefits depending on the combination of low octane fuel with high octane booster. The author recently published works with ethanol and methanol as high-octane fuels. The results of this work showed that the composition and octane number of the low octane fuel is significant for the blending octane number of both ethanol and methanol. This work focuses on toluene as the high octane fuel (RON 120). Aromatics offers anti-knock quality and with high octane number than alcohols, this work will address if toluene can provide higher octane enhancement.

Pre-ignition in modern engines is largely attributed to oil-fuel mixture droplets igniting before the spark timing. Researchers have also found pre-ignition events to be triggered by high hydrocarbon emissions from the previous cycle as well as late spark timing in the previous cycle. Additionally, an ideally scavenged engine was not found to be limited by pre-ignition. These observations point to a significant role of residuals in triggering pre-ignition events. Current work studies pre-ignition in a probabilistic approach. The effect of residuals and in-cylinder thermodynamic state is studied by varying the exhaust back pressure and intake air temperature respectively. Experiments were performed with a fixed mass flow rate of air + fuel and intake air temperature while the exhaust back pressure was varied. Intake air pressure varied in response to fixed intake temperature. Pre-ignition and super-knock count increased with increasing exhaust back pressure.

Pre-chamber combustion (PCC) enables leaner air-fuel ratio operation by improving its ignitability and extending flammability limit, and consequently, offers better thermal efficiency than conventional spark ignition operation. The geometry and fuel concentration of the pre-chamber (PC) is one of the major parameters that affect overall performance. To understand the dynamics of the PCC in practical engine conditions, this study focused on (i) correlation of the events in the main chamber (MC) with the measured in-cylinder pressure traces and, (ii) the effect of fuel concentration on the MC combustion characteristics using laser diagnostics. We performed simultaneous acetone planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) from the side, and OH* chemiluminescence imaging from the bottom in a heavy-duty optical engine. Two different PC Fueling Ratios (PCFR, the ratio of PC fuel to the total fuel), 7%, and 13%, were investigated.

In this study, the authors investigated the effect of fuel properties on the combustion characteristics by employing methane, methanol, ethanol, and primary reference fuels (PRFs) as the main chamber fuel while using methane for the pre-chamber. Global excess air ratios (λ) from 1.6 to lean limit were tested, while 13% of total fuel energy supplied to the engine was delivered via the pre-chamber. The gaseous methane was injected into the pre-chamber at the gas exchange top-dead-center (TDC). Port fuel injection was tested with both open and closed inlet valves. The pre-chamber assembly was designed to fit into the diesel injector pocket of the base engine, which resulted in a narrow throat diameter of 3.3 mm. The combustion stability limit was set at 5% of the coefficient of variation of gross IMEP, and the knock intensity limit was set at 10 bar. GT-Power software was used to estimate the composition of pre-chamber species and was used in heat release analysis of the two chambers.

Natural gas is an attractive fuel for heavy-duty internal combustion engines as it has the potential to reduce CO2, particulate, and NOx emissions. This study reports optical investigations on the effect of methane stratification at lean combustion conditions in a heavy-duty optical diesel engine converted to spark-ignition operation. The combination of the direct injector (DI) and port-fuel injectors (PFI) fueling allows different levels of in-cylinder fuel stratification. The engine was operated in skip-firing mode, and high-speed natural combustion luminosity color images were recorded using a high-speed color camera from the bottom view, along with in-cylinder pressure measurements. The results from methane combustion based on port-fuel injections indicate the lean burn limit at λ = 1.4. To improve the lean limit of methane combustion, fuel stratification is introduced into the mixture using direct injections.

The transportation industry has been scrutinized for its contribution towards the global greenhouse gas emissions over the years. While the automotive sector has been regulated by strict emission legislation globally, the emissions from marine transportation have been largely neglected. However, during the past decade, the international maritime organization focused on ways to lower the emission intensity of the marine sector by introducing several legislations. This sets limits on the emissions of different oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur, which are emitted in large amounts from heavy fuel oil (HFO) combustion (the primary fuel for the marine sector). A 40% and 70% reduction per transport work compared to the levels of 2008 is set as target for CO2 emission for 2030 and 2050, respectively. To meet these targets, commonly, methanol, as a low-carbon fuel, and ammonia, as a zero-carbon fuel, are considered.

Lean combustion technologies show promise for improving engine efficiency and reducing emissions. Among these technologies, prechamber-assisted combustion (PCC) is established as a reliable option for achieving lean or ultra-lean combustion. In this study, the effect of engine speed on PCC was investigated in a naturally aspirated heavy-duty optical engine: a comparison has been made between analytical performances and optical flame behavior. Bottom view natural flame luminosity (NFL) imaging was used to observe the combustion process. The prechamber was fueled with methane, while the main chamber was fueled with methanol. The engine speed was varied at 1000, 1100, and 1200 revolutions per minute (rpm). The combustion in the prechamber is not affected by changes in engine speed. However, the heat release rate (HRR) in the main chamber changed from two distinct stages with a faster first stage to more gradual and merged stages as the engine speed increased.

Engine knock is a major challenge that limits the achievement of higher engine efficiency by increasing the compression ratio of the engine. To address this issue, using a higher octane number fuel can be a potential solution to reduce or eliminate the propensity for knock and so obtain better engine performance. Methanol, a promising alternative fuel, can be produced from conventional and non-conventional energy resources, which can help reduce pollutant emissions. Methanol has a higher octane number than typically gasolines, which makes it a viable option for reducing knock intensity. This study compared the combustion characteristics of gasoline and methanol fuels in an optical spark-ignition engine using multiple spark plugs. The experiment was carried out on a single-cylinder four-stroke optical engine. The researchers used a customized metal liner with four circumferential spark plugs to generate multiple flame kernels inside the combustion chamber.