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There have been strong demands recently for reductions in the fuel consumption and exhaust emissions of diesel engines from the standpoints of conserving energy and curbing global warming. A great deal of research is being done on new emission control technologies using direct-injection (DI) diesel engines that provide high thermal efficiency. This work includes dramatic improvements in the combustion process. The authors have developed a new combustion concept called Modulated Kinetics (MK), which reduces smoke and NOx levels simultaneously by reconciling low-temperature combustion with pre-mixed combustion [1, 2]. At present, research is under way on the second generation of MK combustion with the aim of improving emission performance further and achieving higher thermal efficiency [3]. Reducing heat rejection in the combustion chamber is effective in improving the thermal efficiency of DI diesel engines as well as that of MK combustion.

Nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions of diesel vehicles are regarded as a source of air pollution, and there is a global trend to enforce more stringent regulations on these exhaust gas constituents in the early years of the 21st century. On the other hand, the excellent thermal efficiency of diesel engines is certainly a welcome attribute from the standpoints of conserving energy and curbing global warming. Recently, many research institutes around the world have been using high-efficiency direct-injection (DI) diesel engines to research emission control technologies. The authors have also been engaged in such research [1,2]. As a result of this work, we have developed a new combustion concept, called Modulated Kinetics (MK), that reduces NOx and smoke simultaneously due to low-temperature and premixed combustion characteristics, respectively, without increasing fuel consumption [3,4].