Search Results

Novel Diesel combustion concepts such as premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) and reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI) promise lower NOx and PM emissions than those of conventional Diesel combustion. RCCI, which can be implemented using low-reactivity fuels such as gasoline or gases and high-reactivity fuels such as Diesel, has the potential to achieve extremely low emissions and improved thermal efficiency. However, to achieve RCCI combustion, a higher boost pressure than that of a conventional engine is required because a high EGR rate and a lean mixture are necessary to achieve a low combustion temperature. However, higher boost pressures can cause damage to intake systems. In this research, the addition of gaseous fuel to a CI engine is investigated to reduce engine emissions, mainly NOx and PM emissions, with the same IMEP level. Two different methods were evaluated.

The combustion noise of a diesel engine can be deteriorated by combustion characteristics such as the maximum rate of heat release and the start of combustion. These combustion characteristics in turn are influenced by the factors such as the engine NVH durability, driving conditions, environmental factors and fuel properties. Therefore, we need to develop the robust combustion noise that is insensitive to these factors. To achieve this aim, methods for predicting combustion characteristics has been developed by analyzing the vibration signal measured from the engine cylinder block. The closed-loop control of injection parameters through combustion characteristics prediction has been performed to produce the desired engine combustion performance. We constructed an ECU logic for the closed-loop control and verified the design in a diesel passenger car. We also evaluated the effect of combustion noise and fuel consumption by applying the closed-loop control.

In this study, a correlation between the maximum heat release rate and vibrations from a diesel engine block was derived, and a methodology to determine the maximum heat release rate is presented. To investigate and analyze the correlation, an engine test and an actual road vehicle test were performed using a 1.6-L diesel engine. By varying the engine speed, load and main injection timing, the vibration signals from the engine block were measured and analyzed using a continuous wavelet transform (CWT). The results show that the maximum heat release rate has a strong correlation with the magnitude of the vibrations. A specific bandwidth, the vibration signals between 0.3∼1.5 kHz, was affected by the variation in the heat release rate. The vibrations excited by combustion lasted over 50 CAD; however, the signals during the period of 35 CAD after the start of injection had a dominant effect on the maximum heat release rate.

The alternative fuel jet propellant 8 (JP-8, NATO F-34) can be used as an auto-ignition source instead of diesel. Because it has a higher volatility than diesel, it provides a better air-fuel premixing condition than a conventional diesel engine, which can be attributed to a reduction in particulate matter (PM). In homogeneous charged compression ignition (HCCI) or dual-fuel premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) combustion or reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI), nitrogen oxides (NOx) can also be reduced by supplying external exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). In this research, the diesel and JP-8 injection strategies under conventional condition and dual-fuel PCCI combustion with and without external EGR was conducted. Two tests of dual-fuel (JP-8 and propane) PCCI were conducted at a low engine speed and load (1,500 rpm/IMEP 0.55 MPa). The first test was performed by advancing the main injection timing from BTDC 5 to 35 CA to obtain the emissions characteristics.

In this work, the operating strategy for diesel injection methods and a way to control the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rate under dual-fuel PCCI combustion with an appropriate ratio of low-reactivity fuel (propane) to achieve high combustion stability and low emissions is introduced. The standards of combustion stability were carbon monoxide (CO) emissions below 5,000 ppm and a CoV of the indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) below 5 %. Additionally, the NOx emissions was controlled to not exceed 50 ppm, which is the standard of conventional diesel combustion, and PM emissions was kept below 0.2 FSN, which is a tenth of the conventional diesel value without a diesel particulate filter (DPF). The operating condition was a low speed and load condition (1,500 rpm/ near gIMEP of 0.55 MPa).

Direct-injection spark-ignition (DISI) engines are regarded as a promising technology for the reduction of fuel consumption and improvement of engine thermal efficiency. However, due to direct injection, the shortened fuel-air mixing duration leads to a spatial gradient of the equivalence ratio, and these locally rich regions cause the formation of particulate matter. In the current study, numerical investigations on pollutant formation in a DISI engine were performed using combined flamelet models for premixed and diffusion flames. The G-equation model for partially premixed combustion was improved by incorporating the laminar flamelet library. Gasoline fuel was represented as a ternary mixture of gasoline surrogate and its laminar flame speeds were obtained under a wide range of engine operating conditions.