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A comparative study on engine performance and emissions (NOx, soot) formation has been carried out for the Volvo D12C diesel engine fueled by Rapeseed Methyl Ester, RME and conventional diesel oil. The fuel and combustion models used in this paper are the modifications of those described in [1–3]. The numerical results for different load cases illustrate that for both fuels nearly 100% combustion efficiency was predicted; in the case of RME, the cumulative heat release was compared with the RME LHV, 37.2 kJ/g. To minimize soot and NOx emissions, 25–30% EGR levels depending on the engine loads and different injection timings were analyses. To illustrate the optimal engine performance conditions, a special technique based on the time-transient parametric ϕ-T maps [4] has been used.

When increasing EGR from low levels to a level that corresponds to low temperature combustion, soot emissions initially increase due to lower soot oxidation before decreasing to almost zero due to very low soot formation. At the EGR level where soot emissions start to increase, the NOx emissions are low, but not sufficiently low to comply with future emission standards and at the EGR level where low temperature combustion occurs CO and HC emissions are too high. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibilities for shifting the so-called soot bump (where soot levels are increased) to higher EGR levels, or to reduce the magnitude of the soot bump using very high injection pressures (up to 240 MPa) while reducing the NOx emissions using EGR. The possibility of reducing the CO and HC emissions at high EGR levels due to the increased mixing caused by higher injection pressure was also investigated and the flame was visualized using an endoscope at chosen EGR values.

In order to investigate the effects of split injection on emission formation and engine performance, experiments were carried out using a heavy duty single cylinder diesel engine. Split injections with varied dwell time and start of injection were investigated and compared with single injection cases. In order to isolate the effect of the selected parameters, other variables were kept constant. In this investigation no EGR was used. The engine was equipped with a common rail injection system with a piezo-electric injector. To interpret the observed phenomena, engine CFD simulations using the KIVA-3V code were also made. The results show that reductions in NOx emissions and brake specific fuel consumption were achieved for short dwell times whereas they both were increased when the dwell time was prolonged. No EGR was used so the soot levels were already very low in the cases of single injections.

Combustion characteristics of dimethyl ether, DME, have been investigated experimentally, in a heavy duty single cylinder engine equipped with an adapted common rail fuel injection system, and the effects of varying injection timing, rail pressure and exhaust gas recirculation on the combustion and emission parameters. The results show that DME combustion does not produce soot and with the use of exhaust gas recirculation NOX emissions can also be reduced to very low levels. However, high injection pressure and/or a DME adopted combustion system is required to improve the mixing process and thus reduce the combustion duration and carbon monoxide emissions.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of exhaust gases on different combustion modes in DI, Direct Injection, compression ignited engines in terms of combustion efficiency and emission formations. The conventional parametric Φ -T (Equivalence Ratio-Temperature) emission map analysis has been extended by constructing the transient maps for different species characterizing the combustion and emission formation processes. The results of the analysis prove the efficiency of different combustion modes when EGR loads and injection scenarios.

The emissions from a direct injection diesel engine measured according to the ECE R49 13-mode cycle and as a function of exhaust gas recirculation are compared for diesel fuel without water addition, and for water-in-diesel as emulsion and microemulsion. The effect of water addition on the soot emissions was remarkably strong for both the emulsion and microemulsion fuels. The average weighted soot emission values for the 13-mode cycle were 0.0024 and 0.0023 g/kWh for the two most interesting emulsion and microemulsion fuels tested, respectively; 5-fold lower than the US 2007 emission limit.

The expansion of current driving cycles for emission regulations to higher load operation in the near future (such as the US06 supplement to the FTP-75 driving cycle) requires attention to low emission combustion concepts in medium to high load regimes. One possibility to reduce NO emissions is to increase the EGR rate. The combustion-temperature reducing effects of high EGR rates can significantly reduce NO formation, to the point where engine-out NOx emissions approach zero levels. However, engine-out soot and CO emissions typically increase at high EGR levels, due to the reduced soot and CO oxidation rates at reduced combustion temperatures and oxygen concentrations. The work presented in this paper focuses on different strategies to reduce soot and CO emissions associated with EGR rates of up to 50%, at which NO formation is largely avoided, but combustion temperatures are not low enough to consider the process as Low-Temperature Combustion (LTC).

Further restrictions on NOx emissions and the extension of current driving cycles for passenger car emission regulations to higher load operation in the near future (such as the US06 supplement to the FTP-75 driving cycle) requires attention to low emission combustion concepts in medium to high load regimes. One possibility to reduce NOx emissions is to increase the EGR rate. The combustion temperature-reducing effects of high EGR rates can significantly reduce NO formation, to the point where engine-out NOx emissions approach zero levels. However, engine-out soot emissions typically increase at high EGR levels, due to the reduced soot oxidation rates at reduced combustion temperatures and oxygen concentrations.

It has been previously shown that engine-out soot emissions can be reduced by using Fischer-Tropsch (FT) fuels, due to their lack of aromatics, compared to conventional Diesel fuels. In this investigation the engine-out emissions and fuel consumption parameters of an FT fuel derived from natural gas were compared to those of Swedish low sulfur diesel (MK1) when used in Low Temperature Combustion mode in a single cylinder heavy-duty diesel engine. The effects of varying Needle Opening Pressure (NOP), Charge Air Pressure (CAP) and Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) according to an experimental design on the measured variables were also assessed. CAP and EGR were found to be the most significant factors for the combustion and emission parameters of both fuels. Increases in CAP resulted in lower soot emissions due to enhanced charge mixing, however NOx emissions rose as CAP increased.

Soot formation and oxidation are complex and competing processes during diesel combustion. The balance between the two processes and their history determines engine-out soot values. Besides the efforts to lower soot formation with measures to influence the flame lift-off distance for example or to use HCCI-combustion, enhancement of late soot oxidation is of equal importance for low-λ diffusion-controlled low emissions combustion with EGR. The purpose of this study is to investigate soot oxidation in a heavy duty diesel engine by statistical analysis of engine data and in-cylinder endoscopic high speed photography together with CFD simulations with a main focus on large scale in-cylinder gas motion. Results from CFD simulations using a detailed soot model were used to reveal details about the soot oxidation.

The influence of ethanol content in gasoline on speciated emissions from a direct injection stratified charge (DISC) SI engine is assessed. The engine tested is a commercial DISC one that has a wall guided combustion system. The emissions were analyzed using both Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and conventional emission measurement equipment. Seven fuels were compared in the study. The first range of fuels was of alkylate type, designed to have 0, 5, 10 and 15 % ethanol in gasoline without changing the evaporation curve. European emissions certification fuel was tested, with and without 5 % ethanol, and finally a specially blended high volatility gasoline was also tested. The measurements were conducted at part-load, where the combustion is in stratified mode. The engine used a series engine control unit (ECU) that regulated the fuel injection, ignition and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR).

SI Engine knock is caused by autoignition in the unburnt part of the mixture (end-gas) ahead of the propagating flame. Autoignition of the end-gas occurs when the temperature and pressure exceeds a critical limit when comparatively slow reactions-releasing moderate amounts of heat-transform into ignition and rapid heat release. In this paper the difference in the heat released in the end-gas-by low temperature chemistry-between lean, rich, stochiometric, and stoichiometric mixtures diluted with cooled EGR was examined by measuring the temperature in the end-gas with Dual Broadband Rotational CARS. The measured temperature history was compared with an isentropic temperature calculated from the cylinder pressure trace. The experimentally obtained values for knock onset were compared with results from a two-zone thermodynamic model including detailed chemistry modeling of the end-gas reactions.

Many new combustion concepts are currently being investigated to further improve engines in terms of both efficiency and emissions. Examples include homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI), lean stratified premixed combustion, stratified charge compression ignition (SCCI), and high levels of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) in diesel engines, known as low temperature combustion (LTC). All of these combustion concepts have in common that the temperatures are lower than in traditional spark ignition or diesel engines. To further improve and develop combustion concepts for clean and highly efficient engines, it is necessary to develop new computational tools that can be used to describe and optimize processes in nonstandard conditions, such as low temperature combustion.

A novel 0-D Probability Density Function (PDF) based approach for the modelling of Diesel combustion using tabulated chemistry is presented. The Direct Injection Stochastic Reactor Model (DI-SRM) by Pasternak et al. has been extended with a progress variable based framework allowing the use of a pre-calculated auto-ignition table. Auto-ignition is tabulated through adiabatic constant pressure reactor calculations. The tabulated chemistry based implementation has been assessed against the previously presented DI-SRM version by Pasternak et al. where chemical reactions are solved online. The chemical mechanism used in this work for both, online chemistry run and table generation, is an extended version of the scheme presented by Nawdial et al. The main fuel species are n-decane, α-methylnaphthalene and methyl-decanoate giving a size of 463 species and 7600 reactions.

Reducing emissions and improving efficiency are major goals of modern internal combustion engine research. The use of biomass-derived fuels in Diesel engines is an effective way of reducing well-to-wheels (WTW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Moreover, partially premixed combustion (PPC) makes it possible to achieve very efficient combustion with low emissions of soot and NOx. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using alcohol/Diesel blends or neat alcohols on emissions and thermal efficiency during PPC. Four alcohols were evaluated: n-butanol, isobutanol, n-octanol, and 2-ethylhexanol. The alcohols were blended with fossil Diesel fuel to produce mixtures with low cetane numbers (26-36) suitable for PPC. The blends were then tested in a single cylinder light duty (LD) engine. To optimize combustion, the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) level, lambda, and injection strategy were tuned.

In order to avoid the high CO and HC emissions associated with low temperature when using high levels of EGR, partially premixed combustion is an interesting possibility. One way to achieve this combustion mode is to increase the ignition delay by adjusting the inlet valve closing timing, and thus the effective compression ratio. The purpose of this study was to investigate experimentally the possibilities of using late and early inlet valve closure to reduce NOx emissions without increasing emissions of soot or unburned hydrocarbons, or fuel consumption. The effect of increasing the swirl number (from 0.2 to 2.5) was also investigated. The combustion timing (CA50) was kept constant by adjusting the start of injection and the possibilities of optimizing combustion using EGR and high injection pressures were investigated. Furthermore, the airflow was kept constant for a given EGR level.

The development and implementation of a new structure for data-driven models for NOX and soot emissions is described. The model structure is a linear regression model, where physically relevant input signals are used as regressors, and all the regression parameters are defined as grid-maps in the engine speed/injected fuel domain. The method of using grid-maps in the engine speed/injected fuel domain for all the regression parameters enables the models to be valid for changes in physical parameters that affect the emissions, without having to include these parameters as input signals to the models. This is possible for parameters that are dependent only on the engine speed and the amount of injected fuel. This means that models can handle changes for different parameters in the complete working range of the engine, without having to include all signals that actually effect the emissions into the models.

The possibilities for extending the range of engine loads in which soot and NOx emissions can be minimised by using low temperature combustion in conjunction with high levels of EGR was investigated in a series of experiments with a single cylinder research engine. The results show that very low levels of both soot and NOx emissions can be achieved at engine loads up to 50 % by reducing the compression ratio to 14 and applying high levels of EGR (up to approximately 60 %). Unfortunately, the low temperature combustion is accompanied by increases in fuel consumption and emissions of both HC and CO. However, these drawbacks can be reduced by advancing the injection timing. The research engine was a 2 litre direct injected (DI), supercharged, heavy duty, single cylinder diesel engine with a geometry based on Volvo's 12 litre engine, and the amount of EGR was increased by adjusting the exhaust back pressure while keeping the charge air pressure constant.

This paper presents an investigation of the effects of varying needle opening pressure (NOP) (375 to 1750 bar), engine speed (1000 rpm to 1800 rpm), and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) (0% to 20 %) on the combustion process, exhaust emissions, and fuel consumption at low (25 %) and medium (50 %) loads in a single cylinder heavy duty DI diesel research engine with a displacement of 2.02 l. The engine was equipped with an advanced two-actuator E3 Electronic Unit Injector (EUI) from Delphi Diesel, with a maximum injection pressure of 2000 bar. In previous versions of the EUI system, the peak injection pressure was a function of the injection duration, cam lift, and cam rate. The advanced EUI system allows electronic control of the needle opening and closing. This facilitates the generation of high injection pressures, independently of load and speed.

The objective of the study presented here was to examine the possibility of simultaneously reducing soot and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from a heavy duty diesel engine, using very high levels of EGR (exhaust gas recirculation). The investigation was carried out using a 2 litre DI single cylinder diesel engine. Two different EGR strategies were examined. One entailed maintaining a constant charge air pressure with a varied exhaust back pressure in order to change the amount of EGR. In the other strategy a constant pressure difference was maintained over the engine, resulting in different equivalence ratios at similar EGR levels. EGR levels of 60 % or more significantly reduced both soot and NOx emissions at 25 % engine load with constant charge air pressure and increasing exhaust back pressure. However, combustion under these conditions was incomplete, resulting in high emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbons (HC) and high fuel consumption.