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The effects of combining premixed, low temperature combustion (LTC) with biodiesel are relatively unknown to this point. This mode allows simultaneously low soot and NOx emissions by using high rates of EGR and increasing ignition delay. This paper compares engine performance and emissions of neat, soy-based methyl ester biodiesel (B100), B20, B50, pure ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) and a Swedish, low aromatic diesel in a multi-cylinder diesel engine operating in a late-injection premixed LTC mode. Using heat release analysis, the progression of LTC combustion was explored by comparing fuel mass fraction burned. B100 had a comparatively long ignition delay compared with Swedish diesel when measured by start of ignition (SOI) to 10% fuel mass fraction burned (CA10). Differences were not as apparent when measured by SOI to start of combustion (SOC) even though their cetane numbers are comparable.

Stringent fuel economy and emissions regulations have driven development of new mixture preparation technologies and increased spark-ignition engine complexity. Additional degrees of freedom, brought about by devices such as cam phasers and charge motion control valves, enable greater range and flexibility in engine control. This permits significant gains in fuel efficiency and emission control, but creates challenges related to proper engine control and calibration techniques. Accurate experimental characterization of high degree of freedom engines is essential for addressing the controls challenge. In particular, this paper focuses on the evaluation of three experimental residual gas fraction measurement techniques for use in a spark ignition engine equipped with dual-independent variable camshaft phasing (VVT).

Premixed low temperature combustion (LTC) in diesel engines simultaneously reduces soot and NOx at the expense of increased hydrocarbon (HC) and CO emissions. The use of biodiesel in the LTC regime has been shown to produce lower HC emissions than petroleum diesel; however, unburned methyl esters from biodiesel are more susceptible to particulate matter (PM) formation following atmospheric dilution due to their low volatility. In this study, the efficacy of a production-type diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) for the conversion of light hydrocarbons species and heavier, semi-volatile species like those in unburned fuel is examined. Experimental data were taken from a high speed direct-injection diesel engine operating in a mid-load, late injection partially premixed LTC mode on ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) and neat soy-based biodiesel (B100). Gaseous emissions were recorded using a conventional suite of analyzers and individual light HCs were measured using an FT-IR analyzer.

This paper analyzes and compares reactor and engine behavior of a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) in the presence of conventional diesel exhaust and low temperature premixed compression ignition (PCI) diesel exhaust. Surrogate exhaust mixtures of n-undecane (C11H24), ethene (C2H4), CO, O2, H2O, NO and N2 are defined for conventional and PCI combustion and used in the gas flow reactor tests. Both engine and reactor tests use a DOC containing platinum, palladium and a hydrocarbon storage component (zeolite). On both the engine and reactor, the composition of PCI exhaust increases light-off temperature relative to conventional combustion. However, while nominal conditions are similar, the catalyst behaves differently on the two experimental setups. The engine DOC shows higher initial apparent HC conversion efficiencies because the engine exhaust contains a higher fraction of trappable (i.e., high boiling point) HC.

The number of control actuators available on spark-ignition engines is rapidly increasing to meet demand for improved fuel economy and reduced exhaust emissions. The added complexity greatly complicates control strategy development because there can be a wide range of potential actuator settings at each engine operating condition, and map-based actuator calibration becomes challenging as the number of control degrees of freedom expand significantly. Many engine actuators, such as variable valve actuation and flow control valves, directly influence in-cylinder combustion through changes in gas exchange, mixture preparation, and charge motion. The addition of these types of actuators makes it difficult to predict the influences of individual actuator positioning on in-cylinder combustion without substantial experimental complexity.

Adjusting the Residual Gas Fraction (RGF) by means of Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) is a strong candidate for controlling the ignition timing in Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engines. However, at high levels of residual gas fraction, insufficient mixing can lead to the presence of considerable temperature and composition variations. This paper extends previous modeling efforts to include the effect of RGF distribution on the onset of ignition and the rate of combustion using a multi-dimensional fluid mechanics code (KIVA-3V) sequentially with a multi-zone code with detailed chemical kinetics. KIVA-3V is used to simulate the gas exchange processes, while the multi-zone code computes the combustion event. It is shown that under certain conditions the effect of composition stratification is significant and cannot be captured by a single-zone model or a multi-zone model using only temperature zones.

Natural gas quality, in terms of the volume fraction of higher hydrocarbons, strongly affects the auto-ignition characteristics of the air-fuel mixture, the engine performance and its controllability. The influence of natural gas composition on engine operation has been investigated both experimentally and through chemical kinetic based cycle simulation. A range of two component gas mixtures has been tested with methane as the base fuel. The equivalence ratio (0.3), the compression ratio (19.8), and the engine speed (1000 rpm) were held constant in order to isolate the impact of fuel autoignition chemistry. For each fuel mixture, the start of combustion was phased near top dead center (TDC) and then the inlet mixture temperature was reduced. These experimental results have been utilized as a source of data for the validation of a chemical kinetic based full-cycle simulation.

This paper discusses the compression ratio influence on maximum load of a Natural Gas HCCI engine. A modified Volvo TD100 truck engine is controlled in a closed-loop fashion by enriching the Natural Gas mixture with Hydrogen. The first section of the paper illustrates and discusses the potential of using hydrogen enrichment of natural gas to control combustion timing. Cylinder pressure is used as the feedback and the 50 percent burn angle is the controlled parameter. Full-cycle simulation is compared to some of the experimental data and then used to enhance some of the experimental observations dealing with ignition timing, thermal boundary conditions, emissions and how they affect engine stability and performance. High load issues common to HCCI are discussed in light of the inherent performance and emissions tradeoff and the disappearance of feasible operating space at high engine loads.

Degreening is crucial in obtaining a stable catalyst prior to assessing its performance characteristics. This paper characterizes the light-off behavior and conversion efficiency of a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) during the degreening process. A platinum DOC is degreened for 16 hours in the presence of actual diesel engine exhaust at 650°C and 10% water (H2O) concentration. The DOC's activity for carbon monoxide (CO) and for total hydrocarbons (THC) conversion is checked at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16 hours of degreening. Pre-and post-catalyst hydrocarbon species are analyzed via gas chromatography at 0, 4, 8, and 16 hours of degreening. It is found that both light-off temperature and species-resolved conversion efficiencies change rapidly during the first 8 hours of degreening and then stabilize to a large degree. T50, the temperature where the catalyst is 50% active towards a particular species, increases by 14°C for CO and by 11°C for THC through the degreening process.

Premixed compression ignition low-temperature diesel combustion (PCI) can simultaneously reduce particulate matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Carbon monoxide (CO) and total hydrocarbon (THC) emissions increase relative to conventional diesel combustion, however, which may necessitate the use of a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC). For a better understanding of conventional and PCI combustion, and the operation of a platinum-based production DOC, engine-out and DOC-out exhaust hydrocarbons are speciated using gas chromatography. As combustion mode is changed from lean conventional to lean PCI to rich PCI, engine-out CO and THC emissions increase significantly. The relative contributions of individual species also change; increasing methane/THC, acetylene/THC and CO/THC ratios indicate a richer combustion zone and a reduction in engine-out hydrocarbon incremental reactivity.

Exhaust gas rebreathing is considered to be a practical enabler that could be used in HCCI production engines. Recent experimental work at the University of Michigan demonstrates that the combustion characteristics of an HCCI engine using large amounts of hot residual gas by rebreathing are very sensitive to engine thermal conditions. This computational study addresses HCCI engine operation with rebreathing, with emphasis on the effects of engine thermal conditions during transient periods. A 1-D cycle simulation with thermal networks is carried out under load and speed transitions. A knock integral auto-ignition model, a modified Woschni heat transfer model for HCCI engines and empirical correlations to define burn rate and combustion efficiency are incorporated into the engine cycle simulation model. The simulation results show very different engine behavior during the thermal transient periods compared with steady state.

Two methods for mitigating unacceptably high HCCI heat-release rates are investigated and compared in this combined experimental/CFD work. Retarding the combustion phasing by decreasing the intake temperature is found to have good potential for smoothing heat-release rates and reducing engine knock. There are at least three reasons for this: 1) lower combustion temperatures, 2) less pressure rise when the combustion is occurring during the expansion stroke, and 3) the natural thermal stratification increases around TDC. However, overly retarded combustion leads to unstable operation with partial-burn cycles resulting in high IMEPg variations and increased emissions. Enhanced natural thermal stratification by increased heat-transfer rates was explored by lowering the coolant temperature from 100 to 50°C. This strategy substantially decreased the heat-release rates and lowered the knocking intensity under certain conditions.

We have developed a methodology for analysis of Premixed Charge Compression Ignition (PCCI) engines that applies to conditions in which there is some stratification in the air-fuel distribution inside the cylinder at the time of combustion. The analysis methodology consists of two stages: first, a fluid mechanics code is used to determine temperature and equivalence ratio distributions as a function of crank angle, assuming motored conditions. The distribution information is then used for grouping the mass in the cylinder into a two-dimensional (temperature-equivalence ratio) array of zones. The zone information is then handed on to a detailed chemical kinetics model that calculates combustion, emissions and engine efficiency information. The methodology applies to situations where chemistry and fluid mechanics are weakly linked.