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New regression approach for heat release pattern prediction for various operating conditions for gas fuelled SI engines has been developed and verified. This procedure has been implemented in our engine working cycle simulation code. Crankshaft angle positions of combustion start-point, maximum rate-of-heat-release point and combustion end-point are expressed by the use of regression method as the function of engine operating point specification. Base heat-release pattern is employed in the model in a tabular form. The pattern at a new operating point is derived by stretching the pattern along the crank angle coordinate, fitting it in the most relevant points of the heat release pattern. The regression model is based on the results of experiments of both homogeneous stoichiometric and lean burn SI turbocharged engines fuelled by natural gas.

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) has received much attention in recent years due to its ability to reduce both fuel consumption and NO emissions compared to normal spark-ignited (SI) combustion. However, due to the limited operating range of HCCI, production feasible engines will need to employ a combination of combustion strategies, such as stoichiometric SI combustion at high loads and leaner burn spark-assisted compression ignition (SACI) and HCCI at intermediate and low loads. The goal of this study was to extend the high load limit of HCCI into the SACI region while maintaining a stoichiometric equivalence ratio. Experiments were conducted on a single-cylinder research engine with fully flexible valve actuation. In-cylinder pressure rise rates and combustion stability were controlled using cooled external EGR, spark assist, and negative valve overlap. Several engine loads within the SACI regime were investigated.

Five small two-stroke engine designs were tested at different air/fuel ratios, under steady state and transient cycles. The effects of combustion chamber design, carburetor design, lean burning, and fuel composition on performance, hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions were studied. All tested engines had been designed to run richer than stoichiometric in order to obtain satisfactory cooling and higher power. While hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions could be greatly reduced with lean burning, engine durability would be worsened. However, it was shown that the use of a catalytic converter with acceptably lean combustion was an effective method of reducing emissions. Replacing carburetion with in-cylinder fuel injection in one of the engines resulted in a significant reduction of hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions.

In this article the development of a combustion system with a fuel-scavenged pre-chamber is described. Such a system is commonly used in large-bore engines operated with extremely lean mixtures. The authors implemented the scavenged pre-chamber into a light duty truck-size engine with a bore of 102 mm. The lean burn strategy is intended to achieve very low nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions at low load. At full load a stoichiometric mixture strategy is applied to achieve sufficient power density while simultaneously enabling the use of a relatively simple three-way catalytic converter for exhaust gas aftertreatment. This work outlines the pre-chamber design features and introduces the results of an experimental investigation of the effect of pre-chamber ignition on a single cylinder testing engine.

This work presents development and results of experimental and numerical investigations of an advanced ignition system with a scavenged pre-chamber for a natural gas fueled engine with a bore of 102 mm and stroke of 120 mm. Two combustion concepts are taken into account. The lean burn concept is used to minimize engine out emissions of nitric oxides (NOx) and to achieve high thermal efficiency at low load. The in-house designed scavenged pre-chamber enables the engine to be operated up to the air-excess ratio (lambda) of 2. A stoichiometric (lambda=1) operation is also possible. It is compatible with a three-way catalyst concept, at high load and potentially transient modes and can provide as high as possible engine power density. The influence of the scavenged pre-chamber volume on the combustion and performance within the range of the operational points of the naturally aspirated engine is presented in this paper.