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The objective of this work is to develop a numerical simulation model of spark ignited (SI) engine combustion and thereby to investigate the possibility of reducing heat losses and improving thermal efficiency by applying a low thermal conductivity and specific heat material, so-called heat insulation coating, to the combustion chamber wall surface. A reduction in heat loss is very important for improving SI engine thermal efficiency. However, reducing heat losses tends to increase combustion chamber wall temperatures, resulting in the onset of knock in SI engines. Thus, the numerical model made it possible to investigate the interaction of the heat losses and knock occurrence and to optimize spark ignition timing to achieve higher efficiency. Part 2 of this work deals with the investigations on the effects of heat insulation coatings applied to the combustion chamber wall surfaces on heat losses, knock occurrence and thermal efficiency.

To suppress knock in small gasoline engines, the coolant flow of a single-cylinder engine was improved by using two methods: a multi-dimensional knock prediction method combining a Flamelet model with a simple chemical kinetics model, and a method for predicting combustion chamber wall temperature based on a thermal fluid calculation that coupled the engine coolant and the engine structure (engine head, cylinder block, and head gasket). Through these calculations as well as the measurement of wall temperatures and the analysis of combustion by experiments, the effects of wall temperature distribution and consequent unburnt gas temperature distribution on knock onset timing and location were examined. Furthermore, a study was made to develop a method for cooling the head side, which was more effective to suppress knock: the head gasket shape was modified to change the coolant flow and thereby improve the distribution of wall temperatures on the head side.

Fuel temperature in the injector of small direct injection gasoline engine is high. On some conditions it is higher than saturated temperature. Over saturated temperature spray characteristics greatly change. In order to predict in-cylinder phenomena accurately, it is important to understand spray behavior and mixture process above saturated temperature. Therefore spray shape, mixture formation process and Sauter mean radius were (SMR) measured in a constant volume chamber. And based on the measurement result initial spray boundary conditions were arranged so that spray characteristics over saturated temperature could be represented by using CFD code KIVA-3[1]. Moreover KIVA-3 code was combined with detailed chemical kinetics code Chemkin II to predict combustion products. [2] Calculated combustion process was validated with visualization of chemiluminescence. As a result, spray shape and penetration length have good agreement with measured ones for each fuel temperature.

A variable valve timing (VVT) mechanism was applied to achieve premixed diesel combustion at higher load for low emissions and high thermal efficiency in a light duty diesel engine. By means of late intake valve closing (LIVC), compressed gas temperatures near the top dead center are lowered, thereby preventing too early ignition and increasing ignition delay to enhance fuel-air mixing. The variability of effective compression ratio has significant potential for ignition timing control of conventional diesel fuel mixtures. At the same time, the expansion ratio is kept constant to ensure thermal efficiency. Combining the control of LIVC, EGR, supercharging systems and high-pressure fuel injection equipment can simultaneously reduce NOx and smoke. The NOx and smoke suppression mechanism in the premixed diesel combustion was analyzed using the 3D-CFD code combined with detailed chemistry.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) is effective for the simultaneous reduction of soot and NOx emissions in diesel engine. In general, high octane number fuels (gasoline components or gaseous fuels) are used for HCCI operation, because these fuels briefly form lean homogeneous mixture because of long ignition delay and high volatility. However, it is necessary to improve injection systems, when these high octane number fuels are used in diesel engine. In addition, the difficulty of controlling auto-ignition timing must be resolved. On the other hand, HCCI using diesel fuel (diesel HCCI) also needs ignition control, because diesel fuel which has a low octane number causes the early ignition before TDC. The purpose of this study is the ignition and combustion control of diesel HCCI. The effects of parameters (injection timing, injection pressure, internal/external EGR, boost pressure, and variable valve timing (VVT)) on the ignition timing of diesel HCCI were investigated.

Natural gas is a promising alternative fuel for internal combustion engines because of its clean combustion characteristics and abundant reserves. However, it has several disadvantages due to its low energy density and low thermal efficiency at low loads. Thus, to assist efforts to improve the thermal efficiency of spark-ignited (SI) engines operating on natural gas and to minimize test procedures, a numerical simulation model was developed to predict and optimize the performance of a turbocharged test engine, considering flame propagation, occurrence of knock and ignition timing. The numerical results correlate well with empirical data, and show that increasing compression ratios and retarding the intake valve closing (IVC) timing relative to selected baseline conditions could effectively improve thermal efficiency. In addition, employing moderate EGR ratios is also effective for avoiding knock.

The objective of this paper is to investigate the potential of lean burn combustion to improve the thermal efficiency of spark ignition engine. Experiments used a single cylinder gasoline spark ignition engine fueled with primary reference fuel of octane number 90, running at 4000 revolution per minute and at wide open throttle. Experiments were conducted at constant fueling rate and in order to lean the mixture, more air is introduced by boosted pressure from stoichiometric mixture to lean limit while maintaining the high output engine torque as possible. Experimental results show that the highest thermal efficiency is obtained at excess air ratio of 1.3 combined with absolute boosted pressure of 117 kPa. Three dimensional computational fluid dynamic simulation with detailed chemical reactions was conducted and compared with results obtained from experiments as based points.

With the development of downsized spark ignition (SI) engines, low-speed pre-ignition (LSPI) has been observed more frequently as an abnormal combustion phenomenon, and there is a critical need to solve this issue. It has been acknowledged that LSPI is not directly triggered by autoignition of the fuel, but by some other material with a short ignition delay time. It was previously reported that LSPI can be caused by droplets of lubricant oil intermixed with the fuel. In this work, the ignition behavior of lubricant component containing fuel droplets was experimentally investigated by using a constant volume chamber (CVC) and a rapid compression and expansion machine (RCEM), which enable visualization of the combustion process in the cylinder. Various combinations of fuel compositions for the ambient fuel-air mixture and fractions of base oil/metallic additives/fuel for droplets were tested.

This study examines the effects of ethanol content on engine performances and the knock characteristics in spark ignition gasoline engine under various compression ratio conditions by cylinder pressure analysis, visualization and numerical simulation. The results confirm that increasing the ethanol content provides for greater engine torque and thermal efficiency as a result of the improvement of knock tolerance. It was also confirmed that increasing the compression ratio together with increasing ethanol content is effective to overcome the shortcomings of poor fuel economy caused by the low calorific value of ethanol. Further, the results of one dimensional flame propagation simulation show that ethanol content increase laminar burning velocity. Moreover, the results of visualization by using a bore scope demonstrate that ethanol affects the increase of initial flame propagation speed and thus helps suppress knock.