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Auto-ignition and combustion processes of dual-component fuel spray were numerically studied. A source code of SUPERTRAPP (developed by NIST), which is capable of predicting thermodynamic and transportation properties of pure fluids and fluid mixtures containing up to 20 components, was incorporated into KIVA3V to provide physical fuel properties and vapor-liquid equilibrium calculations. Low temperature oxidation reaction, which is of importance in ignition process of hydrocarbon fuels, as well as negative temperature coefficient behavior was taken into account using the multistep kinetics ignition prediction based on Shell model, while a global single-step mechanism was employed to account for high temperature oxidation reaction. Computational results with the present multi-component fuel model were validated by comparing with experimental data of spray combustion obtained in a constant volume vessel.

Authors have experimented the effects of cooling water temperature on the particulate emission characteristics from a high speed DI diesel engines. A single cylinder small high speed DI diesel engine is operated under various engine speed and load conditions. Cooling water temperature is varied from 313 K (40 °C) to 363 K (90 °C). Particulate is collected using a single stage full size dilution tunnel. Dry soot and SOF emissions are measured, as well as total particulate. SOF increases when the cooling water temperature decreases, as well as HC increases. SOF also increases as load decreases. This suggests that the SOF emits at the cold starting and warming up periods. This also suggests that the SOF can be reduced by increasing cooling water temperature. IT IS IMPORTANT TO CLARIFY the effects of cooling water temperature on the particulate emission.

Ignition, combustion and emissions characteristics of dual-component fuel spray were examined for ranges of injection timing and intake-air oxygen concentration. Fuels used were binary mixtures of gasoline-like component i-octane (cetane number 12, boiling point 372 K) and diesel fuel-like component n-tridecane (cetane number 88, boiling point 510 K). Mass fraction of i-octane was also changed as the experimental variable. The experimental study was carried out in a single cylinder compression ignition engine equipped with a common-rail injection system and an exhaust gas recirculation system. The results demonstrated that the increase of the i-octane mass fraction with optimizations of injection timing and intake oxygen concentration reduced pressure rise rate and soot and NOx emissions without deterioration of indicated thermal efficiency.

This paper is concerned with the formation of Particulate Matter (PM) in direct-injection (DI) diesel engines. A system featuring an electromagnetically actuated sampling valve was used for sampling of gas directly from the combustion chamber. The concentrations of total particulate matter (TPM) and of its two components, the Soluble Organic Fractions (SOF) and the Insoluble Fractions (ISF), were determined at different locations in the combustion chamber at different sampling times (different crank angles). High concentrations of SOF were found at sampling positions along the spray flame axis. The concentrations of SOF and ISF were higher at sampling positions close to the wall than away from the wall. The results suggest that SOF formation is significantly affected by wall quenching. Also, the PM concentrations were much higher in the combustion chamber than in the exhaust.

A low emission and high combustion load combustor is developed. The combustor reduces both NOx and unburnt fractions using rich-lean staged combustion. NOx is suppressed by fuel-rich combustion in the primary combustion chamber. Unburnt fraction is oxidized by the transition from rich to lean combustion. To avoid NOx formation, residence time nearby stoichiometry is shortened. NOx is less than 24.8 ppm(16 % O2 equivalence) or 2.26 g/kg throughout the experiments. Combustion efficiency is high regardless of the wide operating range. Specific combustion load is up to 33.6 MW/m3 without excessive NOx emission under atmospheric air condition.

Selected as an alternative diesel fuel based on consideration regarding the relationship between the fuel molecular structure and exhaust emission and criteria as alternative fuels, Dimethylacetal (DMA) was evaluated in both a direct injection (DI) diesel and a Direct Fuel Injection Impingement Diffusion Combustion Diesel (OSKA-D) engines. Since DMA with a 1% commercial-type cetane improver has 53 for the cetane number, no ignition-assist divice such as a spark plug is needed, unlike methanol. According to the DI diesel engine test, the NOx emission for DMA was almost equal to that for hydrocarbon diesel fuel, but smoke for DMA was much lower than that for diesel fuel. The OSKA-D engine test showed that NOx emission for DMA was much lower than that for diesel fuel and smoke emission for DMA was zero under all engine conditions.

The process of forming mixtures of injected fuels and ambient air has significant effects on the ignition and combustion process in the direct injection engine. In these engines fuel is injected intermittently and fuel jet impinges on a combustion chamber wall. This study deals with a fundamental experiment on the mixing process of the transient gas jet together with the instantaneous concentration measurement and statistical analysis of the transient turbulent mixing process in the jet. Helium or carbon dioxide is injected at constant pressure into quiescent atmosphere through the single shot device. This paper presents a laboratory automation system for measuring the characteristics of transient gas jet and processing the data. A discussion on the process of mixture formation of transient gas jets impinging on a wall is carried out with time- and space- resolved concentration distribution.

This paper presents a fundamental study on the mixture formation process in a direct injection stratified charge (DISC) engine. Helium is injected intermittently and impinged on a wall to clarify the unsteady wall impinging jet. Instantaneous concentration and pressure distributions are obtained by using fast-response concentration and pressure probes, respectively. The jet tip rolls up after the impingement on the wall, consequently the volume of an unsteady wall impinging jet becomes larger than that of a steady wall impinging jet. Wall impingement increases air entrainment, which could promote faster combustion in DISC engines.

The mixture formation process plays an important role on combustion in the direct injection stratified charge engine. A new mixture formation technology named OSKA has been developed for direct injection stratified charge SI engines. The OSKA process has the potential to yield better fuel economy and cleaner emissions. However, the mixture formation process has not been clarified completely, and detailed studies of the mixture formation process with the OSKA technology are needed. As a fundamental study on the OSKA mixture formation, time and space resolved distribution is obtained on concentration and on pressure in the unsteady gas jet, which discharges with constant injection pressure into a quiescent atmosphere and impinges on a projection placed on a wall.

A direct injection stratified charge engine using New Mixture Formation Technology (OSKA) has been developed. Experiments on a single cylinder engine, with methanol and gasoline fuels showed the following results: 1) With methanol, the maximum IMEP was 1.3 MPa and the best indicated thermal efficiency was 46 %. 2) With gasoline, the maximum IMEP was 1.16 MPa and the best indicated thermal efficiency was 43 %. Analysis of the cylinder pressure diagram showed the following results: 1) High indicated thermal efficiency was observed by low time loss. 2) A relatively short combustion duration was observed even if the engine was operated with an overall lean fuel-air mixture in the part-load condition. This fact suggests that a stratified charge was attained. 3) From observation of the heat release rate,it will be predicted that combustion is characterized by flame propagation.

The mixture formation by fuel spray impingement (OSKA system) was applied to a small direct-injection diesel engine in order to reduce the wall quenching- induced emissions, i.e., the emissions of THC and soluble organic fractions (SOF). Experiments were carried out using a single-cylinder engine, fitted with various piston cavity geometries, ran under a wide range of compression ratios and fuel injection specifications. The piston cavity was designed as a centrally located reentrant type. The combination of the high squish flow and the weak penetration of the OSKA spray was very effective in reducing harmful emissions. A short ignition delay, under the retarded fuel injection timing, was obtained because of the high compression ratio. The OSKA DI diesel engine showed reduced NOx, smoke, and THC emissions without deterioration of the fuel consumption compared to modern DI diesel engines used in automotive applications.

The effects of the spray impinging part on the in-cylinder airflow were numerically analyzed in the combustion chamber of the impinging diffusion direct injection diesel engine using KIVA-3 code. KIVA-3 code was enhanced to cater the impinging part as an internal obstacle by adopting the virtual droplet method, which is relatively easy to implement. Numerical result shows that the turbulence generation is promoted by the impinging part and is transformed by the squish flow into the piston cavity. The secondary flow is generated beneath the impinging part as well. The secondary flow area increases as the distance between top surface of the impinging part and bottom surface of the cylinder cover increases.

The authors previously reported the performance of the “Stratified Charge Methanol Engine by Impingement of Fuel Jet (OSKA System) with Spark Plug Ignition.” In that report, the impinging part was installed in the center of the piston cavity and a spark plug was used for ignition. In this report, the impinging part is installed on the cylinder head and a glow plug is used for ignition. A single-hole fuel injector (throttle type) is used. The centerline of the fuel injector coincides with that of the impinging part. A relatively low opening pressure (7.MPa) of the fuel injector is needed for this OSKA system. The fuel is injected against the impinging part, spreads and forms the fuel-air mixture. A glow plug is located just beside the impinging part. Experiments with a single-cylinder 4-stroke cycle prototype engine (bore × stroke = 94 × 90 mm) showed that the maximum Brake Mean Effective Pressure (BMEP) was 1.04 MPa and the Maximum Brake Thermal Efficiency was 41.9 % (429.6 g/kW.h).

In the small high speed DI diesel engines, wall quenching plays an important role on the particulate formation process. In order to clarify the particulate formation process, authors have analyzed the deposit on the combustion chamber wall, which are the results of the wall quenching. Deposit is sampled at 22 locations on the combustion chamber wall. On the wall of the piston cavity, dry and SOF deposits generate. The deposit quantity is the highest on the side surface of the cavity, but SOF ratio is the smallest in the cavity.

A dual fuel operation with different reactivity fuels has the possibility of optimizing performance and emissions in premixed charge compression ignition engines by controlling the spatial concentration and distribution of both fuels. In the present study, n-heptane and i-octane were independently injected through two different injectors. In-cylinder pressure analysis and emissions measurement were performed in a compression ignition engine. Injection timings, fuel quantity ratio between the injections were changed for the two cases, in which one fuel was injected using a port fuel injection system while the other was directly injected into the cylinder, in order to drastically vary mixture distributions and ignition timings. In addition, an optical diagnostic was performed in a rapid compression and expansion machine to develop an understanding of the ignition processes of the two mixtures.

Ethanol is a promising alternative to fossil fuels because it can be produced from biomass resources that are renewable. Due to the amount of production, however, the usage would be limited to blends with other conventional fuels. Ethanol-fuel blends are azeotropic and have unique vaporization characteristics different from blends composed of aliphatic hydrocarbons, so that the present study developed a numerical scheme which takes into account the vapor-liquid equilibrium of azeotrope in order to update the author's original version of the multi-component fuel CFD model and to evaluate the effect of mixing ethanol into gasoline on the evaporation process. The numerical simulation was implemented for evaporating sprays of ethanol-n-heptane blends, which are injected through a single hole nozzle. In addition to the vapor-liquid equilibrium, the effect of the latent heat of vaporization was investigated.

The new type of Diesel combustion engine has been developed. The new Idea Incorporates an impingement part in the central piston cavity. The fuel jet is injected against the impingement part, spreads and form fuel-air mixture. Single hole fuel injection nozzle is used and the relatively low opening pressure is needed. Intake air swirl is not needed. The re-entrant type combustion chamber is employed to get a relatively strong squish speed. Experimental with single cylinder 4 stroke prototype test engine showed that the brake mean effective pressure was 0.82 MPa and the maximum net specific fuel consumption was 220 g/kW.h. The NOx and smoke emissions was reduced compared with the conventional DI Diesel engine. The authors have developed a new type of Direct Injection Stratified Charge SI engine called “Direct Fuel Injection Impingement Diffusion Stratified Charge System” (hereafter called OSKA).

As a fundamental work on Direct Injection Impinging Diffusion Combustion Engine, fuel spray was injected momentary into a pressured CO2 gas and impinged onto a projection on a wall. Instantaneous photograph was taken and analyzed to clarify the spray characteristics. Nozzle opening pressure was varied to clarify its effects on spray characteristics. Nozzle needle was cut to form two pairs of flats on needle surface instead of its cylindrical one. The effect of this needle shape was also studied. Opening pressure of injection nozzle has produced very little effect on the spray tip penetration. Spray thickness is larger when needle opening pressure of injection nozzle is high. Spray tip penetration and spray thickness have become large when widths across flats is narrow.

This study is concerned with development of a new type of Diesel engine by impingement of fuel jet. The impinging part is installed on the cylinder head (OSKA-DH), against which the fuel jet is injected to spread and form fuel-air mixture. As a fundamental study on the mixture formation process, the observation of the impinged fuel jet was studied by using a pressurized vessel. High-speed combustion photographs of the OSKA and DI Diesel engine were also taken by using the experimental transparent engine. A single cylinder 4 stroke cycle prototype OSKA-DH engine (ø 118 x 108 mm) was developed. Pintle type single hole fuel injector is used and relatively low opening pressure of 15.3 MPa is employed. The re-entrant type combustion chamber and relatively high compression ratio of 20.4: 1 are employed. Experiments with a single cylinder proto-type engine showed that the lower NOx and smoke emissions compared with the conventional DI diesel engine.

Wall quenching plays a vital role on particulate formation. A single cylinder engine test has been carried out to clarify the effects of wall quenching on particulate emission. A completely warmed up engine is fired in variety of operating period under various engine load, and then stopped immediately. Deposits are collected from 25 positions on the combustion chamber wall. Area basis concentration of deposit is obtained at each position. Soluble organic fractions (SOF) extracted from deposit are analyzed with gel permeation chromatograph (GPC). Results show the correlation between SOF in exhaust particulate and in deposit. Deposit concentration is highest on the spray axis impinging region of piston cavity wall. GPC pattern of the SOF in deposit indicates that higher molecular weight composition generates as a result of polymerization of fuel where the main jet region of the spray impinges.