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Combustion experiments were conducted with an optically accessible engine that allowed the entire bore area to be visualized for the purpose of making clear the characteristics that induce extremely rapid HCCI combustion and knocking accompanied by cylinder pressure oscillations. The HCCI combustion regime was investigated in detail by high-speed in-cylinder visualization of autoignition and combustion and emission spectroscopic measurements. The results revealed that increasing the equivalence ratio and advancing the ignition timing caused the maximum pressure rise rate and knocking intensity to increase. In moderate HCCI combustion, the autoignited flame was initially dispersed temporally and spatially in the cylinder and then gradually spread throughout the entire cylinder.

Attention has recently been focused on homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion (HCCI) as an effective combustion process for resolving the essential nature of combustion. Meanwhile, dimethylether (DME) has attracted interest as a potential alternative fuel for compression ignition engines. Authors measured the combustion process of DME HCCI by using a spectroscopic method. A diesel engine was used as the test engine. The results of these analyses showed that changes in the compression ratio, intake air temperature and equivalence ratio influenced the ignition timing in the HCCI combustion process. This paper discusses these effects in reference to the experimental and calculated results.

This study investigated the influence of EGR and spark advance on knocking under high compression ratio, ultra-lean mixture and supercharged condition using premium gasoline as a test fuel. A high-compression ratio, supercharged single cylinder engine was used in this experiment. As a result, the period from ignition to autoignition was prolonged. In addition, knock intensity was drastically reduced. In other words, it is inferred that by combining an appropriate amount of EGR and spark advance, high efficiency operation avoiding knocking can be realized.

One issue of Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engines that should be addressed is to suppress rapid combustion in the high-load region. Supercharging the intake air so as to form a leaner mixture is one way of moderating HCCI combustion. However, the specific effect of supercharging on moderating HCCI combustion and the mechanism involved are not fully understood yet. Therefore, experiments were conducted in this study that were designed to moderate rapid combustion in a test HCCI engine by supercharging the air inducted into the cylinder. The engine was operated under high-load levels in a supercharged state in order to make clear the effect of supercharging on expanding the stable operating region in the high-load range. HCCI combustion was investigated under these conditions by making in-cylinder spectroscopic measurements and by analyzing the exhaust gas using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.

This study examined the effects of fuel composition and intake pressure on two-stage high temperature heat release characteristics of a Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine. Light emission and absorption spectroscopic measurement techniques were used to investigate the combustion behavior in detail. Chemical kinetic simulations were also conducted to analyze the reaction mechanisms in detail. Blended fuels of dimethyl ether (DME) and methane were used in the experiments. It was found that the use of such fuel blends together with a suitable intake air flow rate corresponding to the total injected heat value gave rise to two-stage heat release behavior of the hot flame, which had the effect of moderating combustion. The results of the spectroscopic measurements and the chemical kinetic simulations revealed that the main reaction of the first stage of the hot flame heat release was one that produced CO from HCHO.

Emission intensity was measured at a wavelength of 395 2 nm (corresponding to the characteristic spectrum of the HCHO radical) and absorbance was measured at 306 4 nm (corresponding to that of the OH radical). The emission intensity and absorbance waveforms recorded during engine operation on n-heptane show behavior indicative of the passage and degeneracy of cool flame in the preflame reaction interval. As the combustion chamber wall temperature approached an overheated state in the transition from normal combustion to knocking operation different preflame reaction behavior was observed which is thought to correspond to the presence of a negative temperature coefficient region related to the ignition delay time.

The purpose of this research was to obtain a better understanding of engine knocking phenomena. Measurements were made of the behavior of formaldehyde (HCHO), an important intermediate product of cool flame reactions, and of the HCO radical, characterized by distinctive light emission during blue flame reactions. The test engine was operated on a blended fuel (50 RON) of n-heptane and iso-octane. Simultaneous measurements were made of the behavior of HCHO and the OH radical using absorption spectroscopy and of the behavior of HCO and OH radicals using emission spectroscopy. Absorbance spectroscopic measurements revealed behavior thought to correspond to the passage of a cool flame and emission spectroscopic measurements showed behavior thought to correspond to the passage of a blue flame.

There is an urgent need today to improve the thermal efficiency of spark- ignition (SI) engines in order to reduce carbon dioxide emission and conserve energy in an effort to prevent global warming. However, a major obstacle to improving thermal efficiency by raising the compression ratio of SI engine is the easily occurrence of engine knocking. The result of studies done by numerous researchers have shown that knocking is an abnormal combustion in which the unburned gas in the end zone of the combustion chamber autoignites. However, the combustion reaction mechanism from autoignition to the occurrence of knocking is still not fully understood. The study deals with the light absorption and emission behavior in the preflame reaction interval before hot flame reactions.

With the aim of elucidating the mechanism generating knock, an examination was made of the preflame reaction behavior of end gas in the combustion chamber in the transition from normal combustion to abnormal combustion characterized by the occurrence of knocking. Simultaneous measurements were made in the same cycle of the light absorption and emission behavior of the OH (characteristic spectrum of 306.4 nm), CH (431.5 nm) and C2 (516.5 nm) radicals in the end-gas region using spectroscopic methods. The absorbance behavior of a blue flame prior to autoignition is believed to be an important factor in the mechanism causing knock.

The study deals with the light absorption and emission behavior in the preflame reaction interval before hot flame reactions.(1-3) Absorption spectroscopy was used to measure the behavior of HCHO and OH radicals during a progression from normal combustion to knocking operation. Emission spectroscopic measurements were obtained in the same way that radical added HCO. Radical behavior in preflame reactions was thus examined on the basis of simultaneous measurements, which combined each absorption wavelength with three emission wavelength by using a monochromator and a newly developed polychromator.(4-5) When n-heptane (0 RON) and blended fuel (50 RON) were used as test fuel, it was observed that radical behavior differed between normal combustion and knocking operation and a duration of the preflame reaction was shorter during the progression from normal combustion to a condition of knocking.

In this study, optical measurements were made of the combustion chamber gas during operation of a Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine in order to obtain a better understanding of the ignition and combustion characteristics. The principal issues of HCCI engines are to control the ignition timing and to optimize the combustion state following ignition. Autoignition in HCCI engines is strongly influenced by the complex low-temperature oxidation reaction process, alternatively referred to as the cool flame reaction or negative temperature coefficient (NTC) region. Accordingly, a good understanding of this low-temperature oxidation reaction process is indispensable to ignition timing control. In the experiments, spectroscopic measurement methods were applied to investigate the reaction behavior in the process leading to autoignition.

Attention has recently been focused on homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) as an effective combustion process for resolving issues inherent to the nature of combustion. Dimethyl ether (DME; CH3OCH3) has attracted interest as a potential alternative fuel for compression ignition engines. We measured the HCCI process of DME in a test diesel engine by using a spectroscopic method. Simultaneous measurements were also done on exhaust emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Based on the experimental data, this paper discusses the relationship between the equivalence ratio and the observed tendencies.

In this study, light emission and absorption spectroscopic measurement techniques were used to investigate the Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion process in detail, about which there have been many unclear points heretofore. The results made clear the formation behavior and wavelength bands of the chemical species produced during low-temperature reactions. Specifically, with a low level of residual gas, a light emission band was observed from a cool flame in a wavelength range of 370–470 nm. That is attributed to the light emission of formaldehyde (HCHO) produced in the cool-flame reactions. Additionally, it was found that these light emission spectra were no longer observable when residual gas was applied. The light emission spectra of the combustion flame thus indicated that residual gas has the effect of moderating cool-flame reactions.

Knocking is one phenomenon that can be cited as a factor impeding efforts to improve the efficiency of spark-ignition engines. With the aim of understanding knocking better, light emission spectroscopy was applied in this study to examine preflame reactions that can be observed prior to autoignition. Light emission intensity was measured at wavelengths of 306.4 nm (characteristic spectrum of OH), 329.8 nm (HCO), 395.2 nm (HCHO). A four-cycle, air-cooled, single-cylinder gasoline engine with a side valve arrangement was used as the test engine. Light emission behavior was simultaneously observed at two positions (the end zone and the center zone) in the combustion chamber. The test fuel used was n-heptane (0 RON). The test engine was operated at three speed levels (1400, 1800 and 2200 rpm). As a result, preflame reactions were observed. It was also observed that the tendencies seen for the preflame reaction interval varied depending on the engine speed.

In this study, a spectroscopic method was used to measure the combustion characteristics of a test diesel engine when operated on dimethyl ether (DME) under a homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion process. A numerical analysis was made of the elementary reactions using Chemkin 4.0 to perform the calculations. The results of the analysis showed that compression ratio changes and the methane additive influenced the autoignition timing in the DME-HCCI combustion process. In the experiments, reducing the compression ratio delayed the time of the peak cylinder pressure until after top dead center, thereby increasing the crankshaft output and thermal efficiency. The addition of methane enabled the DME-HCCI engine to provide crankshaft output equivalent to that seen for diesel engine operation at a low equivalence ratio. This paper discusses these effects in reference to the experimental and calculated results.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion has attracted widespread interest as a combustion system that offers the advantages of high efficiency and low exhaust emissions. However, it is difficult to control the ignition timing in an HCCI combustion system owing to the lack of a physical means of initiating ignition like the spark plug in a gasoline engine or fuel injection in a diesel engine. Moreover, because the mixture ignites simultaneously at multiple locations in the cylinder, it produces an enormous amount of heat in a short period of time, which causes greater engine noise, abnormal combustion and other problems in the high load region. The purpose of this study was to expand the region of stable HCCI engine operation by finding a solution to these issues of HCCI combustion.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engines have attracted much attention and are being widely researched as engines characterized by low emissions and high efficiency. However, one issue of HCCI engines is their limited operating range because of the occurrence of rapid combustion at high loads and misfiring at low loads. It is known that knocking accompanied by in-cylinder pressure oscillations also occurs in HCCI engines at high loads, similar to knocking seen in spark-ignition engines. In this study, HCCI combustion accompanied by in-cylinder pressure oscillations was visualized by taking high-speed photographs of the entire bore area. In addition, the influence of internal exhaust gas circulation (EGR) on HCCI knocking was also investigated. The visualized combustion images revealed that rapid autoignition occurred in the end-gas region during the latter half of the HCCI combustion process when accompanied by in-cylinder pressure oscillations.

The influence of the eddy scale of initial turbulence in RCM on the pressure rise rate after spontaneous ignition of end gas was investigated. The combustion time of the end gas after spontaneous ignition was observed by using high-speed direct photography. As a result, the large scale eddy reduced the pressure rise rate after spontaneous ignition. The temperature inhomogeneity of end gas was higher with the large scale eddy. The combustion time of end gas after spontaneous ignition was prolonged by variation in local ignition delay due to inhomogeneity. The large scale eddy may prevented the knocking occurrence.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion has attracted widespread interest because it achieves high efficiency and can reduce particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions simultaneously. However, because HCCI engines lack a physical means of initiating ignition, it is difficult to control the ignition timing. Another issue of HCCI engines is that the combustion process causes the cylinder pressure to rise rapidly. The time scale is also important in HCCI combustion because ignition depends on the chemical reactions of the mixture. Therefore, we investigated the influence of the engine speed on autoignition and combustion characteristics in an HCCI engine. A four-stroke single-cylinder engine equipped with a mechanically driven supercharger was used in this study to examine HCCI combustion characteristics under different engine speeds and boost pressures.

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of cooled recirculated exhaust gas (EGR) on abnormal combustion in a Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine. The condition of abnormal HCCI combustion accompanied by cylinder pressure oscillations was photographed with a high-speed camera using a 2-stroke optically accessible engine that enabled visualization of the entire bore area. Exhaust gas was cooled with a water-cooled intercooler for introducing cooled EGR. Experiments were conducted in which the quantity of cooled EGR introduced was varied and a comparison was made of the autoignition behavior obtained under each condition in order to investigate the influence of cooled EGR on abnormal HCCI combustion. The results revealed that cylinder pressure oscillations were reduced when cooled EGR was introduced. That reduction was found to be mainly ascribable to the effect of cooled EGR on changing the ignition timing.