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The fuel economy of recent small size DI diesel engines has become more and more efficient. However, heat loss is still one of the major factors contributing to a substantial amount of energy loss in engines. In order to a full understanding of the heat loss mechanism from combustion gas to cylinder wall, the effect of hole size and rail pressure at similar injection rate condition on transient heat flux to the wall were investigated. Using a constant volume vessel with a fixed impingement wall, the study measured the surface heat flux of the wall at the locations of spray flame impingement using three thin-film thermocouple heat-flux sensors. The results showed that the transferred heat was similar under similar injection rate profiles. However, in case of flame luminosity, temperature distribution, characteristic of local heat flux and soot distribution was also similar except the smaller nozzle hole size with higher injection pressure.

An experimental study on emission formation processes, such as these of nitric oxide, particulate and total hydrocarbon in a small direct injection (D.I.) diesel engine was carried out by using a newly developed total in-cylinder sampling technique. The sampling method consisted of rapidly opening a blowdown valve attached to the bottom of the piston bowl, and quickly transferring most of the in-cylinder contents into a large sampling chamber below the piston. No modification of the intake and exhaust ports in a cylinder head was required for the installation of the blowdown apparatus. The sampling experiment gave a history of spatially-averaged emission concentrations in the cylinder. The effects of several engine variables, such as the length-to-diameter ratio of the nozzle hole, the ratio of the piston bowl diameter to the cylinder bore and the intake swirl ratio, on the emission formation processes were investigated.

Different ethanol-gasoline blended fuels, namely the E0 (100% gasoline), E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline mixed in volume basis) and E100 (100% ethanol) were injected by a valve-covered-orifice (VCO) hole-type nozzle in a condition simulating the near top dead center (TDC). Two typical injection pressures of 10 and 20MPa were adopted to clarify the spray and flame behaviors. The correlation of the upstream unburned fuel and the flame propagation was analyzed by the high-speed imaging of shadowgraph. Moreover, the effects of ignition timing and location on the flame propagation were discussed based on the imaging of OH* chemiluminescence.

The fuel injection characteristics of Dimethyl Ether(DME) were calculated and compared with the calculated results of diesel fuel using a simulation model of an in-line diesel injection system in order to clarify the differences between the injection characteristics of the two fuels. Moreover, numerical analyses for the DME injection were performed while changing the fuel parameters and the injection system parameters in order to estimate the effects of these parameters on the fuel injection characteristics. The effects of some of these parameters were evaluated by experimental results conducted in a constant volume vessel. Furthermore, the spray tip penetration was calculated using the computed results of the injection pressure. As a result of this study, the injection characteristics of the DME fuel are basically confirmed. By the macroscopic analyses of these spray characteristics, the DME spray behavior in a combustion chamber can be estimated.

Spray combustion processes of palm oil biodiesel (PO) and conventional diesel fuels were simulated using the CONVERGE CFD code. Thermochemical and reaction kinetic data (115 species and 460 reactions) by Luo et al. (2012) and Lu et al. (2009) (68 species and 283 reactions) were implemented in the CONVERGE CFD to simulate the spray and combustion processes of the two fuels. Tetradecane (C14H30) and n- heptane (C7H16) were used as surrogates for diesel. For the palm biodiesel, the mixture of methyl decanoate (C11H20O2), methyl-9-decenoate (C11H19O2) and n-heptane was used as surrogate. The palm biodiesel surrogates were combined in proportions based on the previous GC-MS results for the five major biodiesel components namely methyl palmitate, methyl stearate, methyl oleate, methyl linoleate and methyl linolenate.

Among the alternative fuels, dimethyl ether (DME), one of the oxygenated fuels, attracts attention as an alternative fuel for the Diesel engine since the properties of the DME are fitted to the Diesel engine combustion and the know-how development has been made of the mass production of the DME from a natural gas. In this study, experiments were performed of ignition characteristics of the DME and Diesel fuel sprays injected by a D.I. Diesel injector into a high-pressure, high-temperature vessel. The fuel injection was made by a Bosch type injection system. A schlieren optical system was adopted for visualizing the ignition process as well as the vaporization process of the DME and Diesel fuel sprays. The ignition delay was measured by using a photo-sensor which had a sensitivity in the wavelength range from visible to ultraviolet. Pressure and temperature of the ambient air and the oxygen concentration of the ambient air were changed as experimental parameters.

Ethanol is regarded as the promising alternative fuel for gasoline to meet the strict low emission standard for spark ignition engines. In this study, the spray mixture formation process for different ethanol blended fuels, including E0 (gasoline), E85 (85% volume of ethanol and 15% volume of gasoline) and E100 (ethanol), has been evaluated using hole-type nozzle by the measurement of Laser Absorption Scattering (LAS) technique in a constant volume vessel. Based on the principle of LAS, the quantitative vapor and liquid phase distribution from different ethanol blended fuel can be obtained by the light extinction regime. Aiming to analyze the effect of mixture formation and evaporation for different components of blended fuel or pure gasoline and ethanol, the vapor distribution of gasoline was determined by using p-xylene, which had similar physical properties to gasoline, especially higher boiling temperature components, and higher absorption for ultraviolet.

This paper studies the ignition processes of two biodiesel from two different feedstock sources, namely waste cooked oil (WCO) and palm oil (PO). They were investigated using the direct photography through high-speed video observations and detailed chemical kinetics. The detailed chemical kinetics modeling was carried out to complement data acquired using the high-speed video observations. For the high-speed video observations, an image intensifier combined with OH* filter connected to a high-speed video camera was used to obtain OH* chemiluminscence image near 313 nm. The OH* images were used to obtain the experimental ignition delay of the biodiesel fuels. For the high-speed video observations, experiments were done at an injection pressure of 100, 200 and 300 MPa using a 0.16 mm injector nozzle.

In direct injection spark ignition (DISI) engine, it is difficult to avoid the spray impingement of fuel on the cylinder wall and piston head, which is a possible source of hydrocarbons and soot emission. The injector nozzle geometry and injection pressure are essential components for the spray atomization and mixture formation. For better understanding the effects of injector hole diameters and injection pressure, the fuel spray and adhesion on a flat wall by different mini-sac injectors with a single hole was examined in this study. A flat-wall made of quartz glass was used as the impingement plate. Refractive Index Matching (RIM) method was applied to measure the thickness of fuel adhesion on the wall. All the cases performed in constant high-pressure chamber were under high temperature condition considering the real gasoline engine condition. Time-resolved behaviors of the fuel adhesion as well as adhesion mass, area and thickness were discussed.

Owing to the short impingement distance and high injection pressure, it is difficult to avoid the fuel spray impingement on the combustion cylinder wall and piston head in Direct Injection Spark Ignition (DISI) engine, which is a possible source of hydrocarbons and soot emission. For better understanding of the mechanisms behind the spray-wall impingement, the fuel spray and adhesion on a flat wall using a mini-sac injector with a single-hole was examined. The microscopic characteristics of impinging spray were investigated through Particle Image Analysis (PIA). The droplet size and velocity were compared before impingement. The adhered fuel on the wall was measured by Refractive Index Matching (RIM). The fuel adhesion mass and area were discussed. Moreover, the relationships between droplets behaviors and fuel adhesion on the wall were discussed.

The effects of spray/wall interaction on diesel combustion and soot formation in a two-dimensional piston cavity were studied with a high speed color video camera in a constant volume combustion vessel. The two-dimensional piston cavity was applied to generate the impinging spray flame. In the cavity, the flat surface which plays a role as the cylinder head has a 13.5 degree angle with the injector axis and the impinging point was located 30 mm away from the nozzle tip. Three injection pressures of 100, 150, and 200 MPa and a single hole diesel injector (hole diameter: 0.133mm) were selected. The flame structure and combustion process were examined by using the color luminosity images. Two-color pyrometry was used to measure the line-of sight soot temperature and concentration by using the R and B channels of the color images. The soot mass generated by impinging spray flame is higher than that of the free spray flame.

The effect of injection pressure ranging from 100 to 300MPa on the ignition, flame development and soot formation characteristics of biodiesel fuel spray using a common rail injection system for direct injection (D.I.) diesel engine was investigated. Experiments were carried out in a constant volume vessel under conditions similar to the real engine condition using a single hole nozzle. Biodiesel fuels from two sources namely; palm oil (BDFp) and cooked oil (BDFc) with the commercial JIS#2diesel fuel were utilized in this research. The OH chemiluminescence technique was used to determine the ignition and the lift-off length of the combusting flame. The natural luminosity technique was applied to study the flame development and the two color pyrometry was applied for the soot formation processes. Ignition delay decreased as the injection pressure progressed from 100 to 300MPa. This was as a result of the enhanced mixing achieved at higher injection pressures.

To reduce carbon dioxide emission and to relieve the demand of fossil fuels, ethanol is regarded as one of the most promising alternative fuels for gasoline. Recently, using ethanol in the state-of-the-art gasoline engine, direct-injection spark-ignition (DISI) engine, has become more attention by researchers due to less knowledge of the ignition and combustion processes in that engine. In this study, different ethanol-gasoline blended fuels, E0 (100% gasoline), E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline mixed in volume basis) and E100 (100% ethanol) were injected by a valve-covered-orifice (VCO) hole-type nozzle. The experimental environment was set to the condition similar with the near top dead center (TDC) in DISI engine. The high-speed imaging of shadowgraph, OH* chemiluminescence and flame natural luminosity were used to clarify the characteristics of the ignition process, flame development and propagation.

The high injection pressure and small cylinder volume of direct injection spark ignition (DISI) engines can result in flat-wall wetness on the surface of the piston, increasing fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. The characteristics of microscopic fuel adhesion are observed using refractive index matching (RIM). Fuel adhesion characteristics after wall impingement are evaluated with various cross-flow velocities under triple stage injection conditions. The results indicate that cross-flow has a beneficial effect on the diffusion of fuel spray. Average fuel adhesion thickness decreases with an increase in cross-flow velocities. Furthermore, cross-flow promotes the evaporation of fuel adhesion, which leads to a reduction in the fuel adhesion mass/mass ratio. The improvement of injection strategy has guidance on low-carbon future.

Owing to the small size of engines and high injection pressures, it is difficult to avoid the fuel spray impingement on the combustion cylinder wall and piston head in Direct Injection Spark Ignition (DISI) engine, which is a possible source of hydrocarbons and soot emission. As a result, the droplets size and distribution are significantly important to evaluate the atomization and predict the impingement behaviors, such as stick, spread or splash. However, the microscopic behaviors of droplets are seldom reported due to the high density of small droplets, especially under high pressure conditions. In order to solve this problem, a “spray slicer” was designed to cut the spray before impingement as a sheet one to observe the droplets clearly. The experiment was performed in a constant volume chamber under non-evaporation condition, and a mini-sac injector with single hole was used.

Hydrogen (H2) addition is widely used for natural gas combustion to improve the engine efficiency. However, less attention was paid on the various ignition timings for the maximum brake torque (MBT) and brake thermal efficiency (BTE). In order to check the ignition timing effect, experiments were performed in a spark ignition engine with engine speed fixed on 1500 revolutions per minute (rpm). Firstly, CH4 was only used for combustion with excess air ratio (λ) changing from 0.8 to 1.4. Then, co-combustion of 50 vol% CH4 and 50 vol% CO2 was checked to simulate methane fermentation gas. Finally, H2 was added with volume percentage varying from 5% to 20%. Among these discussions, torque, brake mean effective pressure (BMEP), BTE and cylinder pressure were evaluated. Based on the results, high efficiency can be achieved by advancing the ignition timing with H2 addition at λ=1.4. However, with H2 addition, the ignition timing should be retarded to obtain higher BTE.

Heat loss is more critical for the thermal efficiency improvement in small size diesel engines than large-size diesel engines. More than half of total heat energy in the internal-combustion engine is lost by cooling through the cylinder walls to the atmosphere and the exhaust gas. Therefore, the new combustion concept is needed to reduce losses in the cylinder wall. In a Direct Injection (DI) diesel engine, the spray behavior, including spray-wall impingement has an important role in the combustion development to reduce heat loss. The aim of this study is to understand the mechanism of the heat transfer from the spray and flame to the impinging wall. Experiments were performed in a constant volume vessel (CVV) at high pressures and high temperatures. Fuel was injected using a single-hole injector with a 0.133 mm diameter nozzle. Under these conditions, spray evaporates, then burns near the wall. Spray/flame behavior was investigated with a high-speed video camera.

Fuel spray impingement on the combustion chamber wall cannot be avoid in direct injection gasoline engines, resulting in insufficient combustion and unburned hydrocarbon/soot emissions from the engines. And the microscopic characteristics of the impinging spray have a close relation with the fuel film formation, which has a direct effect on the engine performance and emissions. Therefore, figuring out the droplet behaviors of the impinging spray is significantly important for improving the engine performance and reducing emissions. However, the microscopic characteristics of the impinging spray have not been deeply understood and the differences between the impinging and free spray are seldom mentioned in previous study. Therefore, particle image analysis (PIA) technique was applied to detect the microscopic characteristics at the capture location in order to track the droplet behaviors of the spray tip during the propagation process.

A phenomenological spray-combustion model of a D.I. Diesel engine was applied to study the engine parameters with potential for reducing NOx and smoke emissions. The spray-combustion model, first developed at the University of Hiroshima in 1976, has been sophisticated by incorporating new knowledge of diesel combustion. The model was verified using data from an experimental, single cylinder, D.I. diesel engine with a bore of 135mm and a stroke of 130mm. After the verification process, calculations were made under a wide range of the engine parameters, such as intake air temperature, intake air pressure, intake swirl ratio, nozzle hole diameter, injection pressure, air entrainment rate into the spray, and injection rate profile. These calculations estimated the effects of the engine parameters on NOx, smoke and specific fuel consumption. As a result of the calculations, an approach for the low NOx and smoke emission engine was found.