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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.

The application of emulsified fuel for diesel engines is expected to reduce NOx and soot simultaneously. The purpose of this study is to clarify the influence of water content in emulsified fuel and fuel injection timing on diesel engine performance. The engine performance of emulsified fuel was compared with the water injection method. In the water injection test, water was injected to intake manifold and diesel fuel was directly injected into combustion chamber. Two emulsified fuels of which mixing ratio of water and emulsifier to diesel fuel were 15 and 30 vol.% were tested. Engine performance and exhaust gas emission of water injection method were almost similar to those of diesel fuel, so that water presented in combustion chamber had almost no influence on engine performance. Therefore, it can be considered that the micro explosion of fuel droplet enhanced the fuel atomization and mixing of fuel and air.

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.

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.

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, 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) 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.

Internal combustion engines today are required to achieve even higher efficiency and cleaner exhaust emissions. Currently, research interest is focused on premixed compression ignition (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition, HCCI) combustion. However, HCCI engines have no physical means of initiating ignition such as a spark plug or the fuel injection timing and quantity. Therefore, it is difficult to control the ignition timing. In addition, combustion occurs simultaneously at multiple sites in the combustion chamber. As a result, combustion takes place extremely rapidly especially in the high load region. That makes it difficult for the engine to operate stably at high loads. This study focused on the fuel composition as a possible means to solve these problems. The effect of using fuel blends on the HCCI operating region and combustion characteristics was investigated using a single-cylinder test engine.

Unresolved issues of Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion include an extremely rapid pressure rise on the high load side and resultant knocking. Studies conducted to date have examined ways of expanding the region of stable HCCI combustion on the high load side such as by applying supercharging or recirculating exhaust gas (EGR). However, the effect of applying EGR gas to supercharged HCCI combustion and the mechanisms involved are not fully understood. In this study, the effect of EGR gas components on HCCI combustion was investigated by conducting experiments in which external EGR gas was applied to supercharged HCCI combustion and also experiments in which nitrogen (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) were individually injected into the intake air pipe to simulate EGR gas components. In addition, HCCI combustion reactions were analyzed by conducting chemical kinetic simulations under the same conditions as those of the experiments.

A new bio-fuel i.e. the cellulosic liquefaction fuel (CLF) was developed for diesel engines. CLF was made from woods by direct liquefaction process. When neat CLF was supplied to diesel engine, the compression ignition did not occur, so that blend of CLF and diesel fuel was used. The engine could be operated when the mixing ratio of CLF was up to 35 wt%. CO, HC and NOx emissions were almost the same as those of diesel fuel when the mixing ratio of CLF was less than 20 wt% whereas the thermal efficiency slightly decreases with increase in CLF mixing ratio.

The Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine has attracted much interest in recent years because it can simultaneously achieve high efficiency and low emissions. However, it is difficult to control the ignition timing with this type of engine because it has no physical ignition mechanism. Varying the amount of fuel supplied changes the operating load and the ignition timing also changes simultaneously. The HCCI combustion process also has the problem that combustion proceeds too rapidly. This study examined the possibility of separating ignition timing control and load control using an HCCI engine that was operated on blended test fuels of dimethyl ether (DME) and methane, which have vastly different ignition characteristics. The influence of the mixing ratios of these two test fuels on the rapidity of combustion was also investigated.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion has attracted much interest as a combustion system that can achieve both low emissions and high efficiency. But the operating region of HCCI combustion is narrow, and it is difficult to control the auto-ignition timing. This study focused on the use of a two-component fuel blend and supercharging. The blended fuel consisted of dimethyl ether (DME), which has attracted interest as alternative fuel for compression-ignition engines, and methane, the main component of natural gas. A spectroscopic technique was used to measure the light emission of the combustion flame in the combustion chamber in order to ascertain the combustion characteristics. HCCI combustion characteristics were analyzed in detail in the present study by measuring this light emission spectrum.

This study investigated the effects of recirculated exhaust gas (EGR) and its principal components of N2, CO2 and H2O on moderating Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion. Experiments were conducted using two types of gaseous fuel blends of DME/propane and DME/methane as the test fuels. The addition rates of EGR, N2, CO2 and H2O were varied and the effects of each condition on HCCI combustion of propane and methane were investigated. The results revealed that the addition of CO2 and H2O had the effect of substantially delaying and moderating rapid combustion. The addition of N2 showed only a slight delaying and moderating effect. The addition of EGR had the effect of optimally delaying the combustion timing, while either maintaining or increasing the indicated mean effective pressure and indicated thermal efficiency ηi.

There are strong demands today to further improve the thermal efficiency of internal combustion engines against a backdrop of various environmental issues, including rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and global warming. One factor that impedes efforts to improve the thermal efficiency of spark ignition engines is the occurrence of knocking. The aim of this study was to elucidate the details of knocking based on spectroscopic measurements and visualization of phenomena in the combustion chamber of a test engine that was operated on three primary reference fuels with different octane ratings (0 RON, 30 RON, and 50 RON). The ignition timing was retarded in the experiments to delay the progress of flame propagation, making it easier to capture the behavior of low-temperature oxidation reactions at the time knocking occurred.

This study focused on the use of a two-component fuel blend and supercharging as possible means of overcoming these issues of HCCI combustion. Low-carbon gaseous fuels with clean emissions were used as the test fuels. The specific fuels used were dimethyl ether (DME, cetane number of 55 or higher) that autoignites easily And exhibits pronounced low-temperature oxidation reactions, methane (cetane number of 0) that does not autoignite readily and is the main component of natural gas which is regarded as petroleum substitute, and propane (cetane number of 5) that is a principal component of liquefied petroleum gas. The results of previous investigations have shown that the use of a blended fuel of DME and methane produces a two-stage main combustion process under certain operating conditions, with the result that combustion is moderated.

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 in the combustion reaction process of hydrocarbon fuels. Attention was focused on light emission behavior at wavelengths corresponding to those of formaldehyde (HCHO), Vaidya's hydrocarbon flame band (HCO) and the OH radical in a forced progression from normal combustion to a knocking state. Light emission behavior was measured simultaneously in the center and in the end zone of the combustion chamber when the engine was operated on two different test fuels. The test fuels used were n-heptane (0 RON) and a blended fuel (70 RON) consisting of n-heptane (0 RON) and iso-octane (100 RON).

In this study, a detailed analysis was made of supercharged HCCI combustion using a two-component fuel blend of dimethyl ether (DME), which has attracted interest as a potential alternative fuel, and methane. The quantity of fuel injected and boost pressure were varied to investigate the equivalence ratio and operating region conducive to optimal HCCI combustion. The results revealed that varying the boost pressure according to the engine load and applying a suitable equivalence ratio induced two-stage main combustion over a wide load range, making it possible to avoid excessively rapid combustion.

The ignitability and engine performance of FAMEs at the cold condition were experimentally investigated by using two FAMEs, i.e. coconut oil methyl ester (CME) and soybean oil methyl ester (SME). The cold start test and forced over cooling test were conducted. In the forced over cooling test, engine was forced cooled by the injecting water mist to engine cooling fin. In the cold start test, the cylinder pressure of CME rose earliest because CME has a superior ignitability. The crank angle at ignitions of diesel fuel and CME were not so affected by the forced over cooling, however ignition timing of SME was remarkably delayed. In cases of forced over cooling, COV of maximum combustion pressure of CME was lower than that of normal air cooling condition. The forced over cooling has a potential to reduce NOx emission, however HC, CO and smoke concentrations were increased in a high load due to incomplete combustion.