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Emissions from CI engines fueled with dimethyl ether (DME) were discussed in this paper. Thanks to its high content of fuel oxygen, DME combustion is virtually soot free. This characteristic of DME combustion indicates that the particulate filter will not be needed in the aftertreatment system for engines fueled with DME. NOx emissions from a CI engine fueled with DME can meet the US 2007 regulation with a high EGR rate. Because 49% more fuel mass must be delivered in each DME injection than the corresponding diesel-fuel injection, and the DME injection pressure is lower than 500 bar under the current fuel-system technology, the DME injection duration is generally longer than that of diesel-fuel injection. This is unfavorable to further NOx reduction. A multiple-injection strategy with timing for the primary injection determined by the cylinder temperature was proposed.

A new fuel injection strategy is proposed for DME engines. Under this strategy, a pre-injection up to 40% demand is conducted after intake valves closing. Due to high volatility of DME, a lean homogeneous mixture can be formed during the compression stroke. Near TDC, a pilot injection is conducted. Combined fuel mass for the pre-injection and pilot injection is under the lean combustion limit of DME. Thus, the mixture is enriched and combustion can take place only in the neighborhood of sprays of the pilot injection. The main injection is conducted after TDC. Because only about half of the demand needs to be injected and DME evaporates almost immediately, combustion duration for the main injection plus the unburnt fuel in the cylinder should not be long because a large portion of the fuel has been premixed with air. With a high EGR rate and proper timing for the main injection, low temperature combustion could be realized.

The physical process of particulate fouling in EGR coolers is analyzed in this paper. Various particulate-deposition mechanisms are discussed and an order of magnitude comparison suggests that thermophoresis is the dominant mechanism for the EGR cooler fouling. The EGR temperature at the cooler inlet, the soot particle concentration in EGR, and the EGR mass flow rate are found to be the parameters governing the EGR cooler fouling. The structure for the soot deposit buildup on the cooler wall is also discussed. It is found that the surface layer of the deposit governs the fouling factor. A comprehensive model for soot particle depositions is developed employing heat, mass, and momentum transfer theories for the particle-gas system. The fouling model developed in this study can predict the process of deterioration in the effectiveness. The predictions of EGR cooler fouling are compared with experimental data and good agreement is observed.

Physicochemical characteristics of the soot deposits in a fouled EGR cooler are studied in this paper. It is found that a three-layer model for the soot deposited in the EGR cooler may well describe the behavior of the depositing process: a dense base layer with micro pores (≺ 5 nm), a randomly packed intermediate layer with meso pores (5-50 nm) and a loose surface layer with macro pores (≻ 50 nm). The surface layer is thick and highly porous, formed by mechanical interlocking of the agglomerated primary soot particles or soot clusters. The soot particles in the surface layer may be removed by a high shear EGR flow. Condensates in the deposit, especially water, can have a significant influence on the structure of the deposit. Capillary forces on the wetted soot particles could be comparable to the contact forces holding the particles together. It is found that the hydroscopicity of the soot particles vary with their content of soluble organic fraction (SOF).