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Combustion and pollutant formation in a new recently introduced Common-Rail DI Diesel engine concept with roof-shaped combustion chamber and tumble charge motion are numerically investigated using the Representative Interactive Flamelet concept (RIF). A reference case with a cup shaped piston bowl for full load operating conditions is considered in detail. In addition to the reference case, three more cases are investigated with a variation of start of injection (SOI). A surrogate fuel consisting of n-decane (70% liquid volume fraction) and α-methylnaphthalene (30% liquid volume fraction) is used in the simulation. The underlying complete reaction mechanism comprises 506 elementary reactions and 118 chemical species. Special emphasis is put on pollutant formation, in particular on the formation of NOx, where a new technique based on a three-dimensional transport equation within the flamelet framework is applied.

Current and future emission legislations require a significant reduction of engine-out emissions for Diesel engines. For a further reduction of engine-out emissions, different measures are necessary such as: Especially an advanced emission and closed-loop combustion control has gained increased significance during the past years.

In view of limited crude oil resources, alternative fuels for internal combustion engines are currently being intensively researched. Synthetic fuels from natural gas offer a promising interim option before the development of CO2-neutral fuels. Up to a certain degree, these fuels can be tailored to the demands of modern engines, thus allowing a concurrent optimization of both the engine and the fuel. This paper summarizes investigations of a Gas-To-Liquid (GTL) diesel fuel in a modern, post-EURO 4 compliant diesel engine. The focus of the investigations was on power output, emissions performance and fuel economy, as well as acoustic performance, in comparison to a commercial EU diesel fuel. The engine investigations were accompanied by injection laboratory studies in order to assist in the performance analyses.

The finite nature and instability of fossil fuel supply has led to an increasing and enduring investigation demand of alternative and regenerative fuels. The Institute for Combustion Engines at the RWTH Aachen University carried out an investigation program to explore the potential of tailor made fuels to reduce engine-out emissions while maintaining engine efficiency and an acceptable noise level. To enable optimum engine performance a range of different hydrocarbons having different fuel properties like cetane number, boiling temperature and different molecular compositions have been investigated. Paraffines and naphthenes were selected in order to better understand the effects of molecular composition and chain length on emissions and performance of an engine that was already optimized for advanced combustion performance. The diesel single-cylinder research engine used in this study will be used to meet Euro 6 emissions limits and beyond.

Fuels derived from biomass will most likely contain oxygen due to the high amount of hydrogen needed to remove oxygen in the production process. Today, alcohol fuels (e. g. ethanol) are well understood for spark ignition engines. The Institute for Combustion Engines at RWTH Aachen University carried out a fuel investigation program to explore the potential of alcohol fuels as candidates for future compression ignition engines to reduce engine-out emissions while maintaining engine efficiency and an acceptable noise level. The soot formation and oxidation process when using alcohol fuels in diesel engines is not yet sufficiently understood. Depending on the chain length, alcohol fuels vary in cetane number and boiling temperature. Decanol possesses a diesel-like cetane number and a boiling point in the range of the diesel boiling curve. Thus, decanol was selected as an alcohol representative to investigate the influence of the oxygen content of an alcohol on the combustion performance.

Within the Cluster of Excellence “Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass” at RWTH Aachen University, the Institute for Combustion Engines carried out an investigation program to explore the potential of future biofuel components in Diesel blends. In this paper, thermodynamic single cylinder engine results of today's and future biofuel components are presented with respect to their engine-out emissions and engine efficiency. The investigations were divided into two phases: In the first phase, investigations were performed with rapeseed oil methyl ester (B100) and an Ethanol-Gasoline blend (E85). In order to analyze the impact of different fuel blends, mixtures with 10 vol-% of B100 or E85 and 90 vol-% of standardized EN590 Diesel were investigated. Due to the low cetane number of E85, it cannot be used purely in a Diesel engine.

Regulated emissions, CO2-values, comfort, good driveability, high reliability and costs, this is the main frame for all future powertrain developments. In this frame, the diesel powertrain, not only for passenger cars, but also for commercial vehicle applications, faces some challenges in order to fulfil the future European and current US emission legislations while keeping the fuel consumption benefit, good driveability and an acceptable cost frame. One of these challenges is the varying fuel qualities of diesel fuel in different countries including different cetane number, volatility, sulphur content and different molecular composition. In addition to that in the future, more and more alternative fuels with various fuel qualities and properties will be launched into the market for economical and environmental reasons. At present, the control algorithms of the injection system applied in most diesel engines is open loop control.