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A transient analysis simulation program is developed for studying the response of an indirect injection, naturally aspirated, diesel engine after a rapid increase in load when this is equipped with various types of indirect acting governors. Analytical expressions are presented for the better simulation of engine mechanical friction, inertia moments and heat loss to the walls under transient conditions, governor dynamics for both the sensing element and the servopiston, soot emissions and the fuel pump operation. Various types of governor sensing elements (i.e. mechanical, electrical, two-pulse) and feedbacks (i.e. unity and vanishing) for the servomechanism are studied. Explicit diagrams are given to show how each combination of governor type and technical parameters (i.e. mass and number of flyweights, geometrical dimensions, amplification factors) affects the speed response as well as the speed droop and the recovery period of the particular engine.

The present work investigates the effect of low levels CO2 addition on the combustion characteristics inside a single cylinder optical engine operated under low load conditions. The effects of dilution levels (up to 7.5% mass flow rate CO2 addition), the number of pilot injections (single or double pilot injections) and injection pressure (25 or 40 MPa), are evaluated towards the direction of achieving a partially premixed combustion (PPC) operation mode. The findings are discussed based on optical measurements and via pressure trace and apparent rate of heat release analyses in a Ricardo Hydra optical light duty diesel engine. The engine was operated under low IMEP levels of the order of 1.6 bar at 1200 rpm and with a CO2 diluent-enhanced atmosphere resembling an environment of simulated low exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rates. Flame propagation is captured by means of high speed imaging and OH, CH and C2 line-of-sight chemiluminescence respectively.

A comprehensive transient analysis simulation model is used for the calculation of diesel engine performance under variable speed and load conditions. The analysis includes a detailed description of engine subsystems under transient conditions, thus accounting for the continuously changing character of transient operation, simulating among others the fuel injection, transient mechanical friction, heat losses to the walls and governor operation. The results of engine performance, at every time step during the transient event, are used as inputs for the formulation of thermal boundary conditions, which are needed for the calculation in a parallel way of the thermal transients propagating inside the engine structure.

The Diesel engine and especially the direct injection type one is considered to be one of the most efficient thermal engines known to man up to now. It has an efficiency that in some cases is 30 to 40% higher than its competitor the spark ignition engine. The efficiency of the direct injection diesel engine has been considerably improved during the last decade resulting to low fuel consumption and lower absolute values of pollutant emissions. If we consider the green house effect caused by the emitted CO2 it is revealed the environmental importance of high engine efficiency. In the present work a theoretical investigation is conducted using a detailed simulation model for engine performance prediction, to examine the possibilities for improving engine efficiency. The simulation model used is a complete open cycle model for the engine and its subsystems. Such phenomenological models are very suitable for the prediction of engine performance.

The scope of this work is to examine the use of hydroprossed used cooking oils as substitute for automotive diesel fuel. Hydroprocessing is an alternative method for the transformation of vegetable oils into high quality transport fuels, even if the quality of the oils is low, such as used cooking oils. In the present work, the utilization of hydroprocessed used cooking oil (HUCO) as neat fuel was proved to be very difficult, due to its very poor cold flow properties; therefore, mixtures of the HUCO with low quality middle distillates (a low cetane number gasoil and a light cycle oil) were prepared and evaluated. Throughout the process the formed blends were evaluated according to the european standard EN 590. The following points were mainly recorded: The lower density of HUCO was beneficial, permitting the use of poor quality distillates, in specific concentrations, and the high cetane number of HUCO was appreciable, improving the worse behavior of the other components.

Despite the improvement in HD Diesel engine out emissions future emission legislation requires significant reduction of both NOx and particulate matter. To accomplish this task various solutions exist involving both internal and external measures. As widely recognized, it will be possibly required to employ both types of measures to meet future emission limits. Towards this direction, it is necessary to reduce NOx further using internal measures. Several solutions exist in that area, but the most feasible ones according to the present status of technical knowledge are EGR, water injection or fuel/water emulsions. These technologies aim to the reduction of both the gas temperature and oxygen concentration inside the combustion chamber that strongly affect NOx formation. However, there remain open points mainly concerning the effectiveness of water addition techniques and penalties related to bsfc and soot emissions.

The transient operation of a Diesel engine when the turbocharger compressor is driven to its unstable region was examined though detailed simulation. This was accomplished by using a mathematical model, capable of predicting the behavior of a compression system including the case where compressor surging occurs. This model was tested for a simple compression system, and validated against available experimental data. After that, it was incorporated into a detailed reciprocating engine simulation code. Transient engine operation cases in which compressor surging occurred were simulated and the derived results for the behavior of the compressor and engine are presented.

A three-dimensional multi-zone combustion model is developed for the description of the combustion mechanism inside the engine cylinder of direct injection diesel engines. Various multi-zone models have been proposed in the past for the prediction of DI diesel engine performance and emissions. These models offer an alternative tool if one wants to avoid the use of other more complicated and sophisticated flow models that require high computational times. Most of them have the disadvantage that they focus mainly on emissions, failing to predict at the same time engine performance adequately. In almost all multi-zone models the resulting fuel jet after injection, which is divided into zones, is assumed to be symmetrical around its axis. In the present work a different approach is followed. The fuel jet is divided into zones in the three dimensions overcoming the need for the previous symmetry assumption.

The fuel injection system of diesel engines is of great importance since it controls the combustion mechanism. The rate of injection and the speed of injected fuel are important parameters for engine operation, controlling the combustion and pollutants formation mechanisms. A fuel injection system simulation capable of predicting the performance of the injection system to a good degree of accuracy has been developed. The simulation is based on a detailed geometrical description of the injection system and in modeling each subsystem as a separate control volume. The simulation starts at the driving mechanism of the fuel pump and describes all parts of the system pump chamber, delivery valve, delivery chamber, connecting pipe and injector. The components of the system are put together and interact as they do in reality. From the cam geometry an analytical expression is derived that gives the pump piston lift as a function of the engine crank angle.

During the past years most fundamental research worldwide has been concentrated on the direct injection diesel engine (DI). This engine has a lower specific fuel consumption when compared to the indirect injection diesel engine (IDI) used up to now in most passenger cars. But the application of the direct injection engine on passenger cars and light trucks has various problems. These are associated mainly with its ability to operate at high engine speeds due to the very low time available for combustion. To overcome these problems engineers have introduced various techniques such as swirl and squish for the working fluid and the use of extremely high pressure fuel injection systems to promote the air-fuel mixing mechanism. The last requires the solution of various problems associated with the use of the high pressure and relatively small injector holes.

During the last years a great deal of effort has been made for the reduction of pollutant emissions from direct injection Diesel Engines. Towards these efforts engineers have proposed various solutions, one of which is the use of gaseous fuels as a supplement for liquid diesel fuel. These engines are referred to as dual combustion engines i.e. they use conventional diesel fuel and gaseous fuel as well. The ignition of the gaseous fuel is accomplished through the liquid fuel, which is auto-ignited in the same way as in common diesel engines. One of the fuels used is natural gas, which has a relatively high auto-ignition temperature. This is extremely important since the CR of most conventional diesel engines can be maintained. In these engines the released energy is produced partially from the combustion of natural gas and from the combustion of liquid diesel fuel.

During recent years, the deterioration of greenhouse phenomenon, in conjunction with the continuous increase of worldwide fleet of vehicles and crude oil prices, raised heightened concerns over both the improvement of vehicle mileage and the reduction of pollutant emissions. Diesel engines have the highest fuel economy and thus, highest CO2 reduction potential among all other thermal propulsion engines due to their superior thermal efficiency. However, particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from diesel engines are comparatively higher than those emitted from modern gasoline engines. Therefore, reduction of diesel emitted pollutants and especially, PM and NOx without increase of specific fuel consumption or let alone improvement of diesel fuel economy is a difficult problem, which requires immediate and drastic actions to be taken.

The modeling of transient turbocharged diesel engine operation appeared in the early seventies and continues to be in the focal point of research, due to the importance of transient response in the everyday operating conditions of engines. The majority of research has focused so far on issues concerning thermodynamic modeling, as these directly affect heat release predictions and consequently performance and pollutants emissions. On the other hand, issues concerning the dynamics of transient operation are often disregarded or over-simplified, possibly for the sake of speeding up program execution time. In the present work, an experimentally validated transient diesel engine simulation code is used to study and evaluate the importance of such dynamic issues. First of all, the development of various forces (piston, connecting rod, crank and main crankshaft bearings) is computed and illustrated in order to evaluate the importance of abrupt load increases on the bearings durability.

High efficiency, power concentration and reliability are the main requirements from Diesel Engines that are used in most technical applications. This becomes more important with the increase of engine size. For this reason the aforementioned characteristics are of significant priority for both marine and power generation applications. To guarantee efficient engine operation and maximum power output, both research and commercial communities are increasingly interested in methods used for supervision, fault-detection and fault diagnosis of large scale Diesel Engines. Most of these methods make use of the measured cylinder pressure to estimate various critical operating parameters such as, brake power, fuel consumption, compression status, etc. The results obtained from the application of any diagnostic technique, used to assess the current engine operating condition and identify the real cause of the malfunction or fault, depend strongly on the quality of these data.

In the present paper a new method is proposed for the analysis of the two main phases of the engine exhaust stroke blowdown and displacement. The method is based on the processing of fast-response experimental temperatures obtained from the exhaust manifold wall during the engine cycle. A novel experimental installation has been developed, which separates the engine transient temperature signals into two groups, namely the long- and the short- term response ones. This has been achieved by processing the respective signals acquired from two independent data acquisition systems. Furthermore, a new pre-amplification unit for fast response thermocouples, appropriate heat flux sensors and an innovative, object-oriented, control code for fast data acquisition have been designed and applied. For the experimental procedure a direct injection (DI), air-cooled diesel engine is used.

An experimental analysis is carried out to investigate several heat transfer characteristics during the engine cycle, in the combustion chamber and exhaust manifold walls of a direct injection (DI), air-cooled, diesel engine. For this purpose, a novel experimental installation has been developed, which separates the engine transient temperature signals into two groups, namely the long-and the short- term response ones, processing the respective signals in two independent data acquisition systems. Furthermore, a new pre-amplification unit for fast response thermocouples, appropriate heat flux sensors and an innovative, object-oriented, control code for fast data acquisition have been designed and applied. Experimentally obtained cylinder pressure diagrams together with semi-empirical equations for instantaneous heat transfer were used as basis for the calculation of overall heat transfer coefficient.

A heat release analysis of experimental pressure diagrams, appropriate for indirect injection (divided chamber) diesel engines, is developed and used to obtain heat release rate profiles during the combustion process in each combustion chamber. Attention is paid to the correct processing of the data, due to the inherent complexity of the mass interchange between the two combustion chambers. The analysis concerns a turbocharged, indirect injection diesel engine, having a very small pre-chamber and a very narrow connecting passageway, operated at various load and speed conditions, located at the authors' laboratory. An extended experimental work, at steady-state conditions, is conducted on a specially developed test bed configuration of this engine, which is connected to a high-speed data acquisition and processing system.

In this paper, the results are presented from the analysis of the second stage of an experimental investigation with the aim to provide insight to the cyclic, instantaneous heat transfer phenomena occurring in both the cylinder head and exhaust manifold wall surfaces of a direct injection (DI), air-cooled diesel engine. Results from the first stage of the investigation concerning steady-state engine operation have already been presented by the authors in this series. In this second stage, the mechanism of cyclic heat transfer was investigated during engine transient events, viz. after a sudden change in engine speed and/or load, both for the combustion chamber and exhaust manifold surfaces. The modified experimental installation allowed both long- and short-term signal types to be recorded on a common time reference base during the transient event.

A great deal of research is taking place at the present time in the field of diesel engines, especially regarding the emission of gaseous pollutants and soot. This research is essential for engine manufacturers since it is difficult for diesel engines to meet current standards regarding soot and nitric oxide emissions. The problem will become even more severe when the new legislation will be applicable requiring a 50% reduction of existing levels. Many manufacturers and researchers feel that engines will be difficult to meet this criterion without the use of other techniques such as gas aftertreatment or newly developed fuels (low sulfur content, etc.). The aim of this research is to examine the effect of fuel composition and physical properties on the mechanism of combustion and pollutants formation.

In accordance to the current environmental policy of the European Union by 2020, 10% of the transport fuel in every country comes from renewable sources such as biofuels. One of the most popular biofuels, (bio) ethanol is a probable suitable candidate for addition in diesel fuel because of its cleaner combustion and the ability to reduce emissions of gaseous pollutants. However, its use presents some important problems, attributed mainly to its incompatibility with diesel fuel during mixing due to the difference in the polarity. For this reason, substances that act as stabilizers of these mixtures are used, one of the most suitable being butanol. This substance is compatible with diesel fuel and ethanol, acting as a chemical bridge between the two, but also exhibits positive combustion behavior, as it is also an oxygenate that can be produced from renewable sources as well. The aim of this work was to investigate the behavior of diesel-ethanol mixtures using butanol as co-solvent.