Effect of fuel injection timing and injection pressure on performance in a hydrogen direct injection engine

The in-cylinder hydrogen fuel injection method (diesel engine) induces air during the intake stroke and injects hydrogen gas directly into the cylinder during the compression stroke. Fundamentally, because hydrogen gas does not exist in the intake pipe, backfire, which is the most significant challenge to increasing the torque of the hydrogen port fuel injection engine, does not occur. In this study, using the gasoline fuel injector of a gasoline direct-injection engine for passenger vehicles, hydrogen fuel was injected at high pressures of 5 MPa and 7 MPa into the cylinder, and the effects of the fuel injection timing, including the injection pressure on the output performance and efficiency of the engine, were investigated. Strategies for maximizing engine output performance were analyzed.The fuel injection timing was retarded from before top dead center (BTDC) 350 crank angle degrees (CAD) toward top dead center (TDC). The minimum increase in the best torque ignition timing improved, and the efficiency and excess air ratio increased, resulting in an increase in torque and decrease in NO_x emissions. However, the retardation of the fuel injection timing is limited by an increase in the in-cylinder pressure. By increasing the fuel injection pressure, the torque performance can be improved by further retarding the fuel injection timing or increasing the fuel injection period. The maximum torque of 142.7 Nm is achieved when burning under rich conditions at the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio.     

Effect of mixture strength and injection timing on combustion characteristics of a direct injection hydrogen-fueled engine

An experimental investigation was performed to characterize the hydrogen combustion in a spark-ignition direct-injection engine. It was focused on the effects of mixture strength and injection timing on the characteristics of hydrogen combustion. For this purpose, the practical tests were carried out on an experimental test rig. It is originally designed for optimization of the direct-injection natural-gas engine. The experimental test-rig results comprised the traces for the in-cylinder pressure, mass fraction burned, and heat release rate under the different operation conditions. The results obtained show that the richer mixture condition produced higher pressure trends at all tested points. Besides that, it exhibited a faster rate of increase in combustion rate due to the increase of flame speed. However, the combustion characteristics deteriorated due to the lack of mixture stratification with earlier injection timing. It is concluded that direct-injection timing is essential to achieve better combustion performance. Moreover, retarding the spark ignition timing is also crucial to avoid abnormal combustion in the case of a richer mixture and early start on injection.     

Impact of physical properties of biodiesel on the injection process in a common-rail direct injection system

This paper presents the influence of biodiesel fuel properties on the injection mass flow rate of a diesel common-rail injection system. Simulations are first performed with ISO 4113 diesel fuel on a four-cylinder common-rail system to evaluate a single and triple injection strategies. For each injection strategy, the impact of modifying a single fuel property at a time is evaluated so as to quantify its influence on the injection process. The results show that fuel density is the main property that affects the injection process, such as total mass injected and pressure wave in the common-rail system. The fuel’s viscosity and bulk modulus also influence, but to a lessen degree, the mass flow rate of the injector notably during multiple injection strategies as individual properties change the fuel’s dampening property and friction coefficient.     

Effects of second hydrogen direct injection proportion and injection timing on combustion and emission characteristics of hydrogen/n-butanol combined injection engine

Hydrogen and n-butanol are superior alternative fuels for SI engines, which show high potential in improving the combustion and emission characteristics of internal combustion engines. However, both still have disadvantages when applied individually. N-butanol fuel has poor evaporative atomization properties and high latent heat of vaporization. Burning n-butanol fuel alone can lead to incomplete combustion and lower temperature in the cylinder. Hydrogen is not easily stored and transported, and the engine is prone to backfire or detonation only using hydrogen. Therefore, this paper investigates the effects of hydrogen direct injection strategies on the combustion and emission characteristics of n-butanol/hydrogen dual-fuel engines based on n-butanol port injection/split hydrogen direct injection mode and the synergistic optimization of their characteristics. The energy of hydrogen is 20% of the total energy of the fuel in the cylinder. The experimental results show that a balance between dynamics and emission characteristics can be found using split hydrogen direct injection. Compared with the second hydrogen injection proportion (IP2) = 0, the split hydrogen direct injection can promote the formation of a stable flame kernel, shorten the flame development period and rapid combustion period, and reduce the cyclic variation. When the IP2 is 25%, 50% and 75%, the engine torque increases by 0.14%, 1.50% and 3.00% and the maximum in-cylinder pressure increases by 1.9%, 2.3% and 0.6% respectively. Compared with IP2 = 100%, HC emissions are reduced by 7.8%, 15.4% and 24.7% and NOx emissions are reduced by 16.4%, 13.8% and 7.9% respectively, when the IP2 is 25%, 50% and 75%. As second hydrogen injection timing (IT2) is advanced, CA0-10 and CA10-90 show a decreasing and then increasing trend. The maximum in-cylinder pressure rises and falls, and the engine torque gradually decreases. The CO emissions show a trend of decreasing and remaining constant. However, the trends of HC emissions and NOx emissions with IT2 are not consistent at different IP2. Considering the engine's dynamics and emission characteristics, the first hydrogen injection proportion (IP1) = 25% plus first hydrogen injection timing (IT1) = 240°CA BTDC combined with IP2 = 75% plus IT2 = 105°CA BTDC is the superior split hydrogen direct injection strategy.     

Improvement of fuel economy of an indirect injection (IDI) diesel engine with two-stage injection

This paper focuses on the effects of early stage injection and two-stage injection on the combustion characteristics and engine performances of an indirect injection (IDI) diesel engine. In a direct injection (DI) diesel engine, HC emission increases with early stage injection because some of the fuel spray adheres to the cylinder wall and burns in the gap between the piston and the cylinder. On the other hand, since the fuel spray of early stage injection in an IDI diesel engine is injected into an auxiliary combustion chamber such as a swirl chamber, the IDI diesel engine could reduced the HC emission produced from the gap compared with a DI diesel engine. In a two-stage injection IDI diesel engine, NO and smoke emissions are improved when the amount of fuel in the first stage injection is small and the first stage injection timing is advanced over −80° TDC. And 20% improvement in fuel consumption is achieved when the first stage injection timing is advanced over −80° TDC. Conversely, HC and CO emissions of two-stage injection increases compared with that of conventional injection of an IDI diesel engine. However, CO emission can be improved a little when the first stage injection timing is advanced over −100° TDC and the second stage injection timing is retarded over TDC.     

Energy and exergy analysis of a combined injection engine using gasoline port injection coupled with gasoline or hydrogen direct injection under lean-burn conditions

Hydrogen is considered to be a suitable supplementary fuel for Spark Ignition (SI) engines. The energy and exergy analysis of engines is important to provide theoretical fundaments for the improvement of energy and exergy efficiency. However, few studies on the energy and exergy balance of the engine working under Hydrogen Direct Injection (HDI) plus Gasoline Port Injection (GPI) mode under lean-burn conditions are reported. In this paper, the effects of two different modes on the energy and exergy balance of a SI engine working under lean-burn conditions are presented. Two different modes (GPI + GDI and GPI + HDI), five gasoline and hydrogen direct injection fractions (0, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%), and five excess air ratios (1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4) are studied. The results show that the cooling water takes the 39.40% of the fuel energy on average under GPI + GDI mode under lean-burn conditions, and the value is 40.70% for GPI + HDI mode. The exergy destruction occupies the 56.12% of the fuel exergy on average under GPI + GDI mode under lean-burn conditions, and the value is 54.89% for GPI + HDI mode. The brake thermal efficiency and exergy efficiency of the engine can be improved by 0.29% and 0.31% at the excess air ratio of 1.1 under GPI + GDI mode on average, and the average values are 0.56% and 0.71% for GPI + HDI mode.     

Effects study of injection strategies on hydrogen-air formation and performance of hydrogen direct injection internal combustion engine

Based on the dual challenges of the global energy crisis and environmental pollution, hydrogen has been recognized as an ideal alternative internal combustion engine (ICE) fuel. To improve the combustion efficiency of hydrogen direct injection ICE, we numerically analyzed the effects of different injection parameters, including injection timing, injection pressure, and dual injection, on the formation of a hydrogen-air mixture using the CONVERGE software from the perspective of mass transfer and flow state. It was determined that it is enough to set the injection timing to −88° after top dead center (ATDC) for both uniform mixture and desirable indicated thermal efficiency (ITE). However, when the injection timing is set to −43° ATDC, an acceptable ITE and effective combustion can be achieved by employing the “jet-room coordination” effect of the ω chamber. Injection pressure has a minimal effect on mixture formation and combustion. In contrast, the timing and mass fraction of secondary injection have a significant influence on tumble strength, which is a key factor for the mixture improvement.     

Micro injection molding of a micro-fluidic platform

Micro fabrication of polymers is becoming increasingly important and is considered a low-cost alternative to silicon- or glass-based MEMS technologies. However, very little work has been done to study the influence of polymer resin on the replication accuracy of the micro features in micro injection molding. In this study, micro injection molding was applied to a micro-featured fluidic platform used for DNA/RNA testing. LIGA-like processes were used to prepare a silicon-based SU-8 photoresist, followed by electroforming to make a Ni–Co-based stamp. The micro features in the stamp consisted of a micro-channel array 50 μm in pitch size. COC, PC, PMMA and PS were used as the injection molding materials. The effect of various polymer resins and molding conditions on the replication accuracy of the micro features was investigated. The width and depth of the micro-channels within the molded devices were measured and analyzed. For the micro-injection-molded devices, the accuracy of the width and depth of the micro-channels increased with increasing mold temperature, melt temperature, injection velocity and packing pressure within the regular processing window. The molded parts showed excellent replication accuracy for the COC polymer resin due to its low viscosity and low, isotropic shrinkage. The PS resin also achieved acceptable micro-channel replication accuracy under specific molding conditions.     

Effects of split injection proportion and the second injection timings on the combustion and emissions of a dual fuel SI engine with split hydrogen direct injection

In this paper, a new kind of injection mode, split hydrogen direct injection, was presented for a dual fuel SI engine. Six different first injection proportions (IP1) and five different second injection timings were applied at the condition of excess air ratio of 1, first injection timing of 300°CA BTDC, low speed, low load conditions and the Minimum spark advance for Best Torque (MBT) on a dual fuel SI engine with hydrogen direct injection (HDI) plus port fuel injection (PFI). The result showed that, split hydrogen direct injection can achieve a higher brake thermal efficiency and lower emissions compared with single HDI. In comparison with single HDI, the split hydrogen direct injection can form a controlled stratified condition of hydrogen which could make the combustion more complete and faster. By adding an early spray to form a more homogeneous mixture, the split hydrogen direct injection not only can help to form a flame kernel to make the combustion stable, but also can speed up the combustion rate through the whole combustion process, which can improve the brake thermal efficiency. By split hydrogen direct injection, the torque reaches the highest when the first injection proportion is 33%, which improves by 1.13% on average than that of single HDI. With the delay of second injection timing, the torque increases first and then decreases. With the increase of first injection proportion, the best second injection timing is advanced. Furthermore, by forming a more homogeneous mixture, the split hydrogen direct injection can reduce the quenching distance to reduce the HC emission and reduce the maximum temperature to reduce the NO_X. The split hydrogen direct injection can reduce the HC emission by 35.8%, the NO_X emissions by 7.3% than that of single HDI.     

Effects of supercritical environment on hydrocarbon-fuel injection

In this study,the effects of environment conditions on decane were investigated.Decane was injected in subcritical and supercritical ambient conditions.The visualization chamber was pressurized to 1.68 MPa by using nitrogen gas at a temperature of 653 K for subcritical ambient conditions.For supercritical ambient conditions,the visualization chamber was pressurized to 2.52 MPa by using helium at a temperature of 653 K.The decane injection in the pressurized chamber was visualized via a shadowgraph technique and gradient images were obtained by a post processing method.A large variation in density gradient was observed at jet interface in the case of subcritical injection in subcritical ambient conditions.Conversely,for supercritical injection in supercritical ambient conditions,a small density gradient was observed at the jet interface.In a manner similar to that observed in other cases,supercritical injection in subcritical ambient conditions differed from supercritical ambient conditions such as sphere shape liquid.Additionally,there were changes in the interface,and the supercritical injection core width was thicker than that in the subcritical injection.Furthermore,in cases with the same injection conditions,the change in the supercritical ambient normalized core width was smaller than the change in the subcritical ambient normalized core width owing to high specific heat at the supercritical injection and small phase change at the interface.Therefore,the interface was affected by the changing ambient condition.Given that the effect of changing the thermodynamic properties of propellants could be essential for a variable thrust rocket engine,the effects of the ambient conditions were investigated experimentally.     

Influence of injection parameters and mold materials on mechanical properties of ABS in plastic injection molding

This study optimized effect of injection parameters such as melt temperature, packing pressure, cooling time and injection pressure on the mechanical properties of Acrylonitrile–Butadiene–Styrene (ABS) moldings. Mold materials having two different thermal conductivities, 191 W/mK for aluminum 2000 series and 50 W/mK for AISI 1020 at 25 °C were selected to use in experimental studies. Taguchi's L₉(3⁴) orthogonal array design was employed for the experimental plan. Mechanical properties of ABS specimens such as elasticity module, tensile strength and tensile strain at yield, tensile strain at break, flexural modules and izod impact strength (notched) were measured by using some test methods. Signal to noise ratio for mechanical properties of ABS using the Taguchi method was calculated and effect of the parameters on mechanical properties was determined using the analysis of variance. Linear mechanical models were also created by using regression analysis.     

Research on the hydrogen injection strategy of a direct injection natural gas/hydrogen rotary engine considering apex seal leakage

The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the hydrogen injection strategy on the combustion performance of a natural gas/hydrogen rotary engine. Considering that apex seal leakage (ASL) is an inevitable problem in the actual working process of a rotary engine, the action of ASL cannot be ignored for an in-depth study of its combustion performance. Therefore, in this paper, a 3D dynamic simulation model that put the effect of ASL into consideration was established. Furthermore, based on the established 3D model, the combustion process of a natural gas/hydrogen rotary engine under various hydrogen injection angle (HIA) and hydrogen injection timing (HIT) was investigated. The results indicated that the hydrogen jet flow first impacted on the rotor wall after entering the cylinder, and then diffused under the action of the vortexes in the cylinder. Therefore, the HIA and HIT could change the hydrogen distribution by changing the hydrogen impact location and the intensities of the vortexes in the cylinder. In addition, the ideal hydrogen distribution at the ignition timing which could improve the combustion efficiency was given. That is, under the premise of ensuring minimized hydrogen leakage, the hydrogen should mainly distribute in the middle and the front of the cylinder, and a high hydrogen concentration is maintained near the spark plug.     

An investigation of optimum control of ignition timing and injection system in an in-cylinder injection type hydrogen fueled engine

It is already known that the emission characteristic of hydrogen fueled engines are extremely good, when running the engine under lean burn conditions, with excess air ratios λ>2 which lower the NO_x emissions (Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 4 (1997) 423). However, there are abnormal combustion in the engine, which is one of the factors that has prevented the practical use of the engine. It is also a common conclusion that abnormal combustion can be suppressed in the in-cylinder injection type engine (International Fuels and Lubricants Meeting and Exposition, Philadelphia, PA, 6–9 October, SAE Technical Paper Series No. 8615769, 1986; Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 2 (1977) 329). But, such advantages as suppression of abnormal combustion, engine power-up and reduction of NO_x emission are gained depending on proper injection system and reasonable injection timing, ignition timing and law of hydrogen injection. In this study, Hydrogen is injected into the cylinder in the late compression stroke and is ignited by electric spark in a test engine. The research on the performance of hydrogen fueled engine is carried out under the condition of different ignition timing and injection timing. Further, a control system consisting of a fuzzy-neural network controller combining with ignition adaptive controller is applied to the engine in order to optimally control ignition timing, injection timing and cycle amount of hydrogen injection. Thus, the performances in the hydrogen engine attain optimization in every operating state of the engine.     

船用直喷式天然气发动机喷射策略的优化

利用CONVERGE软件基于L23/30DF型船用天然气发动机建立了双天然气喷嘴、双引燃柴油喷嘴的直喷天然气发动机的缸内燃烧过程的CFD计算模型,计算了不同的柴油和天然气喷射时刻和间隔下发动机缸内燃烧和排放过程.结果 表明:引燃柴油的喷射时刻及其与天然气喷射时刻的间隔,对直喷式天然气发动机燃烧和排放性能有重要影响.当喷...     

Combined effect of injection timing,EGR and injection pressure in reducing the NOx emission of a biodiesel blend

In this study, an attempt was made to reduce the higher oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) emission of a crude rice bran oil methyl ester (CRBME) blend through modification of combustion process by retarding fuel injection timing and exhaust gas recirculation at an increased fuel injection pressure. At modified condition, delay period and peak pressure of CRBME blend were lower than those at normal condition. The occurrence of maximum heat release rate retarded with a higher magnitude when compared with normal condition. Experimental results show that as a result of combustion modification, NO_x and carbon monoxide emissions were reduced significantly with marginal increase in smoke density. Brake thermal efficiency and unburnt hydrocarbon emissions of the engine were increased significantly as a result of this modification process. This investigation shows that the NO_x emission of a biodiesel blend can be reduced with less sacrifice on smoke density and increase in the brake thermal efficiency by modifying the combustion process.     

高速直喷柴油机燃烧室形状与喷孔结构匹配规律的三维仿真研究

对某高速直喷柴油机的燃烧过程进行了多维仿真计算,研究了燃烧室形状和喷孔结构参数之间的匹配规律.通过变参数研究确定了燃烧室形状和喷孔结构参数之间的匹配规律.为了定量描述燃烧过程中燃油雾化、液体蒸发、油气混合的特性,建立了缸内平均湍流混合速率、燃油蒸气质量分数方差的中间特征参数,同时详细分析了不同当量比油气混合气在燃烧过程中的贡献率.从燃烧的宏观和微观角度综合分析了柴油机燃烧室形状与喷孔结构间的耦合作用机制.结果表明,对于所研究的机型,0.64口径比燃烧室匹配10孔喷油器的方案最优:预混过程好,燃烧速度快,后期扩散燃烧阶段过稀和过浓混合气参与燃烧的比例较小且预混与扩散燃烧放热情况差别小,放热情况更均匀.     

Hydrogen production using plasma gasification with steam injection

Plasma gasification is a promising gasification technology intended at providing sustainable disposal for various wastes. In this work, a process model was developed to simulate the biomass plasma gasification using Aspen Plus simulator. Effects of critical parameters, including gasification temperature, Equivalence Ratio (ER) and Steam-to-Biomass Ratio (SBR) on the composition of fuel gas were discussed. The model is validated against experimental data and found to be in good agreement. The results indicate that low temperatures are more favourable for the production of hydrogen, while high ER has a negative effect on the hydrogen production. The simulation results also demonstrate that steam injection is a key factor to produce more hydrogen rich gas in the SBR range studied, but had a major effect on CO₂ formation. The temperature and the SBR show opposite behavior on the syngas LHV, which is attributed to the CO content in the syngas that increases with temperature and decreases with SBR. Results of plasma gasification show similar syngas LHV trends for the three biomasses cases being the higher syngas LHV obtained for vines pruning. These data are crucial to describe scenarios concerning the potential use of biomass as energy source.     

Field testing results of downhole scale inhibitor injection

The first field tests on the addition of scale inhibitors to geothermal brines were carried out in Italy between 1981 and 1985 at Cesano and at Latera. A long-term experiment was recently performed in the Latera 2 well to check the feasibility of the downhole inhibitor injection technique as a reliable solution to the carbonate scaling problem. A plastic-lined injection pipe was used to solve the corrosion problems caused by the inhibitor itself. Two different scale inhibitors have been tested down to minimum concentrations of 10 ppm. Downhole injection was performed at about 750 m depth using a 4.6 mm OD flexible pipe freely lowered in the 9″5/8 casing and with total flow rates of 300 t/h for three months.     

Development of a hot-surface-ignition hydrogen injection two-stroke engine

A 3-cylinder, 1100 cc two-stroke gasoline engine was converted into a hot-surface-ignition hydrogen injection diesel engine for a new hydrogen car named Musashi 5. This engine had a compression ratio of 12:1, and the high pressure hydrogen at 6 MPa was injected into an open combustion chamber near the TDC. In practice, it showed some problems in terms of the high pressure liquid hydrogen pump, the hot surface ignition and efficient combustion. Efforts were made to solve the problems, and the results were as follows: (1) a high pressure pump was obtained through the precise finish on the sliding surfaces of the barrel and plunger, and by the combination of appropriate material and dimensions; (2) a gentle diesel ignition was attained by blowing hydrogen gas onto the platinum wire at 1000°C from a close location; (3) the mixture formation was improved, and the maximum power equivalent to 125% of gasoline was obtained by a proper selection of combustion chamber shape, number of injection nozzles, direction of injection, etc.     

Effect of fuel opening injection pressure and injection timing of hydrogen enriched rice bran biodiesel fuelled in CI engine

Fuel opening injection pressure and injection timing are important injection parameters, and they have a significant influence on engine combustion, performance, and emissions. The focus of this work is to improve the performance and emissions of single-cylinder diesel engines by using injection parameters in engines running with rice bran biodiesel 10% blend (RB10+H₂) and 20% blend (RB20+H₂) with a fixed hydrogen flow rate of 7 lpm. In addition, hydrogen and biodiesel are excellent alternatives to conventional fuels, which can reduce energy consumption and strict emission standards. The investigation is conducted for three different opening injection pressure of 220, 240, 260 bar, and four different injection timings of 20°, 22°, 24°, and 26° bTDC. Results indicate that the sample ‘RB10+H₂’ provides 3.32% higher BTE and reduces the fuel consumption by 13% as diesel fuel. The blend RB10+H₂ attributes a maximum cylinder pressure of 68.7 bar and a peak HRR value of 49 J/ºCA. Further, compared to diesel, RB10+H₂ blend emits lower CO, HC, and smoke opacity by 17%, 22%, and 16%, respectively. However, an almost 12% increase of nitrogen oxides for the RB10+H₂ blend is observed. However, with advanced injection timing and higher opening injection pressure, NOx emissions is slightly increased.