Experimental investigations on a hydrogen diesel homogeneous charge compression ignition engine with exhaust gas recirculation

In this experimental study, hydrogen was inducted along with air and diesel was injected into the cylinder using a high pressure common rail system, in a single cylinder homogeneous charge compression ignition engine. An electronic controller was used to set the required injection timing of diesel for best thermal efficiency. The influences of hydrogen to diesel energy ratio, output of the engine and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on performance, emissions and combustion were studied in detail. An increase in the amount of hydrogen improved the thermal efficiency by retarding the combustion process. It also lowered the exhaust emissions. Large amounts of hydrogen and EGR were needed at high outputs for suppressing knock. The range of operation was brake mean effective pressures of 2–4 bar. The levels of HC and CO emitted were not significantly influenced by the amount of hydrogen that was used.     

Progress and recent trends in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines

HCCI combustion has been drawing the considerable attention due to high efficiency and lower nitrogen oxide (NO_x) and particulate matter (PM) emissions. However, there are still tough challenges in the successful operation of HCCI engines, such as controlling the combustion phasing, extending the operating range, and high unburned hydrocarbon and CO emissions. Massive research throughout the world has led to great progress in the control of HCCI combustion. The first thing paid attention to is that a great deal of fundamental theoretical research has been carried out. First, numerical simulation has become a good observation and a powerful tool to investigate HCCI and to develop control strategies for HCCI because of its greater flexibility and lower cost compared with engine experiments. Five types of models applied to HCCI engine modelling are discussed in the present paper. Second, HCCI can be applied to a variety of fuel types. Combustion phasing and operation range can be controlled by the modification of fuel characteristics. Third, it has been realized that advanced control strategies of fuel/air mixture are more important than simple homogeneous charge in the process of the controlling of HCCI combustion processes. The stratification strategy has the potential to extend the HCCI operation range to higher loads, and low temperature combustion (LTC) diluted by exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) has the potential to extend the operation range to high loads; even to full loads, for diesel engines. Fourth, optical diagnostics has been applied widely to reveal in-cylinder combustion processes. In addition, the key to diesel-fuelled HCCI combustion control is mixture preparation, while EGR is the main path to achieve gasoline-fuelled HCCI combustion. Specific strategies for diesel-fuelled, gasoline-fuelled and other alternative fuelled HCCI combustion are also discussed in the present paper.     

Control of homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion in a two-cylinder gasoline direct injection engine with negative valve overlap

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) has challenges in ignition timing control, combustion rate control, and operating range extension. In this paper, HCCI combustion was studied in a two-cylinder gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine with negative valve overlap (NVO). A two-stage gasoline direct injection strategy combined with negative valve overlap was used to control mixture formation and combustion. The gasoline engine could be operated in HCCI combustion mode at a speed range of 800–2 200 r/min and load, indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) range of 0.1–0.53 MPa. The engine fuel consumption is below 240 g/(kW⁻¹·h⁻¹), and the NO _x emission is below 4 × 10⁻⁵ without soot emission. The effect of different injection strategies on HCCI combustion was studied. The experimental results indicated that the coefficient of variation of the engine cycle decreased by using NVO with two-stage direct injection; the ignition timing and combustion rate could be controlled; and the operational range of HCCI combustion could be extended. Translated from J Tsinghua Univ (Sci & Tech), 2006, 46(5): 720–723 [译自: 清华大学学报]     

Effects of compression ratio on the combustion characteristics of a homogeneous charge compression ignition engine

The effects of homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine compression ratio on its combustion characteristics were studied experimentally on a modified TY1100 single cylinder engine fueled with dimethyl ether. The results show that dimethyl ether (DME) HCCI engine can work stably and can realize zero nitrogen oxides (NO_x) emission and smokeless combustion under the compression ratio of both 10.7 and 14. The combustion process has obvious two stage combustion characteristics at ɛ = 10.7 (ɛ refers to compression ratio), and the combustion beginning point is decided by the compression temperature, which varies very little with the engine load; the combustion beginning point is closely related to the engine load (concentration of mixture) with the increase in the compression temperature, and it moves forward versus crank angle with the increase in the engine load at ɛ = 14; the combustion durations are shortened with the increase in the engine load under both compression ratios. __________ Translated from Chinese Journal Combustion Engine Engineering, 2006, 27(4): 9–12 [译自: 内燃机工程]     

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion of diesel fuel with external mixture formation

HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition) has been touted for many years as the alternate technology of choice for future engines, preserving the inherent efficiency of CIDI (Compression Ignition Direct Injection) engines while significantly reducing emissions. The current direction for all published diesel HCCI research is mixture preparation using the direct injection – system, referred to as internal mixture formation. The benefit of internal mixture formation is that it utilizes an already available direct injection system. Direct injected diesel HCCI can be divided into two areas, early injection (early in the compression stroke) and late injection (usually after Top Dead Center (aTDC)). Early direct injection HCCI requires carefully designed fuel injector to minimize the fuel wall-wetting that can cause combustion inefficiency and oil dilution. Late direct injection HCCI requires a long ignition delay and rapid mixing rate to achieve the homogeneous mixture. The ignition delay is extended by retarding the injection timing and rapid mixing rate was achieved by combining high swirl with toroidal combustion-bowl geometry. There is a compromise between Direct Injection (DI) and HCCI combustion regimes. Even under ideal conditions, it can prove difficult to form a truly homogeneous charge, which leads to elevated emissions when compared to true homogenous charge combustion and also strongly contribute to the high sensitivity of the combustion phasing to external parameters. The alternative to the internal mixture formation is, predictably, external mixture formation. By introducing the fuel external to the combustion chamber one can use the turbulence intake process to create a homogeneous charge regardless of engine conditions. This eliminates the need for combustion system changes which were necessary for the internal mixture formation method. With this method, the combustion system remains fully optimized for direct injection and also capable of running in HCCI combustion mode with nearly ideal mixture preparation. The key to the external mixture formation with diesel fuel is proper mixture preparation.     

Experimental study and chemical analysis of n-heptane homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion with port injection of reaction inhibitors

The control of ignition timing in the homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) of n-heptane by port injection of reaction inhibitors was studied in a single-cylinder engine. Four suppression additives, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), were used in the experiments. The effectiveness of inhibition of HCCI combustion with various additives was compared under the same equivalence ratio of total fuel and partial equivalence ratio of n-heptane. The experimental results show that the suppression effectiveness increases in the order MTBE < isopropanol ? ethanol < methanol. But ethanol is the best additive when the operating ranges, indicated thermal efficiency, and emissions are considered. For ethanol/n-heptane HCCI combustion, partial combustion may be observed when the mole ratio of ethanol to that of total fuel is larger than 0.20; misfires occur when the mole ratio of ethanol to that of total fuel larger than 0.25. Moreover, CO emissions strongly depend on the maximum combustion temperature, while HC emissions are mainly dominated by the mole ratio of ethanol to that of total fuel. To obtain chemical mechanistic informations relevant to the ignition behavior, detailed chemical kinetic analysis was conducted. The simulated results also confirmed the retarding of the ignition timing by ethanol addition. In addition, it can be found from the simulation that HCHO, CO, and C₂H₅OH could not be oxidized completely and are maintained at high levels if the partial combustion or misfire occurs (for example, for leaner fuel/air mixture).     

Experimental investigation of tetrahydrofuran combustion in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine: Effects of excess air coefficient,engine speed and inlet air temperature

In this study, the effects of tetrahydrofuran (THF) which is nontoxic and generated from renewable environmentally friendly lignocelluloses, and n-heptane/THF blends on combustion, performance and emission characteristics were investigated at various lambda, engine speed and inlet air temperatures. Wide ranges of lambda value and engine speed were investigated and the results were presented in comparison to n-heptane as reference fuel. The combustion parameters such as cylinder pressure, heat release rate, in-cylinder gas temperature, CA10, CA50, thermal efficiency, ringing intensity, maximum pressure rise rate and imep, the performance parameters such as brake torque, power output, specific fuel consumption and HC and CO emissions were determined. Operating range of the HCCI engine was also determined. The results showed that, increasing the lambda value decreased both the in-cylinder pressure and the heat release rate for all test fuels. The addition of tetrahydrofuran led to retard combustion phasing. Thermal efficiency increased about 54% for F60N40 compared to n-heptane at 60 °C inlet air temperature, 1200 rpm engine speed and λ = 2.2. The results also showed that HC and CO emissions increased with the increase of tetrahydrofuran. Furthermore, tetrahydrofuran caused to expand HCCI operating range towards to knocking and misfiring boundaries.     

Multi-dimensional modeling of the application of catalytic combustion to homogeneous charge compression ignition engine

The detailed surface reaction mechanism of methane on rhodium catalyst was analyzed.Comparisons betweennumerical simulation and experiments showed a basic agreement.The combustion process of homogeneouscharge compression ignition(HCCI)engine whose piston surface has been coated with catalyst(rhodium andplatinum)was numerically investigated.A multi-dimensional model with detailed chemical kinetics was built.The effects of catalytic combustion on the ignition timing,the temperature and CO concentration fields,and HC,CO and NO_x emissions of the HCCI engine were discussed.The results showed the ignition timing of the HCCIengine was advanced and the emissions of HC and CO were decreased by the catalysis.     

A new heat release rate (HRR) law for homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion mode

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines are drawing attracting attention as the next-generation’s internal combustion engine, mainly because of its very low NO_x and soot emissions and also for improvement in engine efficiency. Much research has been carried out in order to go deeper in this combustion process using multizone models or CFD codes. These simulation tools, although they can give a detailed view of the combustion process, are very time consuming and the results depend a lot on the initial conditions. A previous step to be considered in the simulation of the HCCI process is a heat release law evaluated from results of the experiment and a zero-dimensional model. This paper focuses on the development of a new heat release rate (HRR) law that models the HCCI process when the combustion chamber is considered as a homogeneous volume. The parameters of this law have been adjusted through an optimization process that has allowed to fit the combustion chamber pressure. All the engine operative conditions from low to full load have been successfully simulated with this HRR law, with the maximum error in the estimation of combustion chamber pressure less than 2%.     

Inhibition effect of doping methyl tert-butyl ether compounds to n-heptane on homogenous charge compression ignition combustion

This article reports an experimental study on the combustion characteristics and emissions of homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion using n-heptane doped with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). The experiments were conducted on a single cylinder HCCI engine using neat n-heptane and 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% (by volume) MTBE/n-heptane blends at constant engine speed. The experimental results reveal that the ignition timing of the low temperature reaction (LTR) gets retarded, the peak values of heat release during the LTR decrease and the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) duration gets prolonged with the increase of MTBE in the blends. Consequently, the ignition timing of the high temperature reaction (HTR) gets delayed and both the attainable maximum indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) and the lowest stable IMEP increase. Parametric studies on CO and HC emissions reveal that the maximum combustion temperature, pressure rise rate, IMEP, ignition timing of the HTR, combustion duration and fuel components have important impacts on HC emission, while the main parameters that show an important influence on CO emissions are the maximum combustion temperature, pressure rise rate, IMEP and combustion duration. Moreover, in order to suppress the CO and HC emissions to a low level, the maximum combustion temperature should be higher than 1500 K, the maximum pressure rise rate larger than 0.5 MPa/°CA, the IMEP above 0.3 MPa and the combustion duration shorter than 9 °CA.     

废气再循环对二甲基醚均质压燃燃烧过程影响的试验研究

在一台单缸发动机上进行了废气再循环(EGR)对二甲基醚(DME)均质压燃(HCCI)燃烧过程影响的试验研究。结果表明，EGR比例小于20％对运行最大负荷工况范围影响不大；采用高比例EGR可以拓宽DME均质压燃运行工况范围，随着EGR率增大，HCCI运行的最大负荷工况增大，着火燃烧时刻推迟，燃烧放热率降低，缸内最大爆发压力降低，发动机热效率增大；EGR率小于75％，HC排放略有降低或相当，EGR率为75％时，HC排放显著增加；EGR率大于25％，随着EGR率增加，CO排放增大，小负荷工况尤其明显，在中高负荷工况，EGR率对CO排放影响较小。     

One-dimensional turbulence simulations of hydrogen-fueled HCCI combustion

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines fueled by hydrogen have the potential to provide cost-effective power with high efficiencies and very low emissions. This paper investigates the ability of two of the most commonly used injection methods, port fuel injection (PFI) and single-pulse direct injection (DI), to prepare an ideal in-cylinder hydrogen-air mixture and control the autoignition process. Computations are performed using the one-dimensional turbulence (ODT) model formulated for engine simulations. It is found that direct injection is able to prepare a more uniformly lean mixture and control the autoignition more effectively than port fuel injection. A combination of ignition modes are found to be operating when PFI is used as compared to mainly volumetric autoignition in the case of DI. Also, DI is able to maintain comparatively lower temperatures than PFI.     

Spectroscopic and chemical-kinetic analysis of the phases of HCCI autoignition and combustion for single- and two-stage ignition fuels

The temporal phases of autoignition and combustion in an HCCI engine have been investigated in both an all-metal engine and a matching optical engine. Gasoline, a primary reference fuel mixture (PRF80), and several representative real-fuel constituents were examined. Only PRF80, which is a two-stage ignition fuel, exhibited a “cool-flame” low-temperature heat-release (LTHR) phase. For all fuels, slow exothermic reactions occurring at intermediate temperatures raised the charge temperature to the hot-ignition point. In addition to the amount of LTHR, differences in this intermediate-temperature heat-release (ITHR) phase affect the fuel ignition quality. Chemiluminescence images of iso-octane show a weak and uniform light emission during this phase. This is followed by the main high-temperature heat-release (HTHR) phase. Finally, a “burnout” phase was observed, with very weak uniform emission and near-zero heat-release rate (HRR). To better understand these combustion phases, chemiluminescence spectroscopy and chemical-kinetic analysis were applied for the single-stage ignition fuel, iso-octane, and the two-stage fuel, PRF80. For both fuels, the spectrum obtained during the ITHR phase was dominated by formaldehyde chemiluminescence. This was similar to the LTHR spectrum of PRF80, but the emission intensity and the temperature were much higher, indicating differences between the ITHR and LTHR phases. Chemical-kinetic modeling clarified the differences and similarities between the LTHR and ITHR phases and the cause of the enhanced ITHR with PRF80. The HTHR spectra for both fuels were dominated by a broad CO continuum with some contribution from bands of HCO, CH, and OH. The modeling showed that the CO+O→CO₂+hν reaction responsible for the CO continuum emission tracks the HTHR well, explaining the strong correlation observed experimentally between the total chemiluminescence and HRR during the HTHR phase. It also showed that the CO continuum does not contribute to the ITHR and LTHR chemiluminescence. Bands of H₂O and O₂ in the red and IR regions were also detected during the HTHR, which the data indicated were most likely due to thermal excitation. The very weak light emission in the “burnout” phase also appeared to be thermal emission from H₂O and O₂.     

An experimental study on the effect of hydrogen enrichment on diesel fueled HCCI combustion

This paper experimentally investigates the influence of hydrogen enrichment on the combustion and emission characteristics of a diesel HCCI engine using a modified Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine. Three fuels, n-heptane and two middle distillates with cetane numbers of 46.6 and 36.6, are studied.The results show that hydrogen enrichment retards the combustion phasing and reduces the combustion duration of a diesel HCCI engine. Besides, hydrogen enrichment increases the power output and fuel conversion efficiency, and improves the combustion stability. However, hydrogen enrichment may narrow the operational compression ratio range and increase the knocking tendency. Both the overall indicated specific CO emissions (isCO) and CO emissions per unit burned diesel fuel mass are reduced by hydrogen enrichment. Although hydrogen enrichment decreases the overall indicated specific unburned hydrocarbon emissions (isHC), it does not significantly affect the HC emissions per unit burned diesel fuel mass.     

Demonstrating direct use of wet ethanol in a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines are amenable to a large variety of fuels as long as the fuel can be fully vaporized, mixed with air, and receive sufficient heat during the compression stroke to reach the autoignition conditions. This study investigates an HCCI engine fueled with ethanol-in-water mixtures, or “wet ethanol”. The motivation for using wet ethanol fuel is that significant energy is required for distillation and dehydration of fermented ethanol (from biosources, not from petroleum), thus direct use of wet ethanol could improve the associated energy balance. Recent modeling studies have predicted that an HCCI engine can operate using fuel containing as little as 35% ethanol-in-water with surprisingly good performance and emissions. With the previous modeling study suggesting feasibility of wet ethanol use in HCCI engines, this paper focuses on experimental operation of a 4-cylinder 1.9-L engine running in HCCI mode fueled with wet ethanol. This paper investigates the effect of the ethanol-water fraction on the engine's operating limits, intake temperatures, heat release rates, and exhaust emissions for the engine operating with 100%, 90%, 80%, 60%, and 40% ethanol-in-water mixtures.     

运行工况对基础燃料均质压燃燃烧过程影响的试验研究

在一台经改装的单缸直喷式柴油机上进行了不同辛烷值基础燃料下发动机转速对均质压燃（HCCI）燃烧特性、工况范围和排放特性影响的试验研究。研究结果表明：发动机转速升高,不同辛烷值燃料着火燃烧时刻推迟,以曲轴转角计算的燃烧持续期延长,高辛烷值燃料的缸内最大爆发压力和缸内温度降低;在中间转速,HCCI实现的最高平均指示压力最大,高转速工况,最高平均指示压力降低;对于低辛烷值燃料,转速对燃烧效率影响不大,转速升高,指示热效率增大;对于高辛烷值燃料,转速升高燃烧效率降低,指示热效率在中间转速最高,高转速降低。排放测试表明,转速升高使得HCCI运转的HC和CO排放都升高,NOx排放则逐渐降低。     

Experimental study of fuel stratification for HCCI high load extension

Fuel stratification has the potential to extend the high load limits of homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion by improving the control over the combustion phase as well as reducing the maximum rate of pressure rise. In this work, experiments were carried out on a single-cylinder engine equipped with a dual-fuel-injection system – a port injector for preparing a homogeneous charge and a direct in-cylinder injector for creating the desired fuel stratification. The homogeneous charge was prepared using gasoline fuel while the fuel stratification was created with the in-cylinder injection of either gasoline or methanol during the compression stroke. The test results indicate that high load extension using gasoline for fuel stratification is limited by the trade-off between CO and NO_x emissions. Weak gasoline stratification leads to an advanced combustion phase and an increase in NO_x emission, while increasing the stratification with a higher quantity of gasoline direct injection, results in a significant deterioration in both the combustion efficiency and the CO emission. Engine tests using methanol for the stratification retarded the ignition timing and prolonged the combustion duration, resulting in a substantial reduction in the maximum rate of pressure rise and the maximum cylinder pressure – a prerequisite for HCCI high load extension. Further tests were then conducted with methanol stratification to extend the HCCI load limit and to optimize the stratified methanol-to-gasoline fuel ratio. Compared to gasoline HCCI, a 50% increase in the maximum IMEP attained was achieved with an acceptable maximum pressure rise rate of 0.5 MPa/°CA while maintaining a high thermal efficiency.     

Performance, emission and combustion characteristics of biodiesel fuelled variable compression ratio engine

Experiments has been carried out to estimate the performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a single cylinder; four stroke variable compression ratio multi fuel engine fuelled with waste cooking oil methyl ester and its blends with standard diesel. Tests has been conducted using the fuel blends of 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% biodiesel with standard diesel, with an engine speed of 1500 rpm, fixed compression ratio 21 and at different loading conditions. The performance parameters elucidated includes brake thermal efficiency, specific fuel consumption, brake power, indicated mean effective pressure, mechanical efficiency and exhaust gas temperature. The exhaust gas emission is found to contain carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide. The results of the experiment has been compared and analyzed with standard diesel and it confirms considerable improvement in the performance parameters as well as exhaust emissions. The blends when used as fuel results in the reduction of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, carbon dioxide at the expense of nitrogen oxides emissions. It has found that the combustion characteristics of waste cooking oil methyl ester and its diesel blends closely followed those of standard diesel.     

燃烧边界条件对乙醇均质压燃燃烧的影响

在一台由CA6110柴油机改造而成的单缸发动机上进行了燃烧边界条件对乙醇燃料均质压燃（HCCI）燃烧过程影响的试验研究。结果表明，在转速和进气温度一定时，随着过量空气系数的增加，着火始点推迟，燃烧持续期变长，缸内的最大燃烧压力降低，放热率降低，φ50（50％乙醇燃烧放热量所在的曲轴转角）位置推迟，燃烧效率降低；在发动机转速、进气温度和过量空气系数一定时，随着EGR率的升高，着火始点推迟，燃烧持续期延长，φ50位置推迟，放热速率降低，压力升高率变小，缸内最大燃烧压力减小，燃烧效率降低。在转速和供油量一定时，随着进气温度的升高，着火始点提前，燃烧持续期变短，压力升高率变大，缸内的最大燃烧压力变大。得到了发动机转速、过量空气系数和对应于最大指示热效率点的进气温度间的MAP图。     

Methodology development of a time-resolved in-cylinder fuel oxidation analysis: Homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion study application

A technique was developed and applied to understand the mechanism of fuel oxidation in an internal combustion engine. This methodology determines the fuel and concentrations of various intermediates during the combustion cycle. A time-resolved measurement of a large number of species is the objective of this work and is achieved by the use of a sampling probe developed in-house. A system featuring an electromagnetically actuated sampling valve with internal N₂ dilution was developed for sampling gases coming from the combustion chamber. Combustion species include O₂, CO₂, CO, NO_x, fuel components, and hydrocarbons produced due to incomplete combustion of fuel. Combustion gases were collected and analyzed with the objectives of analysis by an automotive exhaust analyzer, separation by gas chromatography, and detection by flame ionization detection and mass spectrometry. The work presented was processed in a homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion mode context.