Control of peak pressures of an HCCI engine under varying swirl and operating parameters

The major advantages of homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) are high efficiency in combination with low NO _x -emissions. However, one of the major challenges with HCCI is the control of higher peak pressures which may damage the engine, limiting the HCCI engine life period. In this paper, an attempt is made to analyze computationally the effect of induction swirl in controlling the peak pressures of an HCCI engine under various operating parameters. A single cylinder 1.6 L reentrant piston bowl diesel engine is chosen. For computational analysis, the ECFM-3Z model of STAR–CD is considered because it is suitable for analyzing the combustion processes in SI and CI engines. As an HCCI engine is a hybrid version of SI and CI engines, the ECFM- 3Z model with necessary modifications is used to analyze the peak pressures inside the combustion chamber. The ECFM-3Z model for HCCI mode of combustion is validated with the existing literature to make sure that the results obtained are accurate. Numerical experiments are performed to study the effect of varying properties like speed of the engine, piston bowl geometry, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and equivalence ratio under different swirl ratios in controlling the peak pressures inside the combustion chamber. The results show that the swirl ratio has a considerable impact on controlling the peak pressures of HCCI engine. A reduction in peak pressures are observed with a swirl ratio of 4 because of reduced in cylinder temperatures. The combined effect of four operating parameters, i.e., the speed of the engine, piston bowl geometry, EGR, and equivalence ratio with swirl ratios suggest that lower intake temperatures, reentrant piston bowl, higher engine speeds and higher swirl ratios are favorable in controlling the peak pressures.     

The effect of fuel injection on NOx emissions and undesirable combustion for hydrogen-fuelled piston engines

In order to determine the potential of direct cylinder injection for hydrogen-fuelled engines, an experimental study was performed with an ASTM-CFR engine. Both the standard Otto head and the standard diesel head were used. Measurements were made of power output, thermal efficiency, and oxides of nitrogen emissions. The feasibility was investigated of a scheme in which injection of gaseous hydrogen starts late in the compression stroke, ignition occurs as soon as possible thereafter, and combustion rate is determined by injection rate. This scheme prevents undesirable combustion phenomena such as pre-ignition, high rates of cylinder pressure rise, and high amplitude pressure waves in the cylinder. Furthermore, it obviates flashback into the carburetor. The potential of hydrogen as a low pollution fuel was investigated by operating the Otto head engine on both hydrogen and indolene, and by comparing the resulting NO_x, emissions. Hydrogen yielded very low NO_x emissions provided the fuel-air equivalence ratio was less than 0.5, and provided the hydrogen and air were well mixed. For equivalence ratios greater than 0.5, hydrogen yielded NO_x emissions that were higher than those obtained with indolene. The timing of hydrogen injection was found to have a significant effect on NO_x emissions. With an unthrottled air intake and hydrogen injection at equivalence ratios between 0.3 and 0.8, indicated mean effective pressures ranged from 0.3 to 0.78 MPa. Corresponding indicated thermal efficiencies ranged from 43 to 31%. By decreasing the equivalence ratio to 0.1, the IMEP could be reduced to 0.07 MPa, thus providing an indicated load range of more than a factor of 10.     

Experimental study of combustion and emission characteristics of ethanol fuelled port injected homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion engine

The homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is an alternative combustion concept for in reciprocating engines. The HCCI combustion engine offers significant benefits in terms of its high efficiency and ultra low emissions. In this investigation, port injection technique is used for preparing homogeneous charge. The combustion and emission characteristics of a HCCI engine fuelled with ethanol were investigated on a modified two-cylinder, four-stroke engine. The experiment is conducted with varying intake air temperature (120–150 °C) and at different air–fuel ratios, for which stable HCCI combustion is achieved. In-cylinder pressure, heat release analysis and exhaust emission measurements were employed for combustion diagnostics. In this study, effect of intake air temperature on combustion parameters, thermal efficiency, combustion efficiency and emissions in HCCI combustion engine is analyzed and discussed in detail. The experimental results indicate that the air–fuel ratio and intake air temperature have significant effect on the maximum in-cylinder pressure and its position, gas exchange efficiency, thermal efficiency, combustion efficiency, maximum rate of pressure rise and the heat release rate. Results show that for all stable operation points, NO_x emissions are lower than 10 ppm however HC and CO emissions are higher.     

Investigation of the effects of hydrogen on cylinder pressure in a split-injection diesel engine at heavy EGR

The distinctive properties of hydrogen have initiated considerable applied research related to the internal combustion engine. Recently, it has been reported that NO_x emissions were reduced by using hydrogen in a diesel engine at low temperature and heavy EGR conditions. As the continuing study, cylinder pressure was also investigated to determine the combustion characteristics and their relationship to NO_x emissions. The test engine was operated at constant speed and fixed diesel fuel injection rate (1500 rpm, 2.5 kg/h). Diesel fuel was injected in a split pattern into a 2-L diesel engine. The cylinder pressure was measured for different hydrogen flow rates and EGR ratios. The intake manifold temperature was controlled to be the same to avoid the gas intake temperature variations under the widely differing levels (2%-31%) of EGR. The measured cylinder pressure was analyzed for characteristic combustion values, such as mass burn fraction and combustion duration.The rising crank angle of the heat release rate was unaffected by the presence of hydrogen. However, supplying hydrogen extended the main combustion duration. This longer main combustion duration was particularly noticeable at the heavy EGR condition. It correlated well with the reduced NO_x emissions.     

Experimental study of the performances of a modified diesel engine operating in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion mode versus the original diesel combustion mode

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion mode provides very low NO_x and soot emissions; however, it has some challenges associated with hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, fuel consumption, difficult control of start of ignition and bad behaviour to high loads. Cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is a common way to control in-cylinder NO_x production in diesel and HCCI combustion mode. However EGR has different effects on combustion and emissions, which are difficult to distinguish. This work is intended to characterize an engine that has been modified from the base diesel engine (FL1 906 DEUTZ-DITER) to work in HCCI combustion mode. It shows the experimental results for the modified diesel engine in HCCI combustion mode fueled with commercial diesel fuel compared to the diesel engine mode. An experimental installation, in conjunction with systematic tests to determine the optimum crank angle of fuel injection, has been used to measure the evolution of the cylinder pressure and to get an estimate of the heat release rate from a single-zone numerical model. From these the angle of start of combustion has been obtained. The performances and emissions of HC, CO and the huge reduction of NO_x and smoke emissions of the engine are presented. These results have allowed a deeper analysis of the effects of external EGR on the HCCI operation mode, on some engine design parameters and also on NO_x emission reduction.     

Theoretical investigation of the combustion performance of ammonia/hydrogen mixtures on a marine diesel engine

Ammonia is a good hydrogen carrier and can be well combined with hydrogen for combustion. The combustion performance of the mixtures of ammonia and hydrogen in a medium-speed marine diesel engine was investigated theoretically. The HCCI combustion mode was selected for reducing thermal-NO_x production. The start fire characteristic of the NH₃–H₂ mixtures was studied under different equivalence ratio, hydrogen-doped ratio, and intake air temperature and pressure. Then, the combustion performance of the NH₃–H₂ mixtures (doping 30% hydrogen) was analyzed at a typical operation condition of engine. The addition hydrogen improved the laminar flame velocity of ammonia, and affected the NO_x emission. For the medium-speed marine engine fueled with NH₃–H₂, reducing combustion temperature, introducing EGR and combining with post-treatment technology would be a feasible scheme to reduce NO_x emission.     

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion: Implementation and effects on pollutants in direct injection diesel engines

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion is a combustion concept which offers simultaneous reductions in both NO_x and soot emissions from internal combustion engines. In light of increasingly stringent diesel emissions limits, research efforts have been invested into HCCI combustion as an alternative to conventional diesel combustion. This paper reviews the implementation of HCCI combustion in direct injection diesel engines using early, multiple and late injection strategies. Governing factors in HCCI operations such as injector characteristics, injection pressure, piston bowl geometry, compression ratio, intake charge temperature, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and supercharging or turbocharging are discussed in this review. The effects of design and operating parameters on HCCI diesel emissions, particularly NO_x and soot, are also investigated. For each of these parameters, the theories are discussed in conjunction with comparative evaluation of studies reported in the specialised literature.     

Characterization of ringing intensity in a hydrogen-fueled HCCI engine

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is a promising alternative combustion strategy having higher thermal efficiency while maintaining the NO_x and soot emissions below the current emissions mandates. The HCCI combustion engine has typically lower operating load range in comparison to conventional engines. The HCCI combustion is constrained by various operational limits such as combustion instability limit, combustion noise limits, emission limits and peak cylinder pressure limit. High load limit of HCCI combustion is typically limited by very high heat release rate, which leads to ringing operation. Intense ringing operation leads to very high combustion noise, and heavy ringing operation can also damage the engine parts. Thus, it is important to investigate the characteristics of ringing intensity (RI) in HCCI engine. Hydrogen fueled HCCI engine combines the potential advantages of alternative fuel as well as the alternative combustion strategy. This study presents the RI characterization and prediction using chemical kinetics and artificial neural network (ANN) for hydrogen-HCCI operation. In the first part of the study, the effect of equivalence ratio (φ), inlet temperature (T_ivc), and engine speed on ringing intensity is investigated using chemical kinetics model. Based on ringing operation characteristics of hydrogen HCCI engine, ANN model is used to predict the ringing intensity (RI) for different engine operating conditions (i.e., φ T_ivc, engine speed) and different combustion parameters. The result indicates that RI increases with advanced combustion phasing (CA₅₀), higher inlet temperature, and equivalence ratio. To control the ringing operation, the CA₅₀ position needs to be retarded by optimizing the T_ivc and φ. Maximum engine operating range is found for lower engine speed (i.e., 1000 rpm) and reduces with increase in the engine speed. The results showed that the RI is strongly correlated to the CA₅₀ position with a correlation coefficient of 0.99 at constant inlet temperature. The ANN results also show that ANN model predicts RI with sufficient accuracy. The ANN model predicts RI with engine operating conditions as well as combustion parameters with a correlation coefficient of 0.97 and 0.95 respectively.     

Applying the multi-zone model in predicting the operating range of HCCI engines

In this paper, a multi-zone model is developed to predict the operating range of homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines. The boundaries of the operating range were determined by knock (presented by ringing intensity), partial burn (presented by combustion efficiency), and cycle-to-cycle variations (presented by the sensitivity of indicated mean effective pressure to initial temperature). By simulating an HCCI engine fueled with iso-octane, the knock and cycle-to-cycle variations predicted by the model showed satisfactory agreement with measurements made under different initial temperatures and equivalence ratios; the operating range was also well reproduced by the model. Furthermore, the model was applied to predict the operating range of the HCCI engine under different engine speeds by varying the intake temperatures and equivalence ratios. The potential to extend the operating range of the HCCI engine through two strategies, i.e., variable compression ratio and intake pressure boosting, was then investigated. Results indicate that the ignition point can be efficiently controlled by varying the compression ratio. A low load range can be extended by increasing the intake temperature while reducing the compression ratio. Higher intake temperatures and lower compression ratios can also extend the high load range. Boosting intake pressure is helpful in controlling the combustion of the HCCI engine, resulting in an extended high load range.     

Applying the multi-zone model in predicting the operating range of HCCI engines

In this paper, a multi-zone model is developed to predict the operating range of homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines. The boundaries of the operating range were determined by knock (presented by ringing intensity), partial burn (presented by combustion efficiency), and cycle-to-cycle variations (presented by the sensitivity of indicated mean effective pressure to initial temperature). By simulating an HCCI engine fueled with iso-octane, the knock and cycle-to-cycle variations predicted by the model showed satisfactory agreement with measurements made under different initial temperatures and equivalence ratios; the operating range was also well reproduced by the model. Furthermore, the model was applied to predict the operating range of the HCCI engine under different engine speeds by varying the intake temperatures and equivalence ratios. The potential to extend the operating range of the HCCI engine through two strategies, i.e., variable compression ratio and intake pressure boosting, was then investigated. Results indicate that the ignition point can be efficiently controlled by varying the compression ratio. A low load range can be extended by increasing the intake temperature while reducing the compression ratio. Higher intake temperatures and lower compression ratios can also extend the high load range. Boosting intake pressure is helpful in controlling the combustion of the HCCI engine, resulting in an extended high load range.     

Role of hydrogen in improving performance and emission characteristics of homogeneous charge compression ignition engine fueled with graphite oxide nanoparticle-added microalgae biodiesel/diesel blends

The development of low-temperature combustion models combined with the use of biofuels has been considered as an efficient strategy to reduce pollutant emissions like CO, HC. NO_x, and smoke. Indeed, Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) is the new approach to drastically minimize NO_x emissions and smoke owing to the lower cylinder temperature and a higher rate of homogeneous A/F mixture as compared to compression ignition (CI) engines. The present research deal with the behavior analysis of a CI engine powered by diesel, Euglena Sanguinea (ES), and their blends (ES20D80, ES40D60, ES60D40, ES80D20). The experimental results revealed the highest brake thermal efficiency for ES20D80 although it decreased by 4.1% compared to diesel at normal mode. The average drop in HC, CO, and smoke was 2.1, 2.3, and 5.7% for ES20D80 as opposed to diesel fuel. Therefore, in the next stage, ES20D80 with various concentrations of graphite oxide (GO) nanoparticle (20, 40, 60, and 80 ppm) was chosen to carry out experiments in the HCCI mode, in which hydrogen gas was induced along with air through the intake pipe at a fixed flow rate of 3 lpm for the enrichment of the air-fuel mixture. As a result, the combination of hydrogen-enriched gas and GO-added ES20D80 in the HCCI mode showed similar performance to the CI engine but registered a major reduction of NO_x and smoke emissions, corresponding to 75.24% and 53.07% respectively, as compared to diesel fuel at normal mode.     

Hydrogen as an ignition-controlling agent for HCCI combustion engine by suppressing the low-temperature oxidation

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion enables internal combustion engines to achieve higher thermal efficiency and lower _NOx${\mathrm{NO}}_x$ emission than with conventional combustion systems. Controlling the ignition timing in accordance with the operating conditions is crucial for utilizing HCCI combustion engines. Adding hydrogen-containing gas is known to retard the autoignition of dimethyl ether (DME) considerably. The effective ignition control by hydrogen can expand the operation range of equivalence ratios and engine loads in HCCI combustion. This research investigated the mechanisms in the ignition control by the chemical kinetics analysis. The results show that the retarded ignition can be attributed to a consumption of OH by hydrogen during low-temperature oxidation of DME. The decreased OH concentration leads to retarded heat release and delays the onset of the high-temperature oxidation.     

Impact of H2 addition on flame stability and pollutant emissions for an atmospheric kerosene/air swirled flame of laboratory scaled gas turbine

The purposes of this study are to compare the stability domains and the pollutant emissions when combustion occurs with and without addition of H₂ to a kerosene (Jet A1)/air premixed prevaporised mixture injected in a lean gas turbine combustor. Chemiluminescence of CH*, pollutant emissions (NO_x and CO) and pressure fluctuations data are simultaneously collected in order to determine the effects of H₂ addition on the stability of the combustion and on the flame structure for an inlet temperature of 473 K, atmospheric pressure and for a large range of equivalence ratio (from 0.3 to 1). Addition of hydrogen enables keeping stable combustion conditions when, for the same kerosene mass flow, the flame becomes lifted and very unstable. As for pollutant emissions, results show that the equivalence ratio is the key parameter to control NO_x emission even in the situation where the combustion power is increased due to H₂ addition. As H₂ addition strongly increases the flammability limits and the combustion stability domain, stable combustion can occur at leaner equivalence ratio and then decreases CO and NO_x emissions. This is an important fact since no substitution effect takes place in the reduction of NO_x and CO emissions. Study at constant combustion power and equivalence ratio by adjusting hydrogen and kerosene mass flow shows again a decrease in the pollutant emissions. Hydrogen injection in power generation systems using combustion seems to be a promising way in combustion research since due to the combined effects of enlarging combustion stability domain and reducing NO_x emissions by substituting kerosene to the benefit of H₂.     

Generating efficiency and emissions of a spark-ignition gas engine generator fuelled with biogas–hydrogen blends

We investigated the generating efficiency and pollutant emissions of a four-stroke spark-ignition gas engine generator operating on biogas–hydrogen blends of varying excess air ratios and hydrogen concentrations. Experiments were carried out at a constant engine speed of 1200 rpm and a constant electric power output of 10 kW. The experimental results showed that the peak values of generating efficiency, maximum cylinder pressure, and NO_x emissions were elevated at an excess air ratio of around 1.2 as the hydrogen concentration was increased. CO₂ emissions decreased as the excess air ratio and hydrogen concentration increased, due to lean-burn conditions and hydrogen combustion. An efficiency per NO_x emissions ratio (EPN) was defined to consider the relationship between the generating efficiency and NO_x emissions. A maximum EPN value of 0.7502 was obtained with a hydrogen concentration of 15%, for an excess air ratio of 2.0. At this EPN value, the NO_x and CO₂ emissions were 39 ppm and 1678.32 g/kWh, respectively, and the generating efficiency was 29.26%. These results demonstrated that the addition of hydrogen to biogas enabled the effective generation of electricity using a gas engine generator through lean-burn combustion.     

Application of exhaust gas fuel reforming in diesel and homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines fuelled with biofuels

This paper documents the application of exhaust gas fuel reforming of two alternative fuels, biodiesel and bioethanol, in internal combustion engines. The exhaust gas fuel reforming process is a method of on-board production of hydrogen-rich gas by catalytic reaction of fuel and engine exhaust gas. The benefits of exhaust gas fuel reforming have been demonstrated by adding simulated reformed gas to a diesel engine fuelled by a mixture of 50% ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD) and 50% rapeseed methyl ester (RME) as well as to a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine fuelled by bioethanol. In the case of the biodiesel fuelled engine, a reduction of NO_x emissions was achieved without considerable smoke increase. In the case of the bioethanol fuelled HCCI engine, the engine tolerance to exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) was extended and hence the typically high pressure rise rates of HCCI engines, associated with intense combustion noise, were reduced.     

Assessment of combustion and exhaust emissions in a common-rail diesel engine fueled with methane and hydrogen/methane mixtures under different compression ratio

This study investigates the potential usage of the methane and hydrogen enriched methane in a turbocharged common-rail direct injection diesel engine. Methane and hydrogen/methane mixtures are sent through the air intake manifold of the engine. The engine is operated at four different loads and three different compression ratios. Results are compared amongst single diesel and dual-fuel operations at different compression ratios and load conditions. Compared to diesel, dual-fuel operations mostly generate higher and advanced peak in-cylinder gas pressure, more combustion noise, late pilot injection and start of combustion, advanced combustion center, substantial variations at ignition delay and combustion duration, a significant increase in cyclic variations at low and medium loads, and earlier heat release. Hydrogen enrichment decreases evidently specific fuel consumption. Concerning emissions, compared to diesel operation, dual-fuel operations produce higher total hydrocarbon (THC) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) but lower carbon dioxide (CO₂). Hydrogen substitutions decrease THC and CO₂ emissions of methane dual-fuel operations approximately between 9-29% and 1–32%, respectively. Smoke emission of dual-fuel operations is less than that of diesel at low and medium loads, whereas it sharply increases at high load. Knocking occurs at high compression ratio and load conditions with dual-fuel operations and dramatically increases with increasing hydrogen ratio. Decreasing the compression ratio notably reduces the combustion noise as well as some emissions, such as NO_x, CO₂ and smoke, for entire load ranges of dual-fuel and diesel operations.     

Impact of variable valve timing on power,emissions and backfire of a bi-fuel hydrogen/gasoline engine

Hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines are a possible solution to make transportation more ecological. Apart from difficulties in production and storage of hydrogen, there are three major bottlenecks in the operation of hydrogen-powered engines: reaching a high power output, reducing NO_x emissions at high loads and avoiding backfire. This paper presents an experimental study of the influence of continuously variable valve timing of the intake valves on these bottlenecks. Measurements were performed on a four-cylinder engine that can run on gasoline as well as on hydrogen. The measurements on hydrogen are compared to those on gasoline. For hydrogen, the effects of the cam phasing were investigated at wide open throttle, where load is controlled by the quality of the mixture (equivalence ratio) as well as in throttled mode, where load is defined by the quantity of mixture.     

Numerical study of effects of reformed exhaust gas recirculation (REGR) on dimethyl ether HCCI combustion

The effects of reformed exhaust gas recirculation (REGR) on combustion and emissions of dimethyl ether (DME) homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines are studied by multi-dimensional CFD coupled with chemical kinetic model. The results show that REGR combing EGR and DME reformed gases (DRG) improves combustion and emissions. REGR can delay ignition time by both EGR and DRG, and makes main combustion closer to top dead center (TDC), which is beneficial to reducing compression negative work and broadening load range of HCCI engines. The interaction of DRG and EGR helps avoid too high pressure rise rate or low power performance when being applied independent of each other. HC, CO and NO_x emissions can be controlled simultaneously by REGR. Both advantages of DRG and EGR are used to decrease the emissions of HCCI engines by REGR, while the disadvantages of high emissions are alleviated when one of them is applied.     

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.     

Probability density function treatment of turbulence/chemistry interactions during the ignition of a temperature-stratified mixture for application to HCCI engine modeling

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine technology promises to reduce NO_x and soot emissions while achieving high thermal efficiency. Temperature and mixture stratification are regarded as effective means of controlling the start of combustion and reducing the abrupt pressure rise at high loads. Probability density function methods are currently being pursued as a viable approach to modeling the effects of turbulent mixing and mixture stratification on HCCI ignition. In this paper we present an assessment of the merits of three widely used mixing models in reproducing the moments of reactive scalars during the ignition of a lean hydrogen/air mixture (Φ=0.1, p=41 atm, and T=1070 K) under increasing temperature stratification and subject to decaying turbulence. The results from the solution of the evolution equation for a spatially homogeneous joint PDF of the reactive scalars are compared with available direct numerical simulation (DNS) data [E.R. Hawkes, R. Sankaran, P.P. Pébay, J.H. Chen, Combust. Flame 145 (1-2) (2006) 145-159]. The mixing models are found able to quantitatively reproduce the time history of the heat release rate, first and second moments of temperature, and hydroxyl radical mass fraction from the DNS results. Most importantly, the dependence of the heat release rate on the extent of the initial temperature stratification in the charge is also well captured.