Progress in hydrogen enriched hydrocarbons combustion and engine applications

The paper summarized the work on hydrogen enriched hydrocarbons combustion and its application in engines. The progress and understanding on laminar burning velocity, flame instability, flame structure flame and chemical kinetics were presented. Based on fundamental combustion, both homogeneous spark-ignition engine and direct-injection spark-ignition engine fueled with natural gas-hydrogen blends were conducted and the technical route of natural gas-hydrogen combined with exhaust gas recirculation was proposed which experimentally demonstrated benefits on both thermal efficiency improvement and emissions reduction.     

Increasing the power output of hydrogen internal combustion engines by means of supercharging and exhaust gas recirculation

Spark ignition engines can be relatively easily converted to hydrogen using port fuel injection (PFI). However, because of the lower volumetric energy density of a hydrogen–air mixture and the occurrence of abnormal combustion phenomena such as backfire, hydrogen-fueled PFI engines suffer from a power deficit in comparison with gasoline engines. This paper reports measurements on a single-cylinder hydrogen engine equipped with a supercharger and an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system. Using EGR combined with supercharging and a three-way catalyst (TWC) is shown to significantly increase the power output while limiting tailpipe emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO_x).     

Evaluation of a combustion model for the simulation of hydrogen spark-ignition engines using a CFD code

The present work deals with the evaluation of a combustion model that has been developed, in order to simulate the power cycle of hydrogen spark-ignition engines. The motivation for the development of such a model is to obtain a simple combustion model with few calibration constants, applicable to a wide range of engine configurations, incorporated in an in-house CFD code using the RNG k–? turbulence model. The calculated cylinder pressure traces, gross heat release rate diagrams and exhaust nitric oxide (NO) emissions are compared with the corresponding measured ones at various engine loads. The engine used is a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine fueled with hydrogen, operating at a constant engine speed of 600 rpm. This model is composed of various sub-models used for the simulation of combustion of conventional fuels in SI engines; it has been adjusted in the current study specifically for hydrogen combustion. The basic sub-model incorporated for the calculation of the reaction rates is the characteristic conversion time-scale method, meaning that a time-scale is used depending on the laminar conversion time and the turbulent mixing time, which dictates to what extent the combustible gas has reached its chemical equilibrium during a predefined time step. Also, the laminar and turbulent combustion velocity is used to track the flame development within the combustion chamber, using two correlations for the laminar flame speed and the Zimont/Lipatnikov approach for the modeling of the turbulent flame speed, whereas the (NO) emissions are calculated according to the Zeldovich mechanism. From the evaluation conducted, it is revealed that by using the developed hydrogen combustion model and after adjustment of the unique model calibration constant, there is an adequate agreement with measured data (regarding performance and emissions) for the investigated conditions. However, there are a few more issues to be resolved dealing mainly with the ignition process and the applicability of a reliable set of constants for the emission calculations.     

Use of hydrogen in dual-fuel diesel engines

Hydrogen is a promising future energy carrier due to its potential for production from renewable resources. It can be used in existing compression ignition diesel engines in a dual-fuel mode with little modification. Hydrogen's unique physiochemical properties, such as higher calorific value, flame speed, and diffusivity in air, can effectively improve the performance and combustion characteristics of diesel engines. As a carbon-free fuel, hydrogen can also mitigate harmful emissions from diesel engines, including carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, particulate matter, soot, and smoke. However, hydrogen-fueled diesel engines suffer from knocking combustion and higher nitrogen oxide emissions. This paper comprehensively reviews the effects of hydrogen or hydrogen-containing gaseous fuels (i.e., syngas and hydroxy gas) on the behavior of dual-fuel diesel engines. The opportunities and limitations of using hydrogen in diesel engines are discussed thoroughly. It is not possible for hydrogen to improve all the performance indicators and exhaust emissions of diesel engines simultaneously. However, reformulating pilot fuel by additives, blending hydrogen with other gaseous fuels, adjusting engine parameters, optimizing operating conditions, modifying engine structure, using hydroxy gas, and employing exhaust gas catalysts could pave the way for realizing safe, efficient, and economical hydrogen-fueled diesel engines. Future work should focus on preventing knocking combustion and nitrogen oxide emissions in hydrogen-fueled diesel engines by adjusting the hydrogen inclusion rate in real time.     

Heat transfer and crevice flow in a hydrogen-fueled spark-ignition engine: Effect on the engine performance and NO exhaust emissions

The present work investigates the effect of heat and mass transfer on the combustion process of a hydrogen-fueled spark-ignition engine, using an in-house CFD code. The main scope is to compare the calculated local heat fluxes with the available measured ones, using three heat transfer models of increasing complexity (two existing and one developed by the authors). Moreover, the effect of mass transfer through the crevice regions is also investigated using a phenomenological crevice model. The calculated results (cylinder pressure traces, local heat fluxes and NO exhaust emissions) are compared with the corresponding measured data, at various operating conditions, maintaining constant engine speed and altering the compression ratio and the equivalence ratio. It is revealed, that the proposed heat transfer model is more accurate than the standard wall-function formulation, while with the use of the crevice model a more reliable prediction of engine performance is achieved.     

直喷汽油机采用不同缸内稀释技术的性能研究

针对一款4缸1.5L废气涡轮增压缸内直喷汽油(GDI)发动机,进行了废气再循环(EGR)缸内稀释燃烧技术、空气缸内稀释燃烧技术与原机燃烧的经济性、排放特性对比试验研究。研究了不同缸内稀释技术对发动机性能和排放影响的变动规律,并对比分析了相同稀释率下、采用不同稀释技术时发动机的性能变化。结果表明:空气稀释率在49.5%时比油耗相比原机下降6.2%,而EGR稀释率在20.5%时经济性改善4.2%,在相同稀释率时,EGR稀释可采用更为提前的点火角实现更优的燃烧相位,但空气稀释所带来的多变指数提升使其经济性优于EGR稀释,且发动机燃烧系统对空气稀释程度具有更强的容忍性;NOx排放在空气稀释率为11.0%时达到峰值水平,随后随着稀释率的提高不断下降,而EGR稀释的NOx排放随着稀释率的提高持续大幅下降;空气稀释的CO排放水平远低于原机,EGR稀释的CO排放随着稀释率的增加而略有下降;对于HC排放,空气稀释的排放量低于EGR稀释,而当空气稀释率由49.5%增加为68.0%时,HC排放出现较大幅度上升。     

Effect of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) on performance,emissions, deposits and durability of a constant speed compression ignition engine

To meet stringent vehicular exhaust emission norms worldwide, several exhaust pre-treatment and post-treatment techniques have been employed in modern engines. Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) is a pre-treatment technique, which is being used widely to reduce and control the oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) emission from diesel engines. EGR controls the NO_x because it lowers oxygen concentration and flame temperature of the working fluid in the combustion chamber. However, the use of EGR leads to a trade-off in terms of soot emissions. Higher soot generated by EGR leads to long-term usage problems inside the engines such as higher carbon deposits, lubricating oil degradation and enhanced engine wear. Present experimental study has been carried out to investigate the effect of EGR on soot deposits, and wear of vital engine parts, especially piston rings, apart from performance and emissions in a two cylinder, air cooled, constant speed direct injection diesel engine, which is typically used in agricultural farm machinery and decentralized captive power generation. Such engines are normally not operated with EGR. The experiments were carried out to experimentally evaluate the performance and emissions for different EGR rates of the engine. Emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), NO_x, carbon monoxide (CO), exhaust gas temperature, and smoke opacity of the exhaust gas etc. were measured. Performance parameters such as thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) were calculated. Reduction in NO_x and exhaust gas temperature were observed but emissions of particulate matter (PM), HC, and CO were found to have increased with usage of EGR. The engine was operated for 96 h in normal running conditions and the deposits on vital engine parts were assessed. The engine was again operated for 96 h with EGR and similar observations were recorded. Higher carbon deposits were observed on the engine parts operating with EGR. Higher wear of piston rings was also observed for engine operated with EGR.     

Implementation of multiple-pulse injection strategies to enhance the homogeneity for simultaneous low-NOx and -soot diesel combustion

The diesel combustion implemented with the use of a homogeneous lean charge has shown to produce simultaneous reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and soot emissions at low-load conditions. Similarly, at higher load levels, a cylinder charge mixture weakened by the use of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and enhanced homogeneity has also shown to result in simultaneous reduction of NOx and soot emissions. In this study multiple-shot injection experiments have been investigated as a means to enhance the homogeneity for simultaneous low-NOx and low-soot combustion at both low- and moderate-load conditions. Up to 8 fuel injection pulses per cylinder per cycle were applied to modulate the homogeneity history. The empirical results were conducted under independently controlled EGR, intake boost, and exhaust backpressure to enhance the flexibility in adapting the engine boundary conditions towards this type of combustion. Test results have been presented in increasing the engine load up to 9 bar IMEP.     

Performance and emissions of a supercharged dual-fuel engine fueled by hydrogen-rich coke oven gas

This study investigated the engine performance and emissions of a supercharged dual-fuel engine fueled by hydrogen-rich coke oven gas and ignited by a pilot amount of diesel fuel. The engine was tested for use as a cogeneration engine, so power output while maintaining a reasonable thermal efficiency was important. Experiments were carried out at a constant pilot injection pressure and pilot quantity for different fuel-air equivalence ratios and at various injection timings without and with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). The experimental strategy was to optimize the injection timing to maximize engine power at different fuel-air equivalence ratios without knocking and within the limit of the maximum cylinder pressure. The engine was tested first without EGR condition up to the maximum possible fuel-air equivalence ratio of 0.65. A maximum indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) of 1425 kPa and a thermal efficiency of 39% were obtained. However, the nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions were high. A simulated EGR up to 50% was then performed to obtain lower NOx emissions. The maximum reduction of NOx was 60% or more maintaining the similar levels of IMEP and thermal efficiency. Two-stage combustion was obtained; this is an indicator of maximum power output conditions and a precursor of knocking combustion.     

利用废气再循环与米勒循环提高氢内燃机压缩比的研究

建立了氢内燃机一维模型,分别仿真分析了废气再循环(exhaust gas recirculation,EGR)技术和米勒循环技术对抑制爆震及氮氧化物(NOx)排放的效果,最后结合两种技术探索了可达到的最大压缩比和最好的NOx排放性能.结果显示EGR技术对抑制NOx排放更有效,米勒循环对抑制爆震更有效,最终在本研究的工况...     

Operation principles for hydrogen spark ignited direct injection engines for passenger car applications

The sustainable reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from road transport requires solutions to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, in addition to vehicles with electrified powertrains, such as those implemented in battery electric of fuel cell vehicles, internal combustion engines fueled with e-fuels or biofuels are also under discussion. An e-fuel that has come into focus recently, is hydrogen due to its potential to achieve zero tank-to-wheel and well-to-wheel carbon dioxide emissions when the electrolysis is powered by electricity from renewable sources. Due to the high laminar burning velocity, hydrogen has the potential for engine operation with high cylinder charge dilution by e.g. external exhaust gas recirculation or enleanment, resulting in increased efficiency. On the other hand, the high burning velocity and high adiabatic flame temperatures pose a challenge for engine cooling due to increased heat losses compared to conventional fuels. To further evaluate the use of hydrogen for small passenger car engines, a series production 1 L 3 cylinder gasoline engine provided by Ford Werke GmbH was modified for hydrogen direct injection. The engine was equipped with a high pressure external exhaust gas recirculation system to investigate charge dilution at stoichiometric operation. Due to limitations of the turbocharging system, very lean operation, which can achieve nitrogen oxides raw emissions below 10 ppm, was limited to part load operation below BMEP = 8 bar. Thus, a reduction of the nitrogen oxides emission level at high loads compared to stoichiometric operation was not possible. At stoichiometric operation with external exhaust gas recirculation engine efficiency can be increased significantly. The comparison of stoichiometric hydrogen and gasoline operation shows a reduced indicated efficiency with hydrogen with significant faster combustion of hydrogen at comparable centers of combustion. However, higher boost pressures would allow to achieve even higher indicated efficiencies by charge dilution compared to gasoline engine operation.     

EGR对小型汽油机排放和性能影响的实验研究

实验研究了一款小型汽油机在不同负荷下,使用不同EGR率时,其动力性、经济性和NOx排放特性的变化规律,确定了各个工况下发动机最佳EGR率,得出在较大负荷下,EGR阀开度为30°时可以使动力性、经济性在变化不大的情况下,NO降低60%以上。     

Experimental study on combustion characteristics of a spark-ignition engine fueled with natural gas–hydrogen blends combining with EGR

An experimental study on the effect of hydrogen fraction and EGR rate on the combustion characteristics of a spark-ignition engine fueled with natural gas–hydrogen blends was investigated. The results show that flame development duration, rapid combustion duration and total combustion duration are increased with the increase of EGR rate and decreased with the increase of hydrogen fraction in the blends. Hydrogen addition shows larger influence on flame development duration than that on rapid combustion duration. The coefficient of variation of the indicated mean effective pressure increases with the increase of EGR rate. And hydrogen addition into natural gas decreases the coefficient of variation of the indicated mean effective pressure, and this effectiveness becomes more obviously at high EGR rate. Engine fueled with natural gas–hydrogen blends combining with proper EGR rate can realize the stable low temperature combustion in gas engine.     

低压EGR对GDI增压汽油机外特性下性能和排放影响

通过一款涡轮增压汽油直喷(gasoline direct injection,GDI)发动机低压废气再循环(exhaust gas recirculation,EGR)的试验,研究了EGR率和点火提前角的综合作用对增压GDI发动机的燃烧、缸压、排放和油耗等方面的影响。结果表明,在GDI增压发动机中加入EGR后,由于废气的稀释和热容作用,使缸内燃烧持续期增大,排气温度下降,燃烧相位也发生了改变。这对发动机外特性的有利影响是油耗减少,CO和NO_x排放也明显减少;不利影响是EGR的加入提高了增压发动机的排气压力,导致泵气损失增加。此外,总碳氢(total hydro carbons,THC)排放也有所增加。在GDI增压汽油机中使用EGR系统并配合点火角的调节能够有效提高热效率,降低NO_x排放。     

Energy efficiency improvement strategies for a diesel engine in low‐temperature combustion

The lowered combustion temperature in diesel engines is capable of reducing nitrogen oxides and soot simultaneously, which can be implemented by the heavy use of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) or the homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) type of combustion. However, the fuel efficiency of the low‐temperature combustion (LTC) cycles is commonly compromised by the high levels of hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions. More seriously, the scheduling of fuel delivery in HCCI engines has lesser leverage on the exact timing of auto‐ignition that may even occur before the compression stroke is completed, which may cause excessive efficiency reduction and combustion roughness. New LTC control strategies have been explored experimentally to achieve ultralow emissions under independently controlled EGR, intake boost, exhaust backpressure, and multi‐event fuel‐injection events. Empirical comparisons have been made between the fuel efficiencies of LTC and conventional diesel cycles. Preliminary adaptive control strategies based on cylinder pressure characteristics have been implemented to enable and stabilize the LTC when heavy EGR is applied. The impact of heat‐release phasing, duration, shaping, and splitting on the thermal efficiency has also been analyzed with engine cycle simulations. This research intends to identify the major parameters that affect diesel LTC engine thermal efficiency. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A combined experimental and numerical study of thermal processes, performance and nitric oxide emissions in a hydrogen-fueled spark-ignition engine

This work concerns the study of a spark-ignition engine fueled with hydrogen, using both measured and numerical data at various conditions, focusing on the combustion efficiency, the heat transfer phenomena and heat loss to the cylinder walls, the performance, as well as the nitric oxide (NO) emissions formed, when the fuel/air and compression ratio are varied. For the investigation of the heat transfer mechanism, the local wall temperatures and heat flux rates were measured at three locations of the cylinder liner in a CFR engine. These fluxes can provide a reliable estimation of the total heat loss through the cylinder walls and of the hydrogen flame arrival at specific locations. Together with the experimental analysis, the numerical results obtained from a validated in-house CFD code were utilized for gaining a more complete view of the heat transfer mechanism and the hydrogen combustion efficiency for the various cases examined. The performance of the CFR engine is then identified, since the calculated cylinder pressures are compared with the measured ones, from which performance and heat release rates are calculated and discussed. Further, NO emission studies have been accomplished, with the calculated results not only being compared with the measured exhaust NO ones, but also further processed for conducting an in-depth investigation of the dependence of NO production on the spatial distribution of in-cylinder gas temperature. It is revealed that for lower fuel/air ratio the burned gas temperature is held at low level and the heat loss ratio is quite low. As the load increases and stoichiometric mixtures are used, the wall and in-cylinder gas temperatures increase substantially, together with the heat loss and the NO emissions, owing to the high hydrogen combustion velocity and the consequent high rate of temperature rise. The combustion efficiency is slightly increased, but the indicated efficiency is decreased due to higher heat loss.     

Low-load hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel engine operation – A combustion efficiency improvement approach

Hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel operation can provide significant benefits to the performance and carbon-based emissions formation of compression-ignition engines. The wide flammability range of hydrogen allows engine operation at extremely low equivalence ratios while its high diffusivity and flame speed promote wide range combustion inside the cylinder. Nonetheless, despite the excellent properties of hydrogen for internal combustion, unburned hydrogen emissions and poor combustion efficiency have been previously observed at low-load conditions of compression ignition engines.The focus of the present study is to assess the effects of different engine operation and diesel injection parameters on the combustion efficiency of a heavy-duty dual-fuel engine while observing their interactions with the brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and emissions formation of the engine. In an attempt to reduce the unburned hydrogen rates at the exhaust of the engine, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and different diesel injection strategies were implemented. Statistical methods were applied in this study to reduce the experimental time.The results show a strong connection between unburned hydrogen rates, combustion and brake thermal efficiencies with the EGR rate. Higher EGR rates increase the intake charge temperature and provide improved hydrogen combustion and fuel economy. Operation of the dual-fuel engine at low-load with high EGR rate and slightly advanced main diesel injection can deliver simultaneous benefits to most of the harmful emissions and the BTE of the engine. Despite the efforts to achieve optimal engine operation at low loads, the combustion efficiency for most of the tested cases was in the range of 90%. Thus, increased hydrogen rates should be avoided as the benefits of the dual-fuel operation are weak at low-load conditions.     

Comparison of the effects of EGR and lean burn on an SI engine fueled by hydrogen-enriched low calorific gas

A naturally aspirated spark ignition (SI) engine fueled by hydrogen-blended low calorific gas (LCG) was tested in both exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and lean burn modes. The “dilution ratio” was introduced to compare their effects on engine performance and emissions under identical levels of dilution. LCG composed of 40% natural gas and 60% nitrogen was used as a main fuel, and hydrogen was blended with the LCG in volumes ranging from 0 to 20%. The engine test results demonstrated that EGR operations at stoichiometry showed a narrower dilution range, inferior combustion characteristics, lower brake thermal efficiency, faster nitrogen oxides (NO_x) suppression, and higher total hydrocarbon (THC) emissions for all hydrogen blending rates compared to lean burn. These trends were mainly due to the increased oxygen deficiency as a result of using EGR in LCG/air mixtures. Hydrogen enrichment of the LCG improved combustion stability and reduced THC emissions while increasing NO_x. In terms of efficiency, hydrogen addition induced a competition between combustion enhancement and increases in the cooling loss, so that the peak thermal efficiency occurred at 10% H₂ with excess air ratio of 1.5. The engine test results also indicated that a close-to-linear NO_x-efficiency relationship occurred for all hydrogen blending rates in both operations as long as stable combustion was achieved. NO_x versus combustion duration analysis showed that adding H₂ reduced combustion duration while maintaining the same level of NO_x. The methane fraction contained in the THC emissions decreased slightly with an increase in hydrogen enrichment at low EGR or excess air dilution ratios, but this tendency was diminished at higher dilution ratios because of the combined dilution effects from the inert gas in the LCG and the diluents (EGR or excess air).     

Hydrogen rich exhaust gas recirculation (H2EGR) for performance improvement and emissions reduction of a compression ignition engine

Hydrogen (H₂), being carbon free energy carrier, is best suitable for compression ignition (CI) engines with better performance and lower carbon derived emissions. Novelty of present study is the employment of low-cost catalyst (alumina) for production of H₂ reformate (hydrogen rich exhaust gas recirculation: H2EGR) in an indigenous catalytic reactor. Experimental tests were carried out on a CI engine under three conditions; base diesel, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), and H2EGR. Results indicated that brake thermal efficiency of the engine with H2EGR was higher than EGR and comparable with base diesel operation. All carbon-based emissions including smoke emission decreased significantly with H2EGR than diesel and EGR operations. In addition, oxides of nitrogen emission (NO_x) also decreased by about 46% with H2EGR than base diesel operation. It is concluded that H2EGR is a promising option for CI engines for simultaneous reduction of both NO_x and smoke emissions along with the additional benefit of higher efficiency.     

Effect of exhaust gas recirculation on diesel engine nitrogen oxide reduction operating with jojoba methyl ester

Jojoba methyl ester (JME) has been used as a renewable fuel in numerous studies evaluating its potential use in diesel engines. These studies showed that this fuel is good gas oil substitute but an increase in the nitrogenous oxides emissions was observed at all operating conditions. The aim of this study mainly was to quantify the efficiency of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) when using JME fuel in a fully instrumented, two-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke direct injection diesel engine. The tests were carried out in three sections. Firstly, the measured performance and exhaust emissions of the diesel engine operating with diesel fuel and JME at various speeds under full load are determined and compared. Secondly, tests were performed at constant speed with two loads to investigate the EGR effect on engine performance and exhaust emissions including nitrogenous oxides (NO_x), carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbons (HC) and exhaust gas temperatures. Thirdly, the effect of cooled EGR with high ratio at full load on engine performance and emissions was examined. The results showed that EGR is an effective technique for reducing NO_x emissions with JME fuel especially in light-duty diesel engines. With the application of the EGR method, the CO and HC concentration in the engine-out emissions increased. For all operating conditions, a better trade-off between HC, CO and NO_x emissions can be attained within a limited EGR rate of 5–15% with very little economy penalty.