Ignition of Diesel Pilot Fuel in Dual-Fuel Engines

Author(s):  
Marcus Grochowina ◽  
Daniel Hertel ◽  
Simon Tartsch ◽  
Thomas Sattelmayer

Dual-Fuel (DF) engines offer great fuel flexibility combined with low emissions in gas mode. The main source of energy in this mode is provided by gaseous fuel, while the Diesel fuel acts only as an ignition source. For this reason, the reliable autoignition of the pilot fuel is of utmost importance for combustion in DF-engines. However, the autoignition of the pilot fuel suffers from low compression temperatures caused by Miller valve timings. These valve timings are applied to increase efficiency and reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. Previous studies have investigated the influence of injection parameters and operating conditions on ignition and combustion in DF-engines using a unique periodically chargeable combustion cell. Direct light high-speed images and pressure traces clearly revealed the effects of injection parameters and operating conditions on ignition and combustion. However, these measurement techniques are only capable of observing processes after ignition. In order to overcome this drawback, a high-speed shadowgraph technique was applied in this study to examine the processes prior to ignition. Measurements were conducted to investigate the influence of compression temperature and injection pressure on spray formation and ignition. Results showed that the autoignition of Diesel pilot fuel strongly depends on the fuel concentration within the spray. The high-speed shadowgraph images revealed that in the case of very low fuel concentration within the pilot spray only the first-stage of the two-stage ignition occurs. This leads to large cycle-to-cycle variations and misfiring. However, it was found that a reduced number of injection holes counteracts these effects. The comparison of a Diesel injector with 10-holes and a modified injector with 5-holes showed shorter ignition delays, more stable ignition and a higher number of ignited sprays on a percentage basis for the 5-hole nozzle.

Author(s):  
Marcus Grochowina ◽  
Daniel Hertel ◽  
Simon Tartsch ◽  
Thomas Sattelmayer

Dual-fuel (DF) engines offer great fuel flexibility combined with low emissions in gas mode. The main source of energy in this mode is provided by gaseous fuel, while the diesel fuel acts only as an ignition source. For this reason, the reliable autoignition of the pilot fuel is of utmost importance for combustion in DF engines. However, the autoignition of the pilot fuel suffers from low compression temperatures caused by Miller valve timings. These valve timings are applied to increase efficiency and reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Previous studies have investigated the influence of injection parameters and operating conditions on ignition and combustion in DF engines using a unique periodically chargeable combustion cell. Direct light high-speed images and pressure traces clearly revealed the effects of injection parameters and operating conditions on ignition and combustion. However, these measurement techniques are only capable of observing processes after ignition. In order to overcome this drawback, a high-speed shadowgraph technique was applied in this study to examine the processes prior to ignition. Measurements were conducted to investigate the influence of compression temperature and injection pressure on spray formation and ignition. Results showed that the autoignition of diesel pilot fuel strongly depends on the fuel concentration within the spray. The high-speed shadowgraph images revealed that in the case of very low fuel concentration within the pilot spray, only the first stage of the two-stage ignition occurs. This leads to large cycle-to-cycle variations and misfiring. However, it was found that a reduced number of injection holes counteract these effects. The comparison of a diesel injector with ten-holes and a modified injector with five-holes showed shorter ignition delays, more stable ignition and a higher number of ignited sprays on a percentage basis for the five-hole nozzle.


Author(s):  
Marcus Grochowina ◽  
Michael Schiffner ◽  
Simon Tartsch ◽  
Thomas Sattelmayer

Dual-Fuel (DF) engines offer great fuel flexibility since they can either run on gaseous or liquid fuels. In the case of Diesel pilot ignited DF-engines the main source of energy is provided by gaseous fuel, whereas the Diesel fuel acts only as an ignition source. Therefore, a proper autoignition of the pilot fuel is of utmost importance for combustion in DF-engines. However, autoignition of the pilot fuel suffers from lower compression temperatures of Miller or Atkinson valve timings. These valve timings are applied to increase efficiency and lower nitrogen oxide engine emissions. In order to improve the ignition, it is necessary to understand which parameters influence the ignition in DF-engines. For this purpose, experiments were conducted and the influence of parameters such as injection pressure, pilot fuel quantity, compression temperature and air-fuel equivalence ratio of the homogenous natural gas-air mixture were investigated. The experiments were performed on a periodically chargeable combustion cell using optical high-speed recordings and thermodynamic measurement techniques for pressure and temperature. The study reveals that the quality of the Diesel pilot ignition in terms of short ignition delay and a high number of ignited sprays significantly depends on the injection parameters and operating conditions. In most cases, the pilot fuel suffers from too high dilution due to its small quantity and long ignition delays. This results in a small number of ignited sprays and consequently leads to longer combustion durations. Furthermore, the experiments confirm that the natural gas of the background mixture influences the autoignition of the Diesel pilot oil.


Author(s):  
Marcus Grochowina ◽  
Michael Schiffner ◽  
Simon Tartsch ◽  
Thomas Sattelmayer

Dual-fuel (DF) engines offer great fuel flexibility since they can either run on gaseous or liquid fuels. In the case of diesel pilot-ignited DF engines, the main source of energy is provided by gaseous fuel, whereas the diesel fuel acts only as an ignition source. Therefore, a proper auto-ignition of the pilot fuel is of utmost importance for combustion in DF engines. However, auto-ignition of the pilot fuel suffers from lower compression temperatures of Miller or Atkinson valve timings. These valve timings are applied to increase efficiency and lower nitrogen oxide (NOx) engine emissions. In order to improve the ignition, it is necessary to understand which parameters influence the ignition in DF engines. For this purpose, experiments were conducted and the influence of parameters, such as injection pressure, pilot fuel quantity, compression temperature, and air–fuel (A/F) equivalence ratio of the homogenous natural gas–air mixture were investigated. The experiments were performed on a periodically chargeable combustion cell using optical high-speed recordings and thermodynamic measurement techniques for pressure and temperature. The study reveals that the quality of the diesel pilot ignition in terms of short ignition delay and a high number of ignited sprays significantly depends on the injection parameters and operating conditions. In most cases, the pilot fuel suffers from too high dilution due to its small quantity and long ignition delays. This results in a small number of ignited sprays and consequently leads to longer combustion durations. Furthermore, the experiments confirm that the natural gas of the background mixture influences the auto-ignition of the diesel pilot oil.


Author(s):  
Khanh Cung ◽  
Toby Rockstroh ◽  
Stephen Ciatti ◽  
William Cannella ◽  
S. Scott Goldsborough

Unlike homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) that has the complexity in controlling the start of combustion event, partially premixed combustion (PPC) provides the flexibility of defining the ignition timing and combustion phasing with respect to the time of injection. In PPC, the stratification of the charge can be influenced by a variety of methods such as number of injections (single or multiple injections), injection pressure, injection timing (early to near TDC injection), intake boost pressure, or combination of several factors. The current study investigates the effect of these factors when testing two gasoline-like fuels of different reactivity (defined by Research Octane Number or RON) in a 1.9-L inline 4-cylinder diesel engine. From the collection of engine data, a full factorial analysis was created in order to identify the factors that most influence the outcomes such as the location of ignition, combustion phasing, combustion stability, and emissions. Furthermore, the interaction effect of combinations of two factors or more was discussed with the implication of fuel reactivity under current operating conditions. The analysis was done at both low (1000 RPM) and high speed (2000 RPM). It was found that the boost pressure and air/fuel ratio have strong impact on ignition and combustion phasing. Finally, injection-timing sweeps were conducted whereby the ignition (CA10) of the two fuels with significantly different reactivity were matched by controlling the boost pressure while maintaining a constant lambda (air/fuel equivalence ratio).


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1 Part A) ◽  
pp. 171-181
Author(s):  
Wei Du ◽  
Qiankun Zhang ◽  
Meng Li ◽  
Jinchi Hou

The fuel quantity and injection pressure are two essential factors to optimize the injection strategy. In this paper, we focus on the investigation for the ignition and combustion characteristics of wall-impinged kerosene (RP-3) fuel spray at different injection quantities and pressures. Experiments are conducted in a constant volume combustion vessel to simulate the Diesel engine condition, adopting a single-hole nozzle with 0.22 mm. The flame images are captured using a high-speed camera, and then the behaviors of ignition and combustion are processed and analyzed. The main emphasis is placed on the variation laws of the ignition position distance, the ignition delay time, the combustion duration, the flame area, spatially integrated natural luminosity and time integrated natural luminosity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 197 ◽  
pp. 06010
Author(s):  
Antonio Caricato ◽  
Antonio Paolo Carlucci ◽  
Antonio Ficarella ◽  
Luciano Strafella

In this paper, the effect of late injection on combustion and emission levels has been investigated on a single cylinder compression ignition engine operated in dual-fuel mode injecting methane along the intake duct and igniting it through a pilot fuel injected directly into the combustion chamber. During the tests, the amount of pilot fuel injected per cycle has been kept constant, while the amount of methane has been varied on three levels. Therefore, three levels of engine load have been tested, while speed has been kept constant equal to 1500rpm. Pilot injection pressure has been varied on three set points, namely 500, 1000 and 1500 bar. For each engine load and injection pressure, pilot injection timing has been swept on a very broad range of values, spanning from very advanced to very late values. The analysis of heat release rate indicates that MK-like conditions are established in dual-fuel mode with late pilot injection. In these conditions, pollutant species, and NOx levels in particular, are significantly reduced without penalization – and in several conditions with improvement – on fuel conversion efficiency.


Author(s):  
Arman Ahamed Subash ◽  
Haisol Kim ◽  
Sven-Inge Möller ◽  
Mattias Richter ◽  
Christian Brackmann ◽  
...  

Abstract Experimental investigations were performed using a standard 3rd generation dry low emission (DLE) burner under atmospheric pressure to study the effect of central and pilot fuel addition, load variations and H2 enrichment in a NG flame. High-speed OH-PLIF and OH-chemiluminescence imaging were employed to investigate the flame stabilization, flame turbulence interactions, and flame dynamics. Along with the optical measurements, combustion emissions were recorded to observe the effect of changing operating conditions on NOX level. The burner is used in Siemens industrial gas turbines SGT-600, SGT-700 and SGT-800 with minor hardware differences. This study thus is a step to characterize fuel and load flexibility for these turbines. Without pilot and central fuel injections in the current burner configuration, the main flame is stabilized creating a central recirculation zone. Addition of the pilot fuel strengthens the outer recirculation zone (ORZ) and moves the flame slightly downstream, whereas the flame moves upstream without affecting the ORZ when central fuel injection is added. The flame was investigated utilizing H2/NG fuel mixtures where the H2 amount was changed from 0 to 100%. The flame becomes more compact, the anchoring position moves closer to the burner exit and the OH signal distribution becomes more distinct for H2 addition due to increased reaction rate, diffusivity, and laminar burning velocity. Changing the load from part to base, similar trends were observed in the flame behavior but in this case due to the higher heat release because of increased turbulence intensity.


2003 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Fansler ◽  
M. C. Drake ◽  
B Stojkovic ◽  
M. E. Rosalik

A recently developed spark emission spec-troscopy technique has been used to measure the effects of fuel injection timing, spark timing and intake swirl level on the individual-cycle fuel concentration at the spark gap in a wall-guided spark ignited direct injection (SIDI) engine. The fuel-concentration measurements were made simultaneously with measurements of individual-cycle spark discharge energy and cylinder pressure. Endoscopic imaging of the fuel spray and high-speed imaging of combustion (both broadband and spectrally resolved) augment these quantitative data. For optimum engine operation, the fuel-air equivalence ratio at the spark gap just after spark breakdown is rich on average (〈φ〉 ≈1.4–1.5) and varies widely from cycle to cycle (∼25 per cent). The evolution with crank angle of the mean equivalence ratio and its cycle-to-cycle fluctuations are correlated with the cylinder pressure, heat release and imaging data to provide insights into fuel transport and mixture preparation that are important to understanding and optimizing ignition and combustion in SIDI engines. For example, causes of misfires and partial burns have been determined.


Author(s):  
Theodore J. Heindel ◽  
Timothy B. Morgan ◽  
Thomas J. Burtnett ◽  
Julie K. Bothell ◽  
Danyu Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Liquid sprays play a key role in many engineering processes and the dynamics at the nozzle exit have a significant impact on the downstream spray characteristics. However, visualizing the spray in this region is extremely challenging because, under most operating conditions, the spray is optically dense. High intensity white beam X-rays, like those found at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory, can be used to produce time-resolved measurements of the liquid-gas structures in the spray near-field region. In this study, high temporal and spatial resolution X-ray images were acquired at the 7-BM beamline at APS of an atomization process using a canonical airblast atomizer consisting of coaxial liquid and gas jets. Unique flow structures were observed under various operating conditions, including bag, ligament, wisp, droplet, and air bubble formation, as well as hollowing of the liquid core into a crown at the liquid needle exit. Conditions where these structures exist are presented and their impact on spray formation are discussed.


Author(s):  
Silvio Chemnitz ◽  
Reinhard Niehuis

Abstract The development and verification of new turbulence models for RANS equations based numerical methods require reliable experimental data with a deep understanding of the underlying turbulence mechanisms. High accurate turbulence measurements are normally limited to simplified test cases under optimal experimental conditions. This work presents comprehensive three-dimensional data of turbulent flow quantities, comparing advanced constant temperature anemometry (CTA) and stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) methods under realistic test conditions. The experiments are conducted downstream of a linear, low-pressure turbine cascade at engine relevant high speed operating conditions. The special combination of high subsonic Mach and low Reynolds number results in a low density test environment, challenging for all applied measurement techniques. Detailed discussions about influences affecting the measured result for each specific measuring technique is given. The presented time mean fields, as well as total turbulence data demonstrate with an average deviation of ΔTu < 0.4% and ΔC/Cref < 0.9% an extraordinary good agreement between the results from the triple sensor hot-wire probe and the 2D3C-PIV setup. Most differences between PIV and CTA can be explained by the finite probe size and individual geometry.


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