Friction Reduction Due to Lubrication Oil Changes in a Lean-Burn 4-Stroke Natural Gas Engine: Experimental Results

A project to reduce frictional losses from natural gas engines is currently being carried out by a collaborative team from Waukesha Engine Dresser, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Colorado State University (CSU), and ExxonMobil. This project is part of the Advanced Reciprocating Engine System (ARES) program led by the US Department of Energy. Changes in lubrication oil have been identified as a way to potentially help meet the ARES goal of developing a natural gas engine with 50% brake thermal efficiency. Previous papers have discussed the computational tools used to evaluate piston-ring/cylinder friction and described the effects of changing various lubrication oil parameters on engine friction. These computational tools were used to predict the effects of changing lubrication oil of a Waukesha VGF 18-liter engine, and this paper presents the experimental results obtained on the engine test bed. Measured reductions in friction mean effective pressure (FMEP) were observed with lower viscosity lubrication oils. Test oil LEF-H (20W) resulted in a ∼ 1.9% improvement in mechanical efficiency (ηmech) and a ∼ 16.5% reduction in FMEP vs. a commercial reference 40W oil. This improvement is a significant step in reaching the ARES goals.

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Friction Reduction by Piston Ring Pack Modifications of a Lean-Burn 4-Stroke Natural Gas Engine: Experimental Results

ASME 2006 Internal Combustion Engine Division Spring Technical Conference (ICES2006) ◽

10.1115/ices2006-1327 ◽

2006 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kris Quillen ◽

Rudolf H. Stanglmaier ◽

Luke Moughon ◽

Rosalind Takata ◽

Victor Wong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Natural Gas ◽

Piston Ring ◽

Department Of Energy ◽

Experimental Results ◽

Friction Reduction ◽

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽

Test Bed ◽

Computational Tools ◽

Ring Pack ◽

Institute Of Technology

A project to reduce frictional losses from natural gas engines is currently being carried out by a collaborative team from Waukesha Engine Dresser, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Colorado State University (CSU). This project is part of the Advanced Reciprocating Engine System (ARES) program led by the US Department of Energy. Previous papers have discussed the computational tools used to evaluate piston-ring/cylinder friction and described the effects of changing various ring pack parameters on engine friction. These computational tools were used to optimize the ring pack of a Waukesha VGF 18-liter engine, and this paper presents the experimental results obtained on the engine test bed. Measured reductions in friction mean effective pressure (FMEP) were observed with a low tension oil control ring (LTOCR) and a skewed barrel top ring (SBTR). A negative twist second ring (NTSR) was used to counteract the oil consumption increase due to the LTOCR. The LTOCR and SBTR each resulted in a ∼ 0.50% improvement in mechanical efficiency (ηmech).

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Friction Reduction by Piston Ring Pack Modifications of a Lean-Burn Four-Stroke Natural Gas Engine: Experimental Results

Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power ◽

10.1115/1.2719262 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 129 (4) ◽

pp. 1088-1094

Author(s):

Kris Quillen ◽

Rudolf H. Stanglmaier ◽

Luke Moughon ◽

Rosalind Takata ◽

Victor Wong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Natural Gas ◽

Piston Ring ◽

Department Of Energy ◽

Experimental Results ◽

Friction Reduction ◽

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽

Test Bed ◽

Computational Tools ◽

Ring Pack ◽

Institute Of Technology

A project to reduce frictional losses from natural gas engines is currently being carried out by a collaborative team from Waukesha Engine Dresser, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Colorado State University (CSU). This project is part of the Advanced Reciprocating Engine System (ARES) program led by the U.S. Department of Energy. Previous papers have discussed the computational tools used to evaluate piston-ring/cylinder friction and described the effects of changing various ring pack parameters on engine friction. These computational tools were used to optimize the ring pack of a Waukesha VGF 18-liter engine, and this paper presents the experimental results obtained on the engine test bed. Measured reductions in friction mean effective pressure (FMEP) were observed with a low tension oil control ring (LTOCR) and a skewed barrel top ring (SBTR). A negative twist second ring (NTSR) was used to counteract the oil consumption increase due to the LTOCR. The LTOCR and SBTR each resulted in a ∼0.50% improvement in mechanical efficiency (ηmech).

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THE SETUP AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS OF DIRECT WATER INJECTION IN A SPARK IGNITED NATURAL GAS ENGINE AT VARYING COMPRESSION RATIOS

10.37099/mtu.dc.etd-restricted/256 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Jason E. Socha

Keyword(s):

Natural Gas ◽

Water Injection ◽

Experimental Results ◽

Gas Engine ◽

Natural Gas Engine ◽

Direct Water Injection

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Design and Analysis of the Waukesha APG1000 Engine

ASME 2006 Internal Combustion Engine Division Fall Technical Conference (ICEF2006) ◽

10.1115/icef2006-1517 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

Rodney Nicoson ◽

Julian Knudsen

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Computer Simulation ◽

Natural Gas ◽

Rapid Prototyping ◽

Thermal Efficiency ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Design Method ◽

Department Of Energy ◽

Gas Engine ◽

Natural Gas Engine

Waukesha Engine, in cooperation with the Department of Energy, has designed a new high efficiency natural gas engine designed specifically for the power generation market. The APG1000 (Advance Power Generation) engine is capable of achieving 1 MW output at 42% thermal efficiency and less than 1 g/bhp-hr Nox. A design method using modern tools such as 3-D modeling, rapid prototyping and computer simulation have, in a large part, contributed to the success of this engine. This paper discusses the methodology and tools used in the design of the APG engine.

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Experimental study of pre-chamber jet ignition in a rapid compression machine and single-cylinder natural gas engine

International Journal of Engine Research ◽

10.1177/1468087419883783 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 146808741988378

Author(s):

Fubai Li ◽

Ziqing Zhao ◽

Boyuan Wang ◽

Zhi Wang

Keyword(s):

Natural Gas ◽

Experimental Results ◽

Orifice Diameter ◽

Rapid Compression Machine ◽

Jet Flame ◽

Gas Engine ◽

Natural Gas Engine ◽

Auto Ignition ◽

Rapid Compression ◽

Ignition And Combustion

Pre-chamber jet ignition is a promising combustion technology to achieve fast combustion in natural gas engines. First, the ignition and combustion characteristics of mixtures in a pre-chamber system with different diameter orifices were studied under engine-relevant pressures and temperatures in a rapid compression machine. The tested fuels, CH4/air stoichiometric mixtures, were diluted by different proportions of CO2/N2 to simulate the corresponding exhaust gas recirculation conditions in engines. High-speed photography was applied to visualize the jet ignition and combustion processes. The experimental results revealed that two ignition patterns existed in the pre-chambers depending on the diameter of orifices. Pre-chamber jet flame ignition pattern appeared when the orifice diameter of the pre-chamber exceeded a critical value, which produced jet flame and ignited the mixtures in the main chamber directly. Pre-chamber jet auto-ignition pattern produced jet which promoted the auto-ignition of mixture in the main chamber when the orifice diameter was smaller and presented much shorter combustion durations. Based on the experimental results in the rapid compression machine, a practical pre-chamber system was designed in a single-cylinder natural gas engine to investigate the combustion performance and emission characteristics. The experimental results indicated appropriate 0.8%–1.4% increases of indicated thermal efficiency were achieved by pre-chamber jet ignition due to the higher combustion efficiency and shorter combustion duration compared to conventional spark ignition. Lower total hydrocarbon and CO emissions but higher NO x emissions were produced by pre-chamber jet ignition due to the faster burning velocity and higher combustion temperature.

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