scholarly journals Effect of Premixed n-Butanol Ratio on the Initial Stage of Combustion in a Light-Duty Butanol/Diesel Dual-Fuel Engine

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 4295
Author(s):  
Wei Tian ◽  
Hongchuan Zhang ◽  
Lenian Wang ◽  
Zhiqiang Han ◽  
Wenbin Yu

The impact of premixed n-butanol mixture on the heat release rate was investigated based on a modified light-duty diesel engine. The results show that reactivity stratification is formed in the cylinder through n-butanol port fuel injection (PFI) and diesel direct injection (DI). The initial heat release rate of the diesel/butanol dual-fuel combustion is restrained due to the low ignitability of butanol and the high volatility. Because of the auto-ignition of diesel, premixed n-butanol undergoes a high-temperature reaction, which has an active influence on the heat releasing of diesel/butanol dual-fuel combustion. With the increase of the amount of premixed n-butanol injected, the heat release rate in the initial combustion period has a critical value. When the n-butanol injection quantity is less than 13 mg/cycle, the initial heat release rate of dual-fuel combustion is lower than the pure diesel combustion because the lean premixed n-butanol/air mixture limits the flame propagation. When the fuel injection rate of n-butanol is higher than 13 mg/cycle, the heat release rate is accelerated, leading to obvious flame propagation.


Author(s):  
Daniel G. Van Alstine ◽  
David T. Montgomery ◽  
Timothy J. Callahan ◽  
Radu C. Florea

Low natural gas prices have made the fuel an attractive alternative to diesel and other common fuels, particularly in applications that consume large quantities of fuel. The North American rail industry is examining the use of locomotives powered by dual fuel engines to realize savings in fuel costs. These dual fuel engines can substitute a large portion of the diesel fuel with natural gas that is premixed with the intake air. Engine knock in traditional premixed spark-ignited combustion is undesirable but well characterized by the Methane Number index, which quantifies the propensity of a gaseous fuel to autoignite after a period of time at high temperature. Originally developed for spark-ignited engines, the ability of the methane number index to predict a fuel’s “knock” behavior in dual fuel combustion is not as fully understood. The objective of this effort is to evaluate the ability of an existing methane number algorithm to predict rapid combustion in a dual fuel engine. Sets of specialized natural gas fuel blends that, according to the MWM methane number algorithm, should have similar knock characteristics are tested in a dual fuel engine and induced to experience rapid combustion. Test results and CFD analysis reveal that rapid or aggressive combustion rates happen late in the dual fuel combustion event with this engine hardware configuration. The transition from normal combustion to late rapid combustion is characterized by changes in the heat release rate profiles. In this study, the transition is also represented by a shift in the crank angle location of the combustion’s peak heat release rate. For fuels of similar methane number that should exhibit similar knock behavior, these transitions occur at significantly different relative air-fuel ratios, demonstrating that the existing MWM methane number algorithm, while excellent for spark-ignited engines, does not fully predict the propensity for rapid combustion to occur in a dual fuel engine within the scope of this study. This indicates that physical and chemical phenomena present in rapid or aggressive dual fuel combustion processes may differ from those in knocking spark-ignited combustion. In its current form a methane number algorithm can be used to conservatively rate dual fuel engines. It is possible that derivation of a new reactivity index that better predicts rapid combustion behavior of the gaseous fuel in dual fuel combustion would allow ratings to be less conservative.



Fuel ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 209 ◽  
pp. 587-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeongwoo Lee ◽  
Sanghyun Chu ◽  
Kyoungdoug Min ◽  
Minjae Kim ◽  
Hyunsung Jung ◽  
...  


Author(s):  
J Stewart ◽  
A Clarke

Dual-fuel engines are modified compression ignition engines, where the primary source of fuel is a gaseous fuel, and ignition is provided by a ‘pilot’ injection of a reduced quantity of diesel. The generally accepted understanding of the dual-fuel engine describes its combustion process as proceeding in three stages. Initially, around half of the pilot will burn and entrain some gaseous fuel into an overall fuel-rich process. Subsequently, the remaining pilot fuel burns and entrains an increasing amount of the primary fuel into its reaction zone. In the final stage, a flame propagation process engulfs the remaining gaseous fuel. In this article, a three-zone model for the analysis of heat-release rate during the dual-fuel combustion process will be derived. This model will be tested against data obtained for diesel combustion and then applied to experimental data from a dual-fuel test program. It will be shown that there is little evidence to support the generally accepted description of the dual-fuel combustion process in a direct injection engine. The conclusion of this work is that dual-fuel combustion may be better considered as a diesel combustion process, where the gaseous fuel modifies the reaction zone surrounding each igniting droplet of the pilot fuel.



2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeongwoo Lee ◽  
Sanghyun Chu ◽  
Jaegu Kang ◽  
Kyoungdoug Min ◽  
Hyunsung Jung ◽  
...  

In this research, there are two major sections for analysis: the characteristics of gasoline and diesel dual-fuel combustion and their application to operating load extension with high thermal efficiency and low emissions. All the experiments were completed using a single-cylinder compression ignition engine with 395 cc displacement. In the first section, the dual-fuel combustion modes were classified into three cases by their heat release rate shapes. Staying at 1500 r/min with a total value of 580 J of low heat for each cycle condition, the diesel injection timing was varied from before top dead center with a 6–46 °crank angle with 70% of gasoline fraction based on the low heating value. Among the modes were two suitable dual-fuel combustion modes for a premixed compression ignition. The first suitable mode shows multiple peaks in the heat release rate (mode 2) and the second suitable mode shows a single peak with a “bell-shaped” heat release rate (mode 3). These two dual-fuel combustion types showed a high gross indicated thermal efficiency of up to 46%. Based on the results in the first section, the practical application of dual-fuel premixed compression ignition combustion was investigated considering a high thermal efficiency and a high-load condition. At a 1500 r/min/gross indicated mean effective pressure of 6.5 bar, 48% of the gross indicated thermal efficiency was obtained by using dual-fuel premixed compression ignition combustion mode 3. This mode was typical of a “reactivity controlled compression ignition,” while the nitrogen oxides and the particulate matter emissions satisfied the EURO-6 regulation (0.21 g/kW h and 2.8 mg/m3, respectively). In addition, a high thermal efficiency (45%) with low maximum pressure rise rate, NOx (nitrogen oxides), and particulate matter emissions was obtained at 2000 r/min/gross indicated mean effective pressure 14 bar condition by the adjustment of dual-fuel premixed compression ignition combustion mode 2. As a result, this research contributes to the understanding and practical application of dual-fuel combustion for a light-duty compression ignition engine.



Author(s):  
Michael Jud ◽  
Georg Fink ◽  
Thomas Sattelmayer

In this paper, a multidimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model coupled with detailed chemistry calculations was used to analyze dual-fuel combustion based on high pressure direct injection of natural gas. The main focus was to analyze the capability of predicting pressure curve and heat release rate (HRR) for different injection strategies. Zero-dimensional homogeneous constant volume reactor calculations were used to select a reaction mechanism for the temperature range below 800 K. As the best-performing mechanism, the Chalmers mechanism was chosen. To validate the numerical model, the setup was first split into a single gas injection and a single Diesel injection. They were validated individually using shadowgraphs obtained from a Rapid Compression Expansion Machine (RCEM). Diesel ignition timing and position in the combustion chamber were close to experimental results. Gas direct injection showed good agreement with regard to penetration and mixing. In the dual-fuel setup, the injection timing of natural gas was varied to create a first case with mainly diffusive combustion and a second case with mainly premixed combustion of natural gas. For both setups good agreement with pressure curve and heat release rate were achieved. A qualitative comparison of shadowgraphs with the density field highlights the important points to predict dual-fuel combustion.



Fuel ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 312 ◽  
pp. 122842
Author(s):  
Francis Omotola Olanrewaju ◽  
Hu Li ◽  
Zahida Aslam ◽  
James Hammerton ◽  
Jon C. Lovett


Author(s):  
Makito Katayama ◽  
Naoya Fukushima ◽  
Masayasu Shimura ◽  
Mamoru Tanahashi ◽  
Toshio Miyauchi

Direct numerical simulations (DNSs) on autoignition and flame propagation of inhomogeneous methane–air mixtures in a closed vessel are conducted with considering detailed kinetic mechanism and temperature dependence of transport and thermal properties. The mixtures with spatial inhomogeneity of temperature or equivalence ratio are investigated. Periodic condition for non-heatloss cases or isothermal wall condition for heatloss cases is imposed on the boundaries. From the DNS results without heatloss, effects of spatial inhomogeneity of temperature and equivalence ratio on mean heat release rate are clarified. Increase of spatial variations of temperature or equivalence ratio suppresses drastic rise of mean heat release rate and reduces its maximum value. Autoignition process is affected by temperature more strongly than equivalence ratio. In the cases with heatloss, ignition delay increases and the maximum mean heat release rate decreases. After autoignition process, propagating flame is formed along walls. Heat transfer characteristics in a closed vessel are also discussed with combustion mechanisms.



Author(s):  
Chao Xu ◽  
Pinaki Pal ◽  
Xiao Ren ◽  
Sibendu Som ◽  
Magnus Sjöberg ◽  
...  

Abstract In the present study, mixed-mode combustion of an E30 fuel in a direct-injection spark-ignition engine is numerically investigated at a fuel-lean operating condition using multidimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A fuel surrogate matching Research Octane Number (RON) and Motor Octane Number (MON) of E30 is first developed using neural network based non-linear regression model. To enable efficient 3D engine simulations, a 164-species skeletal reaction mechanism incorporating NOx chemistry is reduced from a detailed chemical kinetic model. A hybrid approach that incorporates the G-equation model for tracking turbulent flame front, and the multi-zone well-stirred reactor model for predicting auto-ignition in the end gas, is employed to account for turbulent combustion interactions in the engine cylinder. Predicted in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate traces agree well with experimental measurements. The proposed modelling approach also captures moderated cyclic variability. Two different types of combustion cycles, corresponding to purely deflagrative and mixed-mode combustion, are observed. In contrast to the purely deflagrative cycles, mixed-mode combustion cycles feature early flame propagation followed by end-gas auto-ignition, leading to two distinctive peaks in heat release rate traces. The positive correlation between mixed-mode combustion cycles and early flame propagation is well captured by simulations. With the validated numerical setup, effects of NOx chemistry on mixed-mode combustion predictions are investigated. NOx chemistry is found to promote auto-ignition through residual gas recirculation, while the deflagrative flame propagation phase remains largely unaffected. Local sensitivity analysis is then performed to understand effects of physical and chemical properties of the fuel, i.e., heat of evaporation (HoV) and laminar flame speed (SL). An increased HoV tends to suppress end-gas auto-ignition due to increased vaporization cooling, while the impact of HoV on flame propagation is insignificant. In contrast, an increased SL is found to significantly promote both flame propagation and auto-ignition. The promoting effect of SL on auto-ignition is not a direct chemical effect; it is rather caused by an advancement of the combustion phasing, which increases compression heating of the end gas.



Author(s):  
S. Rajkumar ◽  
Shamit Bakshi ◽  
Pramod S. Mehta

The possibility of multiple-injection in Common Rail Direct Injection (CRDI) engine allows achieving improved combination of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and smoke emissions. In CRDI engines, the turbulent kinetic energy due to high pressure fuel injection is primarily responsible for fuel air mixing and hence the in-cylinder mixture formation. The air fuel mixing characteristics in the case of multiple-injection are quite different from that of single injection schedule. In this work a zero-dimensional model is proposed for mixing rate calculations with multiple-injection scheduling. The model considers generation and dissipation of in-cylinder turbulence through processes namely fuel injection, air swirl and combustion. The model constants are fine tuned with respect to the data available in existing literature. The model predictions are validated with the available data for the cylinder pressure and heat release rate histories on known single and multiple-injection schedules. These comparisons show good agreement to establish the role of mixing rate variations with multiple-injection. A single set of constants were found to match the cylinder pressure and heat release rate histories for single and multiple-injection from different sources in the literature. Further, the mixing rate and peak temperature predictions of the model are found to relate with the possible effect of specific injection scheduling on emission reductions reported in CRDI engine investigations.



Author(s):  
Yoshiyuki Kidoguchi ◽  
Michiko Sanda ◽  
Kei Miwa

Abstract This study investigated the effect of combustion chamber geometry and initial mixture distribution on combustion process in a direct-injection diesel engine by means of experiment and CFD calculation. The high squish combustion chamber with squish lip could produce simultaneous reduction of NOx and particulate emissions with retarded injection timing in the real engine experiment. According to the CFD computation, the high squish combustion chamber with central pip is effective to continue combustion under the squish lip until the end of combustion and the combustion region forms rich and high turbulence atmosphere, which reduces NOx emissions. This chamber can also reduce initial burning because combustion continues under the squish lip. The CFD computation is also carried out in order to investigate the effect of initial mixture distribution on combustion process. The results suggest that mixture distribution affects the history of heat release rate. When fuel is distributed in the bottom or wide region in the combustion chamber, burned gas tends to spread to the cavity center and initial heat release rate becomes high. On the contrary, the high squish combustion chamber with central pip produces lower initial heat release rate because combustion with local rich condition continues long under the squish lip. Diffusion burning is promoted by high swirl motion in this chamber with keeping lower initial heat release rate.



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