scholarly journals Numerical Investigation of the Turbulent Flame Propagation in Dual Fuel Engines by Means of Large Eddy Simulation

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 5036
Author(s):  
Jens Frühhaber ◽  
Thomas Lauer
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Heat Release ◽  
Turbulent Flame ◽  
Fuel Combustion ◽  
Dual Fuel ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Reaction Zones ◽  
Dual Fuel Combustion ◽  
Reduce Emissions

Dual fuel combustion depicts a possible alternative to reduce emissions from large engines and is characterized by injecting a small amount of diesel fuel into a lean natural gas–air mixture. Thereby, the presence of autoignition, diffusive and premixed combustion determine the high complexity of this process. In this work, an Extended Coherent Flame Model was adapted to consider the effect of natural gas on the ignition delay time. This model was afterward utilized to simulate 25 consecutive engine cycles employing LES. In this framework, the ensemble-average flow field was compared to a RANS solution to assess the advantages of LES in terms of the prediction of the in-cylinder flow field. A detailed investigation of the heat release characteristic showed that natural gas already highly contributes to the heat release at the beginning of combustion. Furthermore, a methodology to investigate the turbulent combustion regimes was utilized. It could be ascertained that the combustion mainly occurs in the regime of thin reaction zones. Possible triggers of cycle-to-cycle variations were determined in the velocity fluctuations in the cylinder axis direction and the flame formation in the gaps between the spray plume. The findings support the understanding of dual fuel combustion and serve as a basis for developing future combustion models.

Ability of the Methane Number Index of a Fuel to Predict Rapid Combustion in Heavy Duty Dual Fuel Engines for North American Locomotives

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel G. Van Alstine ◽  
David T. Montgomery ◽  
Timothy J. Callahan ◽  
Radu C. Florea
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Heat Release ◽  
Heat Release Rate ◽  
Release Rate ◽  
Fuel Combustion ◽  
Dual Fuel ◽  
Rapid Combustion ◽  
Dual Fuel Engines ◽  
Dual Fuel Combustion ◽  
Methane Number

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.

Experimental Investigation of the Natural Gas / Diesel Dual-Fuel Combustion Using a Rapid Compression Machine

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julio C. C. Eg\ausquiza ◽  
Sergio L. Braga ◽  
Carlos V. M. Braga ◽  
Antonio C. S. Villela ◽  
Newton R. Moura
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Fuel Combustion ◽  
Dual Fuel ◽  
Rapid Compression Machine ◽  
Dual Fuel Combustion ◽  
Rapid Compression

Numerical Simulation of a Large Bore Dual Fuel Marine Engine Using Tabulated Detailed Reaction Mechanisms

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha Andree ◽  
Dmitry Goryntsev ◽  
Martin Theile ◽  
Björn Henke ◽  
Karsten Schleef ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Mechanism ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Chemical Reaction ◽  
Reaction Mechanisms ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Fuel Combustion ◽  
Dual Fuel ◽  
Start Of Injection ◽  
Flamelet Generated Manifold ◽  
Dual Fuel Combustion

Abstract The simulation of a diesel natural gas dual fuel combustion process is the topic of this paper. Based on a detailed chemical reaction mechanism, which was applied for such a dual fuel combustion, the complete internal combustion engine process was simulated. Two single fuel combustion reaction mechanisms from literature were merged, to consider the simultaneous reaction paths of diesel and natural gas. N-heptane was chosen as a surrogate for diesel. The chemical reaction mechanisms are solved by applying a tabulation method using the software tool AVL Tabkin™. In combination with a Flamelet Generated Manifold (FGM) combustion model, this leads to a reduction of computational effort compared to a direct solving of the reaction mechanism, because of a decoupling of chemistry and flow calculations. Turbulence was modelled using an unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (URANS) model. In comparison to conventional combustion models, this approach allows for detailed investigations of the complex ignition process of the dual fuel combustion process. The unexpected inversely proportional relationship between start of injection (SOI) and start of combustion (SOC), a later start of injection makes for an earlier combustion of the main load, is only one of these interesting combustion phenomena, which can now be analyzed in detail. Further investigations are done for different engine load points and multiple pilot injection strategies. The simulation results are confirmed by experimental measurements at a medium speed dual fuel single cylinder research engine.

scholarly journals 1D Simulation and Experimental Analysis on the Effects of the Injection Parameters in Methane–Diesel Dual-Fuel Combustion

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3734
Author(s):  
Javier Monsalve-Serrano ◽  
Giacomo Belgiorno ◽  
Gabriele Di Blasio ◽  
María Guzmán-Mendoza
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Internal Combustion Engines ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Internal Combustion ◽  
Fuel Combustion ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Dual Fuel ◽  
Combustion Engines ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Dual Fuel Combustion

Notwithstanding the policies that move towards electrified powertrains, the transportation sector mainly employs internal combustion engines as the primary propulsion system. In this regard, for medium- to heavy-duty applications, as well as for on- and off-road applications, diesel engines are preferred because of the better efficiency, lower CO2, and greater robustness compared to spark-ignition engines. Due to its use at a large scale, the internal combustion engines as a source of energy depletion and pollutant emissions must further improved. In this sense, the adoption of alternative combustion concepts using cleaner fuels than diesel (e.g., natural gas, ethanol and methanol) presents a viable solution for improving the efficiency and emissions of the future powertrains. Particularly, the methane–diesel dual-fuel concept represents a possible solution for compression ignition engines because the use of the low-carbon methane fuel, a main constituent of natural gas, as primary fuel significantly reduces the CO2 emissions compared to conventional liquid fuels. Nonetheless, other issues concerning higher total hydrocarbon (THC) and CO emissions, mainly at low load conditions, are found. To minimize this issue, this research paper evaluates, through a new and alternative approach, the effects of different engine control parameters, such as rail pressure, pilot quantity, start of injection and premixed ratio in terms of efficiency and emissions, and compared to the conventional diesel combustion mode. Indeed, for a deeper understanding of the results, a 1-Dimensional spray model is used to model the air-fuel mixing phenomenon in response to the variations of the calibration parameters that condition the subsequent dual-fuel combustion evolution. Specific variation settings, in terms of premixed ratio, injection pressure, pilot quantity and combustion phasing are proposed for further efficiency improvements.

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