bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cylinder-Specific Combustion Phasing Modeling for a Multiple-Cylinder Diesel Engine
Authors: Sui Wenbo , Hall Carrie M.
Published: January 2019

An optimal combustion phasing leads to a high combustion efficiency and low carbon emissions in diesel engines. With the increasing complexity of diesel engines, model-based control of combustion phasing is becoming indispensable, but precise prediction of combustion phasing is required for such strategies. Since cylinder-to-cylinder variations in combustion can be more significant with advanced combustion techniques, this work focuses on developing a control-oriented combustion phasing model that can be leveraged to provide cylinder-specific estimates. The pressure and temperature of the intake gas reaching each cylinder are predicted by a semi-empirical model and the coefficients of this intake pressure and temperature model are varied from cylinder-to-cylinder. A knock integral model is leveraged to estimate the SOC (start of combustion) and the burn duration is predicted as a function of EGR fraction, equivalence ratio of fuel and residual gas fraction in a burn duration model. After that, a Wiebe function is utilized to estimate CA50 (crank angle at 50% mass of fuel has burned). This cylinder-specific combustion phasing prediction model is calibrated and validated across a variety of operating conditions. A large range of EGR fraction and fuel equivalence ratio were tested in these simulations including EGR levels from 0 to 50%, and equivalence ratios from 0.5 to 0.9. The results show that the combustion phasing prediction model can estimate CA50 with an uncertainty of ±0.5 crank angle degree in all six cylinders. The impact of measurement errors on the accuracy of the prediction model is also discussed in this paper.
An Experimental Study on Fuel Economy Improvement of a Marine Diesel Engine Using a Sequential Turbocharging System
Authors: Wang Hechun , Li Xiannan , Wang Yinyan , Li Hailin
Published: January 2019

Marine diesel engines usually operate on a highly boosted intake pressure. The reciprocating feature of diesel engines and the continuous flow operation characteristics of the turbocharger (TC) make the matching between the turbocharger and diesel engine very challenging. Sequential turbocharging (STC) technology is recognized as an effective approach in improving the fuel economy and exhaust emissions especially at low speed and high torque when a single stage turbocharger is not able to boost the intake air to the pressure needed. The application of STC technology also extends engine operation toward a wider range than that using a single-stage turbocharger.

This research experimentally investigated the potential of a STC system in improving the performance of a TBD234V12 model marine diesel engine originally designed to operate on a single-stage turbocharger. The STC system examined consisted of a small (S) turbocharger and a large (L) turbocharger which were installed in parallel. Such a system can operate on three boosting modes noted as 1TC-S, 1TC-L and 2TC. A rule-based control algorithm was developed to smoothly switch the STC operation mode using engine speed and load as references. The potential of the STC system in improving the performance of this engine was experimentally examined over a wide range of engine speed and load. When operated at the standard propeller propulsion cycle, the application of the STC system reduced the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) by 3.12% averagely. The average of the exhaust temperature before turbine was decreased by 50°C. The soot and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions were reduced respectively. The examination of the engine performance over an entire engine speed and torque range demonstrated the super performance of the STC system in extending the engine operation toward the high torque at low speed (900 to 1200 RPM) while further improving the fuel economy as expected. The engine maximum torque at 900 rpm was increased from 1680Nm to 2361 Nm (40.5%). The average BSFC over entire working area was improved by 7.4%. The BSFC at low load and high torque was significantly decreased. The application of the STC system also decreased the average NOx emissions by 31.5% when examined on the propeller propulsion cycle.
In-Cylinder CO2 Sampling Using Skip-Firing Method
Authors: Duckhouse Matthew , Peckham Mark , Mason Byron , Winward Edward , Hammond Matthew
Published: January 2019

Skip-firing (or cylinder de-activation) was assessed as a method of sampling CO2 from directly in the cylinder at higher speeds than previously possible. CO2 was directly sampled from one cylinder of a 1-litre 3-cylinder gasoline engine to determine the residual gas fraction using a fast response CO/CO2 analyser. Acquisition of data for similar measurements is typically limited to engine speeds of below 1300 rpm to allow full resolution of the sample, through the analyser that has an 8 millisecond finite response time. In order to sample in-cylinder CO2 at higher engine speeds a skip-firing method is developed. By shutting off ignition intermittently during engine operation, the residual CO2 from the last firing cycle can be measured at significantly higher engine speeds. Comparison of residual gas fraction CO2 at low speeds for normal and skip-fire operation shows good correlation. This suggests that skip-firing is a suitable method for directly measuring internal exhaust gas recirculation up to at least 3000 rpm. The measurements obtained may provide a useful tool for validating internal exhaust gas recirculation models and could be used to calculate combustion air-fuel ratio from the CO and CO2 content of the burned gas. These are typically complicated parameters to predict due to the slow response time and sensitivity to hydrocarbons of wide-band oxygen sensors. A differing pattern of residual gas fraction change with increasing speed was seen between normal and skipfire operation.
Investigation of NO2 Formation Kinetics in Dual-Fuel Engines With Lean Premixed Methane-Air Charge
Authors: Arabian Ehsan , Sattelmayer Thomas
Published: January 2019

A dual fuel engine concept with lean premixed methane-air charge ignited by a diesel pilot flame is highly promising for reducing NOx and soot emissions. One drawback of this combustion method, however, is the high nitric dioxide (NO2) emissions observed at certain operating points. NO2 is a toxic gas, which is identifiable by its yellow color.

In this paper the conditions leading to increased NO2 formation have been investigated using a batch reactor model in Cantera. In a first step, it has been found that the high emission levels of NO2 can be traced back to the mixing of small amounts of quenched CH4 with NO from the hot combustion zones followed by post-oxidation in the presence of O2, requiring that the temperatures are within a certain range.

In the second step, NO2 formation in the exhaust duct of a test engine has been modeled and compared to the experimental results. For that purpose a well-stirred reactor model has been used that calculates the steady-state of a uniform composition for a certain residence time. An appropriate reaction mechanism that considers the effect of NO/NO2 on methane oxidation at low temperature levels has been used.

The numerical results of NO to NO2 conversion in the duct at low temperature and pressure levels show good agreement with the experimental results for various temperatures and concentrations of unburned methane. The partial oxidation of CH4 can be predicted well. It can be shown that methane oxidation in the presence of NO/NO2 at low temperature levels is enhanced via the reaction steps CH3 + NO2 ⇌ CH3O + NO and CH3O2 + NO ⇌ CH3O + NO2. In addition the elementary reaction HO2 + NO ⇌ NO2 + OH is the important NO oxidizing step.
Numerical Simulation of Ignition Mechanism in the Main Chamber of Turbulent Jet Ignition System
Authors: Muller Matias , Freeman Corbin , Zhao Peng , Ge Haiwen
Published: January 2019

The ignition mechanism of a lean premixed CHVair mixture by a hot turbulent jet issued from the pre-chamber combustion is investigated using 3D combustion CFD. The turbulent jet ignition experiments conducted in the rapid compression machine (RCM) at Michigan State University (MSU) were simulated. A full simulation was carried out first using RANS model for validation, the results of which were then taken as the boundary condition for the detailed simulations using both RANS and LES. To isolate the thermal and chemical kinetic effects from the hot jet, two different inlet conditions of the chamber were considered: inert case (including thermal effects only) and reactive case (accounting for both thermal and chemical kinetic effects). It is found that the chemical kinetic effects are important for the ignition in the main chamber. Comparison of OH and HRR (heat release rate) computed by RANS and LES shows that RANS predicts slightly faster combustion, which implies higher predicted turbulent flame speed. Correlations between vorticity, mixing field, and temperature field are observed, which indicate that the flow dynamics strongly influence the mixing process near the flame front, and consequently affect flame propagation.
Numerical Analysis of a Six-Stroke Gasoline Compression Ignition (GCI) Engine Combustion With Continuously Variable Valve Duration (CVVD) Control
Authors: Rajput Oudumbar , Ra Youngchul , Ha Kyoung-Pyo , Son You-sang
Published: January 2019

Engine performance and emissions of a six-stroke Gasoline Compression Ignition (GCI) engine with wide range of Continuously Variable Valve Duration (CVVD) control were numerically investigated at low engine load conditions. For the simulations, an in-house 3-D CFD code with high fidelity physical sub-models was used and the combustion and emissions kinetics were computed using a reduced kinetics mechanism for a 14-component gasoline surrogate fuel. Double injections were employed to effectively form the local fuel/air mixtures with optimal reactivity. Several valve timing and duration variations through the CVVD control were considered under both positive valve overlap (PVO) and negative valve overlap (NVO) conditions. Effects of intake-valve re-breathing between the first expansion and the second compression strokes were also investigated.

Close attention was paid to understand the effects of two additional strokes of the engine cycle on the thermal and chemical conditions of charge mixtures that alter ignition, combustion and energy recovery processes. Double injections were found to be necessary to effectively utilize the additional two strokes for the combustion of overly mixed lean charge mixtures during the second power stroke (PS2). It was found that combustion phasing in both power strokes is effectively controlled by the intake valve closure (IVC) timing since it affects the effective compression ratio. Engine operation under NVO condition with fixed exhaust valve opening (EVO) and IVC timings tends to advance the ignition timing of the first power stroke (PS1) but has minimal effect on the ignition timing of PS2. Re-breathing was found to be an effective way to control the ignition timing in PS2 at a slight expense of the combustion efficiency.

The operation of a six-stroke GCI engine could be successfully simulated and the operability range of the engine could be substantially extended by employing the CVVD technique. In addition, the control of valve timings could successfully control the thermodynamic and compositional conditions of in-cylinder mixtures that enable to control the combustion phasing.
Experimental Investigation of a Heavy-Duty CI Engine Retrofitted to Natural Gas SI Operation
Authors: Liu Jinlong , Bommisetty Hemanth , Dumitrescu Cosmin E.
Published: January 2019

Heavy-duty compression-ignition (CI) engines converted to natural gas (NG) operation can reduce the dependence on petroleum-based fuels and curtail greenhouse gas emissions. Such an engine was converted to premixed NG spark-ignition (SI) operation through the addition of a gas injector in the intake manifold and of a spark plug in place of the diesel injector. Engine performance and combustion characteristics were investigated at several lean-burn operating conditions that changed fuel composition, spark timing, equivalence ratio, and engine speed. While the engine operation was stable, the reentrant bowl-in-piston (a characteristic of a CI engine) influenced the combustion event such as producing a significant late-combustion, particularly for advanced spark timing. This was due to an important fraction of the fuel burning late in the squish region, which affected the end of combustion, the combustion duration, and the cycle-to-cycle variation. However, the lower cycle-to-cycle variation, stable combustion event, and the lack of knocking suggest a successful conversion of conventional diesel engines to NG SI operation using the approach described here.
Numerical Investigation on the Effect of Advanced Breakup Model on Spray Simulation of a Multi-Hole Injector
Authors: Tripathy Srinibas , Sahoo Sridhar , Srivastava Dhananjay Kumar
Published: January 2019

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) plays a tremendous role in evaluating and visualizing the spray breakup, atomization and vaporization process. In this study, ANSYS Forte CFD tool was used to simulate the spray penetration length and spray morphology in a constant volume chamber at different grid size of a multi-hole injector. An unsteady gas jet model was coupled with Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) and Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) model for multi-hole spray simulation. The effect of CFD cell size and ambient gas pressure on spray penetration length and spray morphology of fuel vapor mass fraction were investigated for both KH-RT and KH-RT with the unsteady gas jet model. It is found that KH-RT with the unsteady gas jet model shows mesh independent spray penetration length and spray morphology of fuel vapor mass fraction as compared to KH-RT model. This can be explained by the Lagrangian-Eulerian coupling of axial droplet-gas relative velocity is modeled on the principle of unsteady gas jet theory instead of discretizing very fine grid to the computational domain. This reduces the requirement of fine mesh near the nozzle and allows larger time step during spray injection. It is also observed that at higher ambient gas pressure, an aerodynamic force between the droplet and gas intensifies which reduces the overall spray penetration length and fuel vapor mass. The distorted spray morphology of fuel vapor mass fraction was accurately predicted at high ambient gas pressure using the KH-RT with an unsteady gas jet model which results in mesh independent drag predictions. The use of advanced spray model results in the mesh size dependency reduction and accurate drag prediction with less computational time and faster accurate solutions over all conventional spray breakup models.
Modular 9.0L and 4.5L Non-Road Spark-Ignited Engines for Power Generation
Authors: Gillette Allen , Dees Jesse , Crudden John , Petcoff Anthony
Published: January 2019

Following the successful commercial use of a 9.0L, V-8 automotive-derivative engine for stationary power generation, a new 4.5L, four-cylinder engine has been developed utilizing a modular family design approach. Substantial commonality of power cylinder components has been achieved including the complete power cylinder and cylinder head. This paper describes the design and development approach to the engine family.

These spark-ignited engines are typically used for standby emergency power and demand response applications utilizing commercial grade natural gas or propane. Driving a synchronous electrical generator operating at 60 HZ or 50Hz, engine speeds are either 1800 rpm/3600 rpm or 1500 rpm/3000 rpm respectively, depending upon selection of either a 2-pole or 4-pole alternating current generator. Designed for stoichiometric combustion, the engine configurations can include naturally-aspirated, turbocharged or turbocharged and after-cooled versions. Depending upon end-use applications, exhaust emissions technology and regulatory compliance can be met solely through engine calibration or inclusion of a 3-way catalyst with active air-fuel ratio control.

Since the 9.0L engine version was successfully introduced in 2012, significant efforts have been undertaken to achieve commonality of desired features between the existing veeengine and the future in-line versions, including optimization of performance characteristics in consideration of future power rating structures. Starting from 9.0L commercial introduction, the content herein specifically describes the development of the new 4.5L engine with regard to design and analysis.
A Computational Investigation of Non-Premixed Combustion of Natural Gas Injected Into Mixture of Argon and Oxygen
Authors: Shahsavan Martia , Morovatiyan Mohammadrasool , Mack J. Hunter
Published: January 2019

Natural gas is traditionally considered as a promising fuel in comparison to gasoline due to the potential of lower emissions and significant domestic reserves. These emissions can be further diminished by using noble gases, such as argon, instead of nitrogen as the working fluid in internal combustion engines. Furthermore, the use of argon as the working fluid can increase the thermodynamic efficiency due to its higher specific heat ratio. In comparison to pre-mixed operation, the direct injection of natural gas enables the engine to reach higher compression ratios while avoiding knock. Using argon as the working fluid increases the in-cylinder temperature at top dead center and enables the compression ignition of natural gas. In this numerical study, the combustion quality and ignition behavior of methane injected into a mixture of oxygen and argon has been investigated using a three-dimensional transient model of a constant volume combustion chamber. A dynamic structure large eddy simulation model has been utilized to capture the behavior of the non-premixed turbulent gaseous jet. A reduced mechanism consists of 22-species and 104-reactions were coupled with the CFD solver. The simulation results show that the methane jet ignites at engine-relevant conditions when nitrogen is replaced by argon as the working fluid. Ignition delay times are compared across a variety of operating conditions to show how mixing affects jet development and flame characteristics.
Application of Variable Valve Actuation Strategies and Direct Gasoline Injection Schemes to Reduce Combustion Harshness and Emissions of Boosted HCCI Engine
Authors: Hunicz Jacek , Mikulski Maciej
Published: January 2019

One of the pending issues regarding Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engines is high load operation limit constrained by excessive pressure rise rates (PRRs). The present study investigates various measures to reduce combustion harness in a residual-affected HCCI engine. At the same time, the impact of those measures on efficiency and emissions is assessed. Experimental research was performed on a single cylinder engine equipped with a fully-flexible valvetrain mechanism and direct gasoline injection. The HCCI combustion mode with exhaust gas trapping was realized using negative valve overlap and fuel reforming, achieved via the injection of a portion of fuel during exhaust re-compression.

Three measures are investigated for the PRR control under the same reference operating conditions, namely: (i) variable intake and exhaust valve timing, (ii) boost pressure adjustment and (iii) split fuel injection to control the amount of fuel injected for reforming. Variable exhaust valve timing enabled control of the amount of trapped residuals, and thus of the compression temperature. The reduction in the amount of trapped residuals, at elevated engine load, delays auto-ignition, which results in a simultaneous reduction of pressure rise rates and nitrogen oxides emissions. The effects of intake valve timing are much more complex, because they include the variability in the amount of intake air, the thermodynamic compression ratio as well as the in-cylinder fluid flow. It was found, however, that both early and late intake valve openings delay auto-ignition and prolong combustion. Additionally, the reduction of the amount of fuel injected during exhaust re-compression further delays combustion and reduces combustion rates. Intake pressure reduction has by far the largest effect on peak pressure reduction yet is connected with excessive NOx emissions. The research successfully identifies air-path and injection techniques, which allow for the control of combustion rates and emissions under elevated load regime, thus shorting the gap towards the real-world application of HCCI concepts.
Experimental Investigation of Soot Accumulation and Regeneration in a Catalyzed Gasoline Particulate Filter Utilizing Particulate Quantification and Gas Speciation Measurements
Authors: Rathod Dhruvang , Onori Simona , Filipi Zoran , Hoffman Mark
Published: January 2019

Recent particulate regulations for gasoline passenger cars have prompted the utilization of Gasoline Particulate Filters (GPF’s) to mitigate particulate emissions. This study overviews a comprehensive experimental methodology for examination of essential GPF parameters: spatial exothermic temperature rise, particulate trapping efficiency, and the pressure rise versus particulate loading. A GDI vehicle equipped with a subfloor catalytically washcoated GPF downstream of the three-way catalyst was operated on a chassis dynamometer for data collection. Accelerated soot accumulation procedures were developed to expedite the testing while avoiding passive particulate regeneration based on both particulate concentration and size distributions. Soot concentrations pre and post GPF were used to measure the soot trapping efficiency and total soot accumulation. Fuel-cut coast events, common in real-world driving, were utilized to initiate worst case GPF regenerations, namely regenerations which produce maximum temperature rise due to the limited exhaust flow through the GPF. CO2 measurements simultaneously measured before and after the GPF were examined to calculate the quantity of soot burned during each regeneration event. Thermocouples located inside the GPF were implemented to obtain the spatially disparate, transient temperature traces and analyzed to obtain insights on the soot distribution inside the GPF. The maximum exothermic temperature rise within the GPF was tracked for different soot loadings and regeneration temperatures to ensure GPF substrate and catalytic washcoat health. Most initial soot loadings required multiple ‘fuel-cut coast’ regenerations for complete soot oxidation of all trapped particulate mass.

Additionally, externally supplied oxygen was utilized to obtain complete GPF regeneration in a single event. This purpose built system created O2 availability while maintaining constant GPF temperatures, similar to actively commanding lean A/F ratios during vehicle operation. Emissions measurements indicated that this system successfully regenerated all GPF soot. However, due to magnitude disparity between exhaust flow and total exothermic heat released, the thermocouples inside the GPF recorded only minimal exothermic temperature rises, providing confidence that lean active regeneration strategies pose little threat to GPF health.
Optimization of Electrode Arrangement and Prechamber Geometry of Passive Prechamber Spark Plugs for Turbocharged Gas Engines With High Charge Motion
Authors: Mairegger Dominik , Herdin Rüdiger , Konstantinoff Lucas , Möltner Lukas
Published: January 2019

Turbocharged gas engines for combined heat and power units are optimized to increase efficiency while observing and maintaining legitimate exhaust gas emissions. In order to do so, the charge motion is raised. This study investigates the influence of passive prechamber spark plugs in high turbulent combustion chambers. The subjects of investigation are two different gas engine types, one of them running on sewage gas the other one on biogas. The occurring charge motions initiated by the cylinder heads are measured by integrative determination of swirl motion on a flow bench. In addition, three different passive prechamber spark plugs are characterized by a combustion analysis. Each of the three spark plugs comes with a different electrode or prechamber geometry. The resulting combustion and operating conditions are compared while the equal brake mean effective pressure and constant NOx-emissions are sustained. The results of the combustion analysis show a rising influence of the spark plug with increasing air-to-fuel-ratio induced by charge motion. Furthermore, clear differences between the spark plugs are determined: electrode arrangement and prechamber geometry help to influence lean misfire limits, engine smoothness, start behavior and ignition delay. The results indicate the capability of spark plugs to increase lifetime and engine efficiency.
Effects of Injection Pressure on Emission and Components of Particulate Matter From Marine Diesel Engine
Authors: Nakamura Mayuko , Ohashi Atsuto , Niki Yoichi , Masuda Akiko , Takahashi Chiori
Published: January 2019

Reduction of particulate matter (PM) is important issues even for shipping industry since PM harms the environment and human health. In order to reduce PM from marine diesel engines, we focused on components forming PM, elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), sulfate, and “others” (nitrate, bound water associated with sulfate, metal, ash and hydrogen associated with OC), and investigated the reduction effect of each component by changing fuel injection pressure of a four-stroke marine diesel engine at the two engine load points of 25% and 50%. At 50% load, the PM emissions decreased with increasing the fuel injection pressure, the reduction in the PM emissions which reflected the decrease in EC. At 25% load, the PM emissions did not decrease simply with the injection pressure since OC, sulfate, “others” components in addition to EC contributed to the injection pressure dependence of PM. The results suggest that behaviors of each component of PM should be grasped to achieve the appropriate reduction method of PM.
Injector Tip Temperature and Combustion Performance of a Natural Gas-Diesel Dual Fuel Engine at Medium and High Load Conditions
Authors: Guo Hongsheng , Liko Brian
Published: January 2019

Diesel engines have been widely used due to the higher reliability and superior fuel conversion efficiency. However, they still generate significant amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and particulate matter (PM) emissions. Natural gas is a low carbon and clean fuel that generates less CO2 and PM emissions than diesel during combustion. Replacing diesel by natural gas in internal combustion engines help reduce both CO2 and PM emissions. Natural gas – diesel dual fuel combustion is a practical and efficient way to replace diesel by natural gas in internal combustion engines. One concern for dual fuel combustion engines is the diesel injector tip temperature increase with increasing natural gas fraction.

This paper reports an experimental investigation on the diesel injector tip temperature variation and combustion performance of a natural gas – diesel dual fuel engine at medium and high load conditions. The natural gas fraction was changed from zero to 90% in the experiment. The results suggest that the injector tip temperature increased with increasing natural gas fraction at a given diesel injection timing or with advancing the diesel injection timing at a given natural gas fraction. However, the injector tip temperature never exceeded 250 °C in the whole experimental range. The effect of natural gas fraction on combustion performance depended on engine load and diesel injection timing.
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Argon Power Cycle
Authors: Sierra Aznar Miguel , Chorou Farouk , Chen Jyh-Yuan , Dreizler Andreas , Dibble Robert W.
Published: January 2019

Carbon capture has been deemed crucial by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change if the world is to achieve the ambitious goals stated in the Paris agreement. A deeper integration of renewable energy sources is also needed if we are to mitigate the large amount of greenhouse gas emitted as a result of increasing world fossil fuel energy consumption. These new power technologies bring an increased need for distributed fast dispatch power and energy storage that counteract their intermittent nature. A novel technological approach to provide fast dispatch emission free power is the use of the Argon Power Cycle, a technology that makes carbon capture an integral part of its functioning principle. The core concept behind this technology is a closed loop internal combustion engine cycle working with a monoatomic gas in concert with a membrane gas separation unit. By replacing the working fluid of internal combustion engines with a synthetic mixture of monoatomic gases and oxygen, the theoretical thermal efficiency can be increased up to 80%, more than 20% over conventional air cycles. Furthermore, the absence of nitrogen in the system prevents formation of nitrogen oxides, eliminating the need for expensive exhaust gas after-treatment and allowing for efficient use of renewable generated hydrogen fuel. In the case of hydrocarbon fuels, the closed loop nature of the cycle affords to boost the pressure and concentration of gases in the exhaust stream at no penalty to the cycle, providing the driving force to cost effective gas membrane separation of carbon dioxide. In this work we investigated the potential benefits of the Argon Power Cycle to improve upon current stationary power generation systems regarding efficiency, air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. A cooperative fuel research engine was used to carry out experiments and evaluate engine performance in relation to its air breathing counterpart. A 30% efficiency improvement was achieved and results showed a reduction on engine heat losses and an overall increase on the indicated mean effective pressure, despite the lesser oxygen content present in the working fluid. Greenhouse gas emissions were reduced as expected due to a substantial increase in efficiency and nitric oxides were eliminated as it was expected. Numerical simulation were carried out to predict the performance and energy penalty of a membrane separation unit. Energy penalties as low as 2% were obtained capturing 100% of the carbon dioxide generated.
CI Engine Model Predictive Control With Availability Destruction Minimization
Authors: Abotabik Muataz , Meyer Richard T.
Published: January 2019

Major interests in the automotive industry include the use of alternative fuels and reduced fuel usage to address fuel supply security concerns and regulatory requirements. The majority of previous internal combustion engine (ICE) control strategies consider only the First Law of Thermodynamics (FLT). However, FLT is not able to distinguish losses in work potential due to irreversibilities, e.g., up to 25% of fuel exergy may be lost to irreversibilities. To account for these losses, the Second Law of Thermodynamics (SLT) is applicable. The SLT is used to identify the quality of an energy source via availability since not all the energy in a particular energy source is available to produce work; therefore optimal control that includes availability may be another path toward reduced fuel use. Herein, Model Predictive Control (MPC) is developed for both FLT and SLT approaches where fuel consumption is minimized in the former and availability destruction in the latter. Additionally, both include minimization of load tracking error. The controls are evaluated in the simulation of a single cylinder naturally aspirated compression ignition engine that is fueled with either 20% biodiesel and 80% diesel blend or diesel only. Control simulations at a constant engine speed and changing load profile show that the SLT approach results in higher SLT efficiency, reduced specific fuel consumption, and decreased NOx emissions. Further, compared to use of diesel only, use of the biodiesel blend resulted in less SLT efficiency, higher specific fuel consumption, and lower NOx emissions.
Development of a Species-Based Extended Coherent Flamelet Model (SB-ECFM) for Gasoline Direct Injection Engine (GDI) Simulations
Authors: Colin O. , Chevillard S. , Bohbot J. , Senecal P. K. , Pomraning E. , Wang M.
Published: January 2019

The current work presents a recent development of the Extended Coherent Flamelet Model (ECFM) for 3D combustion modeling in spark-ignited gasoline engines. The reference-based ECFM model, originally published in 2003, computes the conditional unburned and burned gas species mass fractions from both real species and species tracers. This current work is motivated by two limitations of the reference-based model. First, the difference between convection of species tracers and convection of real species leads to small discrepancies between the two, due to high velocity gradients during gas exchange. This can lead to inaccurate estimation of the progress variable and consequently to negative conditional mass fractions in the burned gases after ignition. Second, the reference-based ECFM model assumes implicitly that the unburned and burned states correspond to the same mixture fraction. This assumption is valid for low stratification cases, but it can lead to substantial conditioning errors for highly stratified systems like gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines. To address these shortcomings, a new species-based ECFM (SB-ECFM) implementation is presented. In this species-based model, the unburned and burned gas states are entirely defined by the transported species in each zone. It is shown that SB-ECFM more reliably defines conditional quantities and the progress variable. This enhancement allows the use of a second-order central scheme in space when using full decoupling of auto-ignition and premixed flame progress variables as proposed in Robert et al., Proc. Comb. Inst, 2015, while the reference model is limited to the first-order upwind scheme in this case. Finally, simulations of a GDI engine are presented at different loads and rpm conditions. It is shown that, with the higher order scheme, SB-ECFM demonstrates very good agreement with measured pressure.
Investigating the Potential of an Integrated Coolant Waste Heat Recovery System in an HD Engine Using PPC Operation
Authors: Singh Vikram , Svensson Erik , Verhelst Sebastian , Tuner Martin
Published: January 2019

With the increasing focus on reducing emissions and making fuel efficient vehicles within the automotive industry over the past few years, new methods are constantly being investigated to improve the efficiency of the powertrain. One such method is recovering waste heat from the exhaust gases as well as the coolant using a thermodynamic cycle such as a Rankine cycle. However, most studies looking into low temperature or coolant heat recovery investigate the use of a separate secondary cycle for the recovery of waste heat itself. This has the disadvantage of having the working fluid at a lower temperature than the coolant which reduces the recovery efficiency. This paper investigates the potential of an integrated Rankine cycle waste heat recovery system where the coolant also acts as the refrigerant and is integrated with the exhaust gas recirculation waste heat recovery. The refrigerant/coolant used for this study is ethanol, while being used in two modes for low temperature/coolant recovery: using the engine as the preheater and using it as an evaporator. Using a combination of GT Power and Matlab, a Scania D13 engine was simulated in partially premixed combustion operation with a waste heat recovery system. For the engine load-speed range, the coolant flow rate, pressure ratio and superheat were swept for determining the optimal values for maximizing output power. It was seen that while using the engine both as a preheater and as an evaporator the recoverable power increased in comparison to using only the exhaust gas recirculation heat for recovery. When using the engine for preheating, the recoverable power increased marginally with an indicated efficiency gain of less than 0.5 percentage points whereas when using the engine for the evaporation of the coolant, the indicated efficiency showed gains of up to 1.7 percentage points in comparison to using EGR-only heat recovery with a total gain in indicated efficiency of up to 5.5 percentage points. This larger gain in recoverable power while using the engine as an evaporator in comparison to as a preheater is due to the location of the pinch point in analyzing the heat exchange process. The system behavior was also studied with regards to the pressure ratio, the mass flow rate of coolant and the superheat. It was generally observed that at higher loads and speeds these parameters increased as more waste heat was available for recovery for the system.
Predicting Cycle-to-Cycle Variation With Concurrent Cycles in a Gasoline Direct Injected Engine With Large Eddy Simulations
Authors: Probst Daniel , Wijeyakulasuriya Sameera , Pomraning Eric , Kodavasal Janardhan , Scarcelli Riccardo , Som Sibendu
Published: January 2019

High cycle-to-cycle variation (CCV) is detrimental to engine performance, as it leads to poor combustion and high noise and vibration. In this work, CCV in a gasoline engine is studied using large eddy simulation (LES). The engine chosen as the basis of this work is a single-cylinder gasoline direct injection (GDI) research engine. Two stoichiometric part-load engine operating points (6 BMEP, 2000 RPM) were evaluated: a non-dilute (0% EGR) case and a dilute (18% EGR) case. The experimental data for both operating conditions had 500 cycles. The measured CCV in IMEP was 1.40% for the non-dilute case and 7.78% for the dilute case.

To estimate CCV from simulation, perturbed concurrent cycles of engine simulations were compared to consecutively obtained engine cycles. The motivation behind this is that running consecutive cycles to estimate CCV is quite time-consuming. For example, running 100 consecutive cycles requires 2–3 months (on a typical cluster), however, by running concurrently one can potentially run all 100 cycles at the same time and reduce the overall turnaround time for 100 cycles to the time taken for a single cycle (2 days).

The goal of this paper is to statistically determine if concurrent cycles, with a perturbation applied to each individual cycle at the start, can be representative of consecutively obtained cycles and accurately estimate CCV. 100 cycles were run for each case to obtain statistically valid results. The concurrent cycles began at different timings before the combustion event, with the motivation to identify the closest time before spark to minimize the run time. Only a single combustion cycle was run for each concurrent case. The calculated standard deviation of peak pressure and coefficient of variance (COV) of indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) were compared between the consecutive and concurrent methods to quantify CCV.

It was found that the concurrent method could be used to predict CCV with either a velocity or numerical perturbation. A large and small velocity perturbation were compared and both produced correct predictions, implying that the type of perturbation is not important to yield a valid realization.

Starting the simulation too close to the combustion event, at intake valve close (IVC) or at spark timing, under-predicted the CCV. When concurrent simulations were initiated during or before the intake even, at start of injection (SOI) or earlier, distinct and valid realizations were obtained to accurately predict CCV for both operating points.

By simulating CCV with concurrent cycles, the required wall clock time can be reduced from 2–3 months to 1–2 days. Additionally, the required core-hours can be reduced up to 41%, since only a portion of each cycle needs to be simulated.
Effects of Port Fuel and Direct Injection Strategies and Intake Conditions on Gasoline Compression Ignition Operation
Authors: Wang Buyu , Pamminger Michael , Wallner Thomas
Published: January 2019

Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) using a single gasoline-type fuel for port fuel and direct injection has been shown as a method to achieve low-temperature combustion with low engine-out NOx and soot emissions and high indicated thermal efficiency. However, key technical barriers to achieving low temperature combustion on multi-cylinder engines include the air handling system (limited amount of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)) as well as mechanical engine limitations (e.g. peak pressure rise rate). In light of these limitations, high temperature combustion with reduced amounts of EGR appears more practical. Furthermore, for high temperature GCI, an effective aftertreatment system allows high thermal efficiency with low tailpipe-out emissions. In this work, experimental testing was conducted on a 12.4 L multi-cylinder heavy-duty diesel engine operating with high temperature GCI combustion using EEE gasoline. Engine testing was conducted at an engine speed of 1038 rpm and brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) of 14 bar. Port fuel and direct injection strategies were utilized to increase the premixed combustion fraction. The impact on engine performance and emissions with respect to varying the injection and intake operating parameters was quantified within this study. A combined effect of reducing heat transfer and increasing exhaust loss resulted in a flat trend of brake thermal efficiency (BTE) when retarding direct injection timing, while increased port fuel mass improved BTE due to advanced combustion phasing and reduced heat transfer loss. Overall, varying intake valve close timing, EGR, intake pressure and temperature with the current pressure rise rate and soot emissions constraint was not effective in improving BTE, as the benefit of low heat transfer loss was always offset by increased exhaust loss.
Demonstrating a Direct-Injection Constant-Volume Combustion Chamber As a Validation Tool for Chemical Kinetic Modeling of Liquid Fuels
Authors: Suttle Aaron E. , Fisher Brian T. , Parnell Dennis R. , Bittle Joshua A.
Published: January 2019

Supporting chemical kinetics model development with robust experimental results is the job of shock-tube, rapid compression machine, and other apparatus operators. A key limitation of many of these systems is difficulty with preparation of a fuel vapor-air mixture for heavy liquid fuels. Previous work has suggested that the Cetane Ignition Delay (CID) 510 system is capable of providing data useful for kinetics validation. Specifically, this constant-volume combustion chamber (1) can be characterized by a single bulk temperature, and (2) uses a high-pressure diesel injector to generate rapid fuel-air mixing and thus create a homogeneous mixture well before ignition.

In this study, initial experiments found relatively good agreement between experiments and kinetic models for n-heptane and poor agreement for iso-octane under nominally the same ignition delay ranges for ambient conditions under which the mixture is determined to be effectively homogeneous. After excluding potential non-kinetic fuel properties as causes, further experiments highlight the high pressure sensitivity of the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) behavior. While this challenge is well known to kinetic mechanism developers, the data set included in this work (n-heptane at 5 bar and iso-octane at 5–20 bar, each for various equivalence ratios) can be added to those used for validation.

The results and system characterization presented demonstrate that this combustion system is capable of capturing kinetic effects decoupled from the spray process for these primary reference fuels. Future work can leverage this capability to provide kinetics validation data for most heavy, exotic, or otherwise difficult to test liquid fuels.
Evaluation of a Hot-Surface Ignition System for a Direct-Injection of Natural Gas Engine
Authors: McTaggart-Cowan Gordon , Huang Jian , Turcios Marco , Singh Ashish , Munshi Sandeep
Published: January 2019

Non-premixed combustion of directly-injected natural gas offers diesel-like performance and efficiency with lower fuel costs and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. To ignite the fuel, a separate ignition source is needed. This work reports on the initial development of a new hot-surface based ignitor, where a small quantity of natural gas is injected and ignited by a hot element. This generates a robust pilot flame to ignite the main gas injection. A series of experimental tests were conducted to evaluate the sensitivity of the pilot flame formation process to hot surface temperature and geometry and to gas pilot injection geometry. Tests were conducted in a constant-volume combustion chamber at up to 6 bar with hot surface temperatures up to 1750 K. Reacting-flow computational fluid dynamics (CFD) evaluation is used to help interpret the results and to extrapolate to engine-relevant pressures. The results show that hot surface temperatures around 1500 K can minimize the pilot ignition time. An injector geometry where the pilot gas jets are angled such that they impinge on the hot surface but retain sufficient momentum to convect mass into the main chamber helps to ensure rapid and stable ignition. The CFD results indicate that, at engine pressures, a stable gas pilot flame could be established within 1–2 ms using the proposed injector geometry. These results will be used to underpin further development activities on this concept.
Flame Emission Characteristics in a Direct Injection Spark Ignition Optical Engine Using Image Processing Based Diagnostics
Authors: Sun Zhe , Ma Zhen , Li Xuesong , Xu Min
Published: January 2019

Non-intrusive measurements are always desirable in flame research, particularly in the study of internal combustion engines where intrusive measurements are usually not applicable. With the use of digital image processing and color analysis, the imaging system can be turned into an abstract multi-spectral system to determine the characteristics of flame emission. First this study conducts a precise calibration to make up a spectral correlation between the camera spectrum responses and the radical emissions of an ethanol diffusion flame. The color model of HSV is used to represent the camera spectrum responses. The actual wavelength of each radical of the diffusion flame has also been examined using a spectrograph. Subsequent experiment is the application of the spectral correlation into a direct injection spark ignition optical engine to research the combustion behavior. Two fuel injectors, different in nozzle configuration, were utilized and tested individually. The high-speed imaging system films hundreds of engine combustion cycles, and each cycle covers the propagation from the flame ignition stage towards the end of combustion. In those cycles, the presence of radicals of interest was captured and represented by Hue degree.