Development and Validation of a CFD Combustion Model for Natural Gas Engines Operating with Different Piston Bowls

Nowadays, an accurate and precise description of the combustion phase is essential in spark-ignition (SI) engines to drastically reduce pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase thermal efficiency. To this end, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be used to study the different phenomena involved, such as the ignition of the charge, combustion development, and pollutant formation. In this work, a validation of a CFD methodology based on the flame area model (FAM) was carried out to model the combustion process in light-duty SI engines fueled with natural gas. A simplified spherical kernel approach was used to model the ignition phase, whereas turbulent flame propagation was described through two variables. A zero-dimensional evolution of the flame kernel radius was used in combination with the Herweg and Maly formulation to take the laminar-to-turbulent flame transition into account. To estimate the chemical composition of burnt gas, two different approaches were considered—one was based on tabulated kinetics, and the other was based on chemical equilibrium. Assessment of the combustion model was first performed by using different operating points of a light-duty SI engine fueled with natural gas and by using the original piston. The results were validated by using experimental data on the in-cylinder pressure, apparent heat release rate, and pollutant emissions. Afterward, two other different piston bowl geometries were investigated to study the main differences between one solution and the others. The results showed that no important improvements in terms of combustion efficiency were obtained by using the new piston bowl shapes, which was mainly due to the very low ((Formula presented.)) or null increase in turbulent kinetic energy during the compression stroke and due to the higher heat losses ((Formula presented.)) associated with the increased surface area of the new piston geometries

CFD modeling of combustion of a natural gas Light-Duty Engine

A CFD methodology to model natural gas Light-Duty SI (Spark-Ignition) engines is here proposed. The ignition stage is modeled by means of a simplified Eulerian spherical kernel approach (deposition model). Then, the fully turbulent flame propagation is reproduced by the Coherent Flamelet Model (CFM), where turbulence effects are taken into account by considering the flame surface density evolution. The laminar to turbulent flame transition is managed by the CFM model and it is assumed to occur when the flame radius reaches a fraction of the integral length scale. This methodology was validated with experimental data of in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate at different loads and speeds

Computational modeling with spiking neural networks

This chapter reviews recent developments in the area of spiking neural networks (SNN) and summarizes the main contributions to this research field. We give background information about the functioning of biological neurons, discuss the most important mathematical neural models along with neural encoding techniques, learning algorithms, and applications of spiking neurons. As a specific application, the functioning of the evolving spiking neural network (eSNN) classification method is presented in detail and the principles of numerous eSNN based applications are highlighted and discussed

CFD modeling of natural gas engine combustion with a flame area evolution model

A detailed description of the combustion process is fundamental in modern spark-ignition (SI) engines to guarantee control of pollutants formation and to meet future emission standards. Within this context, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations represent an efficient and powerful tool to understand the different involved phenomena as mixture ignition, combustion development and pollutant formation. Object of this work is to find a CFD methodology to model premixed natural gas light-duty SI engines. The ignition stage is modeled by means of a simplified Eulerian spherical kernel approach (deposition model). Then, turbulent flame propagation is reproduced by means of two variables (regress variable and flame wrinkling factor) as proposed by Weller. Laminar to turbulent flame transition is taken into account using Herweg and Maly formulation and a zero-dimensional flame kernel radius evolution. Tabulated kinetics is used to estimate chemical composition of burned gases and to speed up the simulation since no chemical equilibrium calculations are necessary. The proposed CFD methodology was validated with experimental data of in-cylinder pressure, heat release rate and gross indicated work at different loads and speeds

Comparison of ignition and early flame propagation in methane/air mixtures using nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge and inductive ignition in a pre-chamber setup under engine relevant conditions

An optically accessible pre-chamber setup was used to investigate the ignition occurrence and early flame propagation in methane/air mixtures at density conditions relevant to engine application. Two Schlieren setups coupled with fast recording cameras allowed the visualization of the combustion chamber and a close up of the ignition location, respectively. A spectroscopy-based ignition diagnostic was simultaneously applied to characterize the mixture composition near the spark plug. Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed Discharge (NRPD) ignition with different pulse patterns in terms of pulse number and repetition frequency was applied. Conventional inductive ignition and NRPD-assisted ignition in a pre-chamber setup were compared for the first time in terms of ignition occurrence and early flame propagation in engine-relevant conditions. The effect of different air to fuel ratios was assessed in both laminar and turbulent conditions. Results showed that the discharge dynamics strongly affects the effectiveness of the ignition event and consequently the later combustion stages, suggesting the path for an optimization of the NRPD control parameters based on the specific case. The NRPD ignition is shown to be advantageous for stable ignition especially in lean laminar conditions due to the increased local concentration of radicals provided by multiple discharges. This suggests that the use of NRPD gives an advantage in ignition onset especially in diluted conditions and where there is a low mixing level due to reduced turbulence. The simultaneous application of spectral and Schlieren techniques allowed gaining fundamental understanding of the processes involved in NRPD ignition of gas mixtures, useful to validate simulations and ultimately for predicting and controlling such ignition systems in practical applications

Molecular hydrogen (H2) emissions and their isotopic signatures (H/D) from a motor vehicle : implications on atmospheric H2

Molecular hydrogen (H2), its isotopic signature (deuterium/hydrogen, δD), carbon monoxide (CO) and other compounds were studied in the exhaust of a passenger car engine fuelled with gasoline or methane and run under variable air-fuel ratios and operating modes. H2 and CO concentrations were largely reduced downstream of the three-way catalytic converter (TWC) compared to levels upstream, and showed a strong dependence on the air-fuel ratio (expressed as lambda, λ). The isotopic composition of H2 ranged from δD=-140‰ to δD=-195‰ upstream of the TWC but these values decreased to -270‰ to -370‰ after passing through the TWC. Post-TWC δD values for the fuel-rich range showed a strong dependence on TWC temperature with more negative δD for lower temperatures. These effects are attributed to a rapid temperature-dependent H-D isotope equilibration between H2 and water (H2O). In addition, post TWC δD in H2 showed a strong dependence on the fraction of removed H2, suggesting isotopic enrichment during catalytic removal of H2 with enrichment factors (ɛ) ranging from -39.8‰ to -15.5‰ depending on the operating mode. Our results imply that there may be considerable variability in real-world δD emissions from vehicle exhaust, which may mainly depend on TWC technology and exhaust temperature regime. This variability is suggestive of a δD from traffic that varies over time, by season, and by geographical location. An earlier-derived integrated pure (end-member) δD from anthropogenic activities of -270‰ (Rahn et al., 2002) can be explained as a mixture of mainly vehicle emissions from cold starts and fully functional TWCs, but enhanced δD values by >50‰ are likely for regions where TWC technology is not fully implemented. Our results also suggest that a full hydrogen isotope analysis on fuel and exhaust gas may greatly aid at understanding process-level reactions in the exhaust gas, in particular in the TWC

Molecular hydrogen (H₂) emissions and their isotopic signatures (H/D) from a motor vehicle: implications on atmospheric H₂

Molecular hydrogen (H2), its isotopic signature (deuterium/hydrogen, δD), carbon monoxide (CO), and other compounds were studied in the exhaust of a passenger car engine fuelled with gasoline or methane and run under variable air-fuel ratios and operating modes. H2 and CO concentrations were largely reduced downstream of the three-way catalytic converter (TWC) compared to levels upstream, and showed a strong dependence on the air-fuel ratio (expressed as lambda, λ). The isotopic composition of H2 ranged from δD = −140‰ to δD = −195‰ upstream of the TWC but these values decreased to −270‰ to −370‰ after passing through the TWC. Post-TWC δD values for the fuel-rich range showed a strong dependence on TWC temperature with more negative δD for lower temperatures. These effects are attributed to a rapid temperature-dependent H-D isotope equilibration between H2 and water (H2O). In addition, post TWC δD in H2 showed a strong dependence on the fraction of removed H2, suggesting isotopic enrichment during catalytic removal of H2 with enrichment factors (ε) ranging from −39.8‰ to −15.5‰ depending on the operating mode. Our results imply that there may be considerable variability in real-world δD emissions from vehicle exhaust, which may mainly depend on TWC technology and exhaust temperature regime. This variability is suggestive of a δD from traffic that varies over time, by season, and by geographical location. An earlier-derived integrated pure (end-member) δD from anthropogenic activities of −270‰ (Rahn et al., 2002) can be explained as a mixture of mainly vehicle emissions from cold starts and fully functional TWCs, but enhanced δD values by >50‰ are likely for regions where TWC technology is not fully implemented. Our results also suggest that a full hydrogen isotope analysis on fuel and exhaust gas may greatly aid at understanding process-level reactions in the exhaust gas, in particular in the TWC

Combustion Modeling in a Heavy-Duty Engine Operating with DME Using Detailed Kinetics and Turbulence Chemistry Interaction

Dimethyl ether (DME) represents a promising fuel for heavy-duty engines thanks to its high cetane number, volatility, absence of aromatics, reduced tank-to-wheel CO2 emissions compared to Diesel fuel and the possibility to be produced from renewable energy sources. However, optimization of compression-ignition engines fueled with DME requires suitable computational tools to design dedicated injection and combustion systems: reduced injection pressures and increased nozzle diameters are expected compared to conventional Diesel engines, which influences both the air-fuel mixing and the combustion process. This work intends to evaluate the validity of two different combustion models for the prediction of performance and pollutant emissions in compression-ignition engines operating with DME. The first one is the Representative Interactive Flamelet while the second is the Approximated Diffusive Flamelet. Both incorporate detailed kinetics and turbulence chemistry interaction but they are different in the way they account for mixing and flow conditions. A base case was simulated, comparing Diesel and DME before moving to an extensive validation of several different operating points of interest with variations of injection pressure, start of injection, engine speed and load. Analysis of the flame structure and validation with the experimental data of in-cylinder pressure and pollutant emissions will allow identifying the most suitable model for combustion simulations in DME compression-ignition engines. Finally, a new geometry for the piston bowl was tested with the validated numerical setup, evaluating the pros and cons associated with it

CFD Modeling of a DME CI Engine in Late-PCCI Operating Conditions

Predictive combustion models are useful tools towards the development of clean and efficient engines operating with alternative fuels. This work intends to validate two different combustion models on compression-ignition engines fueled with Dimethyl Ether. Both approaches give a detailed characterization of the combustion kinetics, but they substantially differ in how the interaction between fluid-dynamics and chemistry is treated. The first one is single-flamelet Representative Interactive Flamelet, which considers turbulence-kinetic interaction but cannot correctly describe the stabilization of the flame. The second, named Tabulated Well Mixed, correctly accounts for local flow and mixture conditions but does not consider interaction between turbulence and chemistry. An experimental campaign was carried out on a heavy-duty truck engine running on DME at a constant load considering trade-off of EGR and SOI. Simulations results of 10 operating conditions show that both models can be successfully employed to predict cylinder pressure, heat release rate and pollutant emissions