Fuel formulation and mixing strategy for rate of heat release control with PCCI combustion

Premixed charge compression ignition (or PCCI) is a new combustion concept that promises very low emissions of nitrogen oxides and of particulate matter by internal combustion engines. In the PCCIcombustion mode fuel, products from previous combustion events and air are mixed and compresseduntil the resulting mixture locally auto-ignites. Auto-ignition at other places in the reacting mixture follows rapidly and combustion takes places across the combustion chamber within a short period. A majorchallenge with PCCI combustion is the accurate control of the start of combustion and of the rate of heatrelease during combustion

Lignin derived octane and energy improvers for fossil gasoline

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Pre- and post-injection flow characterization in a heavy-duty diesel engine using high-speed PIV

High-speed particle image velocimetry (HS-PIV) using hollow microspheres has been applied to characterize the flow in a heavy-duty diesel engine during and after fuel injection. The injection timings were varied in the range representing those used in premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) regimes, and multiple injections have been applied to investigate their influence on the flow inside the combustion chamber. By injecting into pure nitrogen, combustion is avoided and the flow can be studied long after injection. The results show a sudden change of air motion at the start of injection as a result of the air entrainment at the core of the spray. Furthermore, as expected, spray injection causes a considerable increase in the cycle-to-cycle fluctuations of the flow pattern, the more so for longer injection durations

Optical diagnostics on stratified charge compression ignition in a heavy-duty diesel engine

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Optical diagnostics on stratified charge compression ignition in a heavy-duty diesel engine

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Temperature measurements of the gas-phase during surrogate diesel injection using two-color toluene LIF

Planar laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) of toluene has been applied in an optical engine and a high-pressure cell, to determine temperatures of fuel sprays and in-cylinder vapors. The method relies on a redshift of the toluene LIF emission spectrum with increasing temperature. Toluene fluorescence is recorded simultaneously in two disjunct wavelength bands by a two-camera setup. After calibration, the pixel-by-pixel LIF signal ratio is a proxy for the local temperature. A detailed measurement procedure is presented to minimize measurement inaccuracies and to improve precision. n-Heptane is used as the base fuel and 10 % of toluene is added as a tracer. The toluene LIF method is capable of measuring temperatures up to 700 K; above that the signal becomes too weak. The precision of the spray temperature measurements is 4 % and the spatial resolution 1.3 mm. We pay particular attention to the construction of the calibration curve that is required to translate LIF signal ratios into temperature, and to possible limitations in the portability of this curve between different setups. The engine results are compared to those obtained in a constant-volume high-pressure cell, and the fuel spray results obtained in the high-pressure cell are also compared to LES simulations. We find that the hot ambient gas entrained by the head vortex gives rise to a hot zone on the spray axis

Correlating flame location and ignition delay in partially premixed combustion

Controlling ignition delay is the key to successfully enable partially premixed combustion in diesel engines. This paper presents experimental results of partially premixed combustion in an optically accessible engine, using primary reference fuels in combination with artificial exhaust gas recirculation. By changing the fuel composition and oxygen concentration, the ignition delay is changed. To determine the position of the flame front, high-speed visualization of OH-chemiluminescence is used, enabling a cycle resolved analysis of OH formation. A clear correlation is observed between ignition delay and flame location. The mixing of fuel and air during the ignition delay period defines the local equivalence ratio, which is estimated based on a spherical combustion volume for each spray. The corresponding emission measurements using fast-response analyzers of CO, HC and NOX confirm the decrease in local equivalence ratio as a function of ignition delay. Furthermore multiple injection strategies are investigated, applying pilot as well as post injections, in combination with a main injection at constant load. From these results it is concluded that both pilot and post injections result in an increase of unburned hydrocarbon and CO emission and a slight decrease of nitric oxide emissions