A Comprehensive Study on Natural Gas HCCI Engine Response to Different Initial Conditions via a Thermo-Kinetic Engine Model

Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion is a promising concept to reduce engine emissions and fuel consumption. In this paper, a thermo-kinetic model is developed to study the operating characteristics of a natural gas HCCI engine. The zero-dimensional single zone model consist detail chemical kinetics of natural gas oxidation including 325 reactions with 53 chemical species, and is validated with experimental results of reference works for two different engines, Volvo TD 100 and Caterpillar 3500, in 5 operating conditions. Then, the influence of parameters such as manifold temperature/pressure and equivalence ratio on in-cylinder temperature/pressure trends and start of combustion is studied. Measurements for Volvo engine show that SOC occurs 3–5 CAD earlier with every 15K increase in initial temperature. These whole results are explained in detail to describe the engine performance thoroughly.