Performance and Emissions Characteristics of Diesel-Ignited Gasoline Dual Fuel Combustion in a Single Cylinder Research Engine

Diesel-ignited gasoline dual fuel combustion experiments were performed in a single-cylinder research engine (SCRE), outfitted with a common-rail diesel injection system and a stand-alone engine controller. Gasoline was injected in the intake port using a port-fuel injector. The engine was operated at a constant speed of 1500 rev/min, a constant load of 5.2 bar IMEP, and a constant gasoline energy substitution of 80%. Parameters such as diesel injection timing (SOI), diesel injection pressure, and boost pressure were varied to quantify their impact on engine performance and engine-out ISNOx, ISHC, ISCO, and smoke emissions. Advancing SOI from 30 DBTDC to 60 DBTDC reduced ISNOx from 14 g/kWhr to less than 0.1 g/kWhr; further advancement of SOI did not yield significant ISNOx reduction. A fundamental change was observed from heterogeneous combustion at 30 DBTDC to “premixed enough” combustion at 50–80 DBTDC and finally to well-mixed diesel-assisted gasoline HCCI-like combustion at 170 DBTDC. Smoke emissions were less than 0.1 FSN at all SOIs, while ISHC and ISCO were in the range of 8–20 g/kWhr, with the earliest SOIs yielding very high values. Indicated fuel conversion efficiencies were ∼ 40–42.5%. An injection pressure sweep from 200 to 1300 bar at 50 DBTDC SOI and 1.5 bar intake boost showed that very low injection pressures lead to more heterogeneous combustion and higher ISNOx and ISCO emissions, while smoke and ISHC emissions remained unaffected. A boost pressure sweep from 1.1 to 1.8 bar at 50 DBTDC SOI and 500 bar rail pressure showed very rapid combustion for the lowest boost conditions, leading to high pressure rise rates, higher ISNOx emissions, and lower ISCO emissions, while smoke and ISHC emissions remained unaffected by boost pressure variations.