The Achates Power Inc. (API) Opposed Piston (OP) Engine architecture provides fundamental advantages that increase thermal efficiency over current poppet valve 4 stroke engines. In this paper, combustion performance of diesel and gasoline compression ignition (GCI) combustion in a medium duty, OP engine are shown. By using GCI, NO x and/or soot reductions can be seen compared to diesel combustion at similar or increased thermal efficiencies. The results also show that high combustion efficiency can be achieved with GCI combustion with acceptable noise and stability over the same load range as diesel combustion in an OP engine.

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.

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.

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.

Ultra-lean burn with high turbulence has high potential for improving thermal efficiency and reducing NO x emissions in spark-ignition engines. Formation of initial flame kernel in high-turbulence flow by advanced ignition technologies is crucial for successful implementation of the ultra-lean burn concept. In this study, a four-coil ignition system is designed to enable temporally flexible discharge, including the single strike, multi-strike and continuous discharge with the discharge energy range from 100 to 300 mJ. The performance of the different discharge strategies on igniting the lean methane-air mixture is evaluated in an optically accessible constant volume vessel. The initial mixture pressure of 3.0 MPa and temperature of 388 K are set to simulate typical conditions near TDC (top dead center) of turbocharged large-bore natural gas engines. Both the flow and quiescent conditions around the spark plug are taken into account with and without gas flows in the vessel. The flame kernel formation and developing processes are captured by using the Schlieren imaging technique with a high-speed CMOS video camera, while evolution of both the voltage and current in the circuit are well monitored by the high-voltage probe and current clamp. With the continuous discharge ignition, the lean limit is remarkably extended in the case of the flow condition, while it is changed only slightly under the quiescent condition, compared with the other strategies. Analysis of the current and voltage waveforms shows that the continuous discharge strategy can enable a steadier and longer discharging period than the other strategies, regardless of conditions with and without gas flow. Besides, the continuous discharge strategy can accelerate the initial flame propagation compared with the other strategies. Once the flame kernel is successfully established, an increase in the discharge energy of single strike has no obvious effects on the flame development, but it is necessary for maintaining the lean limit. Although, in principle, the multi-strike discharge strategy can increase the ignition energy released to the mixture, the current waveform is prone to be interrupted with the discharge channel strongly distorted by the gas flow under the high-pressure condition. The flame propagation speed of the ultra-lean mixture is rather slow under the high ambient pressure quiescent condition compared with the high ambient pressure flow condition. Enhancement of turbulent flow in the mixture is very crucial for realizing the highly efficient and stable combustion of the lean mixture.

With advanced engines pushing the limits of fuel efficiency, rapid development and improvement of engines increasingly rely on insights from simulations. Reliable simulations require fuel models that consist of a fuel surrogate and its kinetic mechanism. As complexity and sources of fuels vary, a good surrogate needs to be tailored for the specific test fuel. A simple surrogate, typically consisting of 1 to 3 components, can match a single property of the real fuel, such as ignition quality or average molecular weight. More complex surrogates with 4 to 7 components can capture many properties simultaneously. While simple surrogates are good for estimating ignition in engines they require some compensation for the mismatch of the fuels’s physical properties. Complex surrogates can be used to directly represent real fuels in both laboratory experiments and simulations. We have developed a surrogate blending methodology to identify surrogates with a desired degree of complexity. This involves methods that estimate properties for fuel blends, including ignition quality, sooting propensity, distillation curve, as well as other physical and chemical properties that are important to combustion behavior in simulations. We have assembled and developed a rich library of over 60 fuel components from which we can formulate surrogates to represent most gasoline, diesel, gaseous fuels, renewable fuels, and several additives. The components cover a carbon number range from 1 to 20, and chemical classes including linear and branched alkanes, olefins, aromatics with one and two rings, alcohols, esters, and ethers. As part of the library, we have assembled self-consistent and detailed reaction mechanisms for all the components. The mechanisms also include comprehensive NO x creation and destruction pathways, molecular weight growth kinetics leading to the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and a detailed soot-surface mechanism. The mechanisms have been validated extensively using over 500 published sets of experimental kinetics data from a wide range of facilities and diagnostic methods. Over the past decade, the validation suite has been used to improve the kinetics database such that good predictions and agreement to data are achieved for the fuel components and fuel-component blends, within experimental uncertainties. This effectively eliminates the need to tune specific rate parameters when employing the kinetics mechanisms in combustion simulations. For engine simulations, the master mechanisms have been reduced using a combination of available reduction methods while strictly controlling the error tolerances for targeted predictions. These include several directed relation graph (DRG) based methods and sensitivity analysis. Iteratively using these reduction methods has resulted in small mechanisms for efficiently incorporating the validated kinetics into computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applications. The surrogate formulation methodology, the comprehensive fuel library, and mechanism reduction strategies suggested in this work allow the use of CFD to explore design concepts and fuel effects in engines with reliable predictions.

Heavy-duty compression-ignition (CI) engines converted to natural gas (NG) spark ignition (SI) operation have the potential to increase the use of NG in the transportation sector. A 3D numerical simulation was used to predict how the conventional CI combustion chamber geometry (i.e., re-entrant bowl and flat head) affects the combustion stability, performance and emissions of a single-cylinder CI engine that was converted to SI operation by adding a low-pressure gas injector in the intake manifold and a spark plug in place of the diesel injector. The G-equation based 3D CFD simulation investigated three different combustion chamber configurations that changes the size of the squish region at constant compression ratio and clearance height. The results show that the different flame propagation speeds inside and outside the re-entrant bowl can create a two-zone combustion phenomenon. More, a larger squish region increased flame burning speed, which decreased late-combustion duration. All these findings support the need for further investigations of combustion chamber shape design for optimum engine performance and emissions in CI engines converted to NG SI operation.

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 NO x 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.

Over the last few decades, emissions regulations for internal combustion engines have become increasingly restrictive, pushing researchers around the world to exploit innovative propulsion solutions. Among them, the dual fuel low temperature combustion (LTC) strategy has proven capable of reducing fuel consumption and while meeting emissions regulations for oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) and particulate matter (PM) without problematic aftertreatment systems. However, further investigations are still needed to reduce engine-out hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions as well as to extend the operational range and to further improve the performance and efficiency of dual-fuel engines. In this scenario, the present study focuses on numerical simulation of fumigated methane-diesel dual fuel LTC in a single-cylinder research engine (SCRE) operating at low load and high methane percent energy substitution (PES). Results are validated against experimental cylinder pressure and apparent heat release rate (AHRR) data. A 3D full-cylinder RANS simulation is used to thoroughly understand the influence of the start of injection (SOI) of diesel fuel on the overall combustion behavior, clarifying the causes of AHRR transition from two-stage AHRR at late SOIs to single-stage AHRR at early SOIs, low temperature heat release (LTHR) behavior, as well as high HC production. The numerical campaign shows that it is crucial to reliably represent the interaction between the diesel spray and the in-cylinder charge to match both local and overall methane energy fraction, which in turn, ensures a proper representation of the whole combustion. To that aim, even a slight deviation (∼3%) of the trapped mass or of the thermodynamic conditions would compromise the numerical accuracy, highlighting the importance of properly capturing all the phenomena occurring during the engine cycle. The comparison between numerical and experimental AHRR curves shows the capability of the numerical framework proposed to correctly represent the dual-fuel combustion process, including low temperature heat release (LTHR) and the transition from two-stage to single stage AHRR with advancing SOI. The numerical simulations allow for quantitative evaluation of the residence time of vapor-phase diesel fuel inside the combustion chamber and at the same time tracking the evolution of local diesel mass fraction during ignition delay — showing their influence on the LTHR phenomena. Oxidation regions of diesel and ignition points of methane are also displayed for each case, clarifying the reasons for the observed differences in combustion evolution at different SOIs.

Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) is a cost-effective approach to achieving diesel-like efficiencies with low emissions. Traditional challenges with GCI arise at low-load conditions due to low charge temperatures causing combustion instability and at high-load conditions due to peak cylinder pressure and noise limitations. The fundamental architecture of the two-stroke Achates Power Opposed-Piston Engine (OP Engine) enables GCI by decoupling piston motion from cylinder scavenging, allowing for flexible and independent control of cylinder residual fraction and temperature leading to improved low load combustion. In addition, the high peak cylinder pressure and noise challenges at high-load operation are mitigated by the lower BMEP operation and faster heat release for the same pressure rise rate of the OP Engine. These advantages further solidify the performance benefits of the OP Engine and demonstrate the near-term feasibility of advanced combustion technologies, enabled by the opposed-piston architecture. This paper presents initial results from a steady state testing on a brand new 2.7L OP GCI multi-cylinder engine. A part of the recipe for successful GCI operation calls for high compression ratio, leading to higher combustion stability at low-loads, higher efficiencies, and lower cycle HC+NO x emissions. In addition, initial results on catalyst light-off mode with GCI are also presented. The OP Engine’s architectural advantages enable faster and earlier catalyst light-off while producing low emissions, which further improves cycle emissions and fuel consumption over conventional engines.

Dual-Fuel (DF) engines offer great fuel flexibility combined with low emissions in gas mode. The main source of energy in this mode is provided by gaseous fuel, while the Diesel fuel acts only as an ignition source. For this reason, the reliable autoignition of the pilot fuel is of utmost importance for combustion in DF-engines. However, the autoignition of the pilot fuel suffers from low compression temperatures caused by Miller valve timings. These valve timings are applied to increase efficiency and reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. Previous studies have investigated the influence of injection parameters and operating conditions on ignition and combustion in DF-engines using a unique periodically chargeable combustion cell. Direct light high-speed images and pressure traces clearly revealed the effects of injection parameters and operating conditions on ignition and combustion. However, these measurement techniques are only capable of observing processes after ignition. In order to overcome this drawback, a high-speed shadowgraph technique was applied in this study to examine the processes prior to ignition. Measurements were conducted to investigate the influence of compression temperature and injection pressure on spray formation and ignition. Results showed that the autoignition of Diesel pilot fuel strongly depends on the fuel concentration within the spray. The high-speed shadowgraph images revealed that in the case of very low fuel concentration within the pilot spray only the first-stage of the two-stage ignition occurs. This leads to large cycle-to-cycle variations and misfiring. However, it was found that a reduced number of injection holes counteracts these effects. The comparison of a Diesel injector with 10-holes and a modified injector with 5-holes showed shorter ignition delays, more stable ignition and a higher number of ignited sprays on a percentage basis for the 5-hole nozzle.

Gasoline Direct Injection Homogeneous Charge Compression (GDI-HCCI) combustion is achieved by closing early the exhaust valves for trapping hot residual gases combined with direct fuel injection. The combustion is chemically controlled by multi-point auto-ignition which its main combustion phase can be controlled by direct injection timing of fuel. This work investigates the effect of single pulse injection timing on a supercharged GDI-HCCI combustion engine by using a four-stroke single cylinder engine with a side-mounted direct fuel injector. Injection of primary reference fuel PRF90 under the near-stoichiometric-boosted condition is studied. The fuel is injected during negative valve overlap (NVO) or recompression period for fuel reformation under low oxygen concentration and the injection is retarded to intake stroke for the homogeneous mixture. It is found that the early fuel injection in NVO period advances the combustion phasing compared with the retarded injection in the intake stroke. Noticeable slower combustion rate from intake stroke fuel injection is obtained compared with the NVO injection due to charge cooling effect. Zero-dimensional combustion simulations with multiple chemical reaction mechanisms are simulated to provide chemical understanding from the effect of fuel injection timing on intermediate species generations. The species such as C 2 H 4 , C 3 H 6 , CH 4 , and H 2 are found to be formed during the NVO injection period from the calculations. The effects of single pulse injection timings on combustion characteristics such pressure rise rate, combustion stability, and emissions are also discussed in this study.

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.

High reactivity gas-to-liquid kerosene (GTL) was investigated with port fuel injection (PFI) of low reactivity n-butanol to conduct reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI). In the preliminary stage, the GTL was investigated in a constant volume combustion chamber, and the results indicated a narrower negative temperature coefficient (NTC) region than ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD#2). The engine research was conducted at 1500 RPM and various loads with early n-butanol PFI and dual DI pulses of GTL at 60 crank angle degrees (CAD) before top dead center (TDC) and at a timing close to TDC. Boost and PFI fractions (60% by mass n-butanol) were kept constant in order to analyze the fuel reactivity effect on combustion. Conventional diesel combustion (CDC) mode with a single injection and the same combustion phasing (CA50) was used as an emissions baseline for RCCI. RCCI increased ignition delay and combustion duration decreased compared to CDC. Results showed that in order to maintain CA50 for RCCI within 1 CAD, GTL mass required for the first DI pulse to be 15% lower than that of ULSD#2 at higher loads. Peak heat release rate decreased for GTL by 25% given the high volatility and low viscosity of GTL. In general, using GTL, NO x and soot levels were reduced across load points by up to 15% to 30%, respectively, compared to ULSD RCCI, while maintaining RCCI combustion efficiency at 93–97%. Meanwhile, reductions of 85% in soot and 90% in NO x were determined when using RCCI compared to CDC. The more favorable heat release placement of GTL led to increased thermal efficiency by 3% at higher load compared to ULSD#2. The higher volatility and increased reactivity for GTL achieved lower UHC and CO than ULSD#2 at lower load. The study concluded that GTL offered advantages when used with n-butanol for this RCCI fueling configuration.

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 NO x 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.

Natural gas as an alternative fuel in engine applications substantially reduces both pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions. High pressure dual fuel direct injection of natural gas and Diesel pilot has the potential to minimize methane slip from gas engines and increase the fuel flexibility, while retaining the high efficiency of a Diesel engine. Speed and load variations as well as various strategies for emission reduction entail a wide range of different operating conditions. The influence of these operating conditions on the ignition and combustion process is investigated on a rapid compression expansion machine. By combining simultaneous Shadowgraphy and OH* imaging with heat release rate analysis, an improved understanding of the ignition and combustion process is established. At high temperatures and pressures the reduced pilot ignition delay and lift-off length minimize the effect of natural gas jet entrainment on pilot mixture formation. A simple geometrical constraint was found to reflect the susceptibility for misfiring. At the same time natural gas ignition is delayed by the early pilot ignition close to the injector tip. The shape of heat release is only marginally affected by the operating conditions and mainly determined by the degree of premixing at the time of gas jet ignition. Luminescence from the sooting natural gas flame is generally only detected after the flame extends across the whole gas jet at peak heat release rate. Termination of gas injection at this time was confirmed to effectively suppress soot formation, while a strongly sooting pilot seems to intensify soot formation within the natural gas jet.

It is well known that ammonia (NH 3 ) combustion does not produce carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) causing global warming. Therefore, NH 3 has received much attention as an alternative diesel fuel for internal combustion engines. On the other hand, it has been reported that the exhaust gas of diesel engine fumigated with NH 3 contains unburned NH 3 with toxicity for humans and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) with strong global warming effect. Hence the NH 3 and N 2 O emissions should be reduced to prevent the human health damage and global warming. The aim of this study was to develop the combustion strategies for reducing the unburned NH 3 and N 2 O emissions on diesel engine fumigated with NH 3 . The experimental results indicated that the higher temperature combustion of NH 3 prevents the N 2 O production and allows itself to react well. From the numerical simulation results, hydrocarbon combustion decomposes NH 3 and N 2 O in ignition processes.

Ozone assisted combustion has shown promise in stabilizing combustion and extending operating range of internal combustion engines. However, it has been reported that sensitivity of ozone quantity on combustion varies significantly dependent on combustion modes. For example, auto-ignition driv3en combustion in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine was found to be highly sensitive to the ozone concentration, and up to 100 PPM was found to be sufficient to promote combustion. On the other hand, flame propagation in spark-ignited (SI) engine has been reported to be much less sensitive to the ozone amount, requiring ozone concentration about 3000∼6000 PPM to realize any benefit in the flame speed. A better understanding on the ozone sensitivity is required for combustion device design with ozone addition. In this study, a Damköhler number analysis was performed to analyze the vast difference in the ozone sensitivity between auto-ignition and flame propagation. The analysis showed that, for ozone to be effective in flame propagation, the contribution of ozone on chemistry should be large enough to overcome the diffused radical from the oxidation layer. It is expected that similar analysis will be applicable to any additives to provide an understanding of their effect.

Lean-burn combustion dominates the current reciprocating engine R&D efforts due to its inherent benefits of high BTE and low emissions. The ever-increasing push for high power densities necessitates high boost pressures. Therefore, the reliability and durability of ignition systems face greater challenges. In this study, four ignition systems, namely, stock Capacitive discharge ignition (CDI), Laser ignition, Flame jet ignition (FJI), and Nano-pulse delivery (NPD) ignition were tested using a single cylinder natural gas engine. Engine performance and emissions characteristics are presented highlighting the benefits and limitations of respective ignition systems. Optical tools enabled delving into the ignition delay period and assisted with some characterization of the spark and its impact on subsequent processes. It is evident that advanced ignition systems such as Lasers, Flame-jets and Nano-pulse delivery enable extension of the lean ignition limits of fuel/air mixtures compared to base CDI system.

Natural gas is widely used in sequentially port fuel injection engine to meet stringent emission regulation. Lean burn operation is one of the ways to improve spark-ignition engine fuel economy. The instability in the combustion process of the lean burn engine is one of the major challenges for engine research. In this study, the performance and combustion characteristics of a lean burn sequential injection compressed natural gas (CNG) engine were investigated numerically using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling over a wide range of air/fuel equivalence ratio. A detailed chemical kinetic mechanism was used for natural gas combustion along with laminar flame speed model to capture lean burn operating condition within the combustion chamber. Combustion pressure, indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), and heat release were analyzed for performance analysis, whereas flame development angle (CA 10), combustion duration, thermal efficiency were taken for combustion analysis. The results show that on increasing air/fuel equivalence ratio at a given spark timing, IMEP decreases as the lean burn mixture produces less amount of gross power output due to insufficient available energy. Moreover, lower burning velocity characteristic of natural gas extends the combustion duration, where a substantial amount of total energy released after top dead center. It is also seen that optimum spark timing (MBT) for maximum IMEP advances with an increase in air/fuel equivalence ratio due to late ignition timing under lean burn condition. CFD model successfully captures the effect of dilution to illustrate the considerations to design future combustion engine for spark ignited natural gas engine.