Analysis of a 6 Cylinder Turbocharged HCCI Engine Using a Detailed Kinetic Mechanism

When analyzing HCCI combustion engine behavior, the integration of experimental tests and numerical simulations is crucial. Investigations of possible engine control strategies as a function of the different operating conditions have to take the behavior of the whole HCCI engine into account, including the effects both of the combustion process and of complex devices. Therefore the numerical simulation code must be able both to model accurately the gas-dynamic of the system and to evaluate the combustion chemical kinetics. This paper focuses on the coupling between the commercial one-dimensional fluid-dynamic GT-Power Code and our in-house detailed chemical kinetic Ignition Code. An interface has been developed in order to exchange information between the two codes: the Ignition Code considers as boundary conditions the GT-Power Code values provided for the gas composition at IVC and the pressure and temperature at every time step and passes back to GT-Power the burnt fuel fraction and stores in an external file the in cylinder gas composition. Thus the whole engine cycle can be accurately simulated, estimating the interactions between the gas-dynamics phenomena along the intake and exhaust pipes and through the valves, and the chemical processes occurring during the closed valves period. This tool makes it possible to analyze the engine behavior under duty cycle operating conditions, and therefore it represents a useful support to the experimental measurements, reducing the number of tests required to assess the proper engine control strategies.