Service Methane Number as a Means to Avoid Knock in Natural Gas Fuelled Spark Ignition Engines

Experimental investigations on the knock rating of gaseous fuels were carried out on a single cylinder SI engine of Lister-Petter make. The Service Methane Number (SMN) of different gas compositions is measured and then compared to the standard Methane Number (MN), calculated by the AVL software. Effects of engine parameters, by mean of the Methane Number Requirement (MNR) are also highlighted. A linear correlation, between the SMN and the MN, has been obtained with a maximum absolute deviation lower than 2 MN units. A prediction correlation giving the MNR from engine parameters has finally been deduced from experimental data with a good accuracy (mean absolute deviation of 0.5 MNR unit).