Numerical Simulation of Direct Injection Engine With Using Porous Medium

Porous media (PM) has interesting advantages in compared with free flame combustion due to the higher burning rates, the increased power range, the extension of the lean flammability limits, and the low emissions of pollutants. Future clean internal combustion (IC) engines should have had minimum emissions level (for both gaseous and particulate matter) under possible lowest fuel consumption permitted in a wide range of speed, loads and having good transient response. These parameters strongly depend on mixture formation and combustion processes which are difficult to be controlled in a conventional engine. This may be achieved by realization of homogeneous combustion process in engine. This paper deals with the simulation of direct injection IC engine equipped with a chemically inert PM, with cylindrical geometry to homogenize and stabilize the combustion of engine. A 3D numerical model for PM engine is presented in this study based on a modified version of the KIVA-3V code. Due to lack of any published data for PM engines, numerical results of thermal and combustion wave propagation in a porous medium are compared with experimental data of lean methane-air mixture under filtration in packed bed and very good agreement is seen. For PM engine simulation methane as a fuel is injected directly inside hot PM that is assumed, mounted in cylinder head. Lean mixture is formed and volumetric combustion occurs in PM and in-cylinder. Mixture formation, pressure and temperature distribution in both phases of PM and in-cylinder fluid with the production of pollutants CO and NO and also effects of injection time in the closed part of the cycle are studied.