Effect of Chemical Structure of Substituted Phenol Fuel Additives on Ignition Delay of a Toluene Reference Fuel
2022-01-0623
03/29/2022
- Event
- Content
- Chemical structure, equivalence ratio, temperature, pressure, and dilution are prominent properties of fuel-oxidizer mixtures that affect combustion. In Internal Combustion engines, these properties are critical to consider as increasing engine performance requirements drive the need for high octane number fuels in Spark Ignition engines. One method of increasing a fuel’s octane number is by using octane-enhancing additives. Aromatics have long been used in gasoline for their octane-enhancing properties, therefore this study focuses on how the addition of aromatics at 2% by volume affects the ignition characteristics of a Toluene Reference Fuel. Simulations have found that substituted phenols may be promising octane-enhancing additives, and that the location of each methyl group on the aromatic ring may have a significant affect during combustion. This research measures the Ignition Delay Time, using a Rapid Compression Machine; and the Laminar Flame Speed, using a Constant Volume Combustion Chamber, of substituted phenol fuel mixtures over a range of engine-relevant conditions. The conditions varied were equivalence ratio, temperature, pressure, and dilution ratio. For reference, the Toluene Reference Fuel with no additive addition was examined under the entire range of compressed conditions in the Rapid Compression Machine and the entire range of initial conditions in the Constant Volume Combustion Chamber. Each fuel additive mixture was also examined within the same range of conditions and compared to the Toluene Reference Fuel with no additive. Ignition delay time and laminar flame speed measurements for each fuel additive mixture were then compared to simulation results. Lastly, experimental and computational results were used to determine a fuel additive’s octane enhancement potential.
- Citation
- Trombley, G., Wadkar, C., Duva, B., and Toulson, E., "Effect of Chemical Structure of Substituted Phenol Fuel Additives on Ignition Delay of a Toluene Reference Fuel ," SAE Technical Paper 2022-01-0623, 2022, .