Browse Topic: Methanol

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Test Publishing DocumentARP090824B (Current)10/13/2025
Test Publishing Document6667
A-6 Aerospace Actuation, Control and Fluid Power Systems
Assembly and Soldering Criteria for High Quality/High Reliability Soldering Wire and Cable Termination in Aerospace VehiclesAS4461D (Current)7/23/2021
This standard is applicable to manual soldering and machine soldering processes utilizing controlled soldering devices, for electrical connections for wiring and cabling used in aerospace vehicles. Description of a component or device herein is not to be construed as authorizing the use of the component or device.
AE-8A Elec Wiring and Fiber Optic Interconnect Sys Install
Oxygen System and Component CleaningARP1176B (Current)10/19/2020
This SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) provides recommended practices for the cleaning of aircraft oxygen equipment, both metallic and non-metallic articles, such as oxygen lines (tubes, hoses, etc.), components (including regulator and valve parts), cylinders, and ground-based equipment that may be used to support aircraft oxygen systems. This document also specifies work area details, methods for selecting suitable cleaning agents, cleaning methods, and test methods for verifying levels of cleanliness. The cleanliness coding scheme specified in this document provides a method for documenting minimum cleanliness level requirements and for identifying compliance.
A-10 Aircraft Oxygen Equipment Committee
New Silk Materials Can Wrinkle into Detailed Patterns, Then Unwrinkle to Be “Reprinted”TBMG-3562012/1/2019
Researchers at Tufts University School of Engineering have developed silk materials that can wrinkle into highly detailed patterns — including words, textures, and images as intricate as a QR code or a fingerprint. The patterns take about one second to form, are stable, but can be erased by flooding the surface of the silk with vapor, allowing the researchers to “reverse” the printing and start again. In an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers demonstrate examples of the silk wrinkle patterns, and envision a wide range of potential applications for optical electronic devices.1
Process Directly Converts Methane to MethanolTBMG-349348/1/2019
Methanol is a key feedstock for the production of chemicals, some of which are used to make products such as plastics, plywood, and paints. Methanol also can fuel vehicles or be reformed to produce high-grade hydrogen for fuel cells. The current method for producing methanol from methane- or coal-derived synthesis gas involves a multi-step process that is neither efficient nor economical in small-scale applications. As a result, methane emissions from oil wells — accounting for 210 billion cubic feet of natural gas annually — are being vented and flared, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Heat of Vaporization and Species Evolution during Gasoline Evaporation Measured by DSC/TGA/MS for Blends of C1 to C4 Alcohols in Commercial Gasoline Blendstocks2019-01-00141/15/2019
Evaporative cooling of the fuel-air charge by fuel evaporation is an important feature of direct-injection spark-ignition engines that improves fuel knock resistance and reduces pumping losses at intermediate load, but in some cases, may increase fine particle emissions. We have reported on experimental approaches for measuring both total heat of vaporization and examination of the evaporative heat effect as a function of fraction evaporated for gasolines and ethanol blends. In this paper, we extend this work to include other low-molecular-weight alcohols and present results on species evolution during fuel evaporation by coupling a mass spectrometer to our differential scanning calorimetry/thermogravimetric analysis instrument. The alcohols examined were methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, isopropanol, 2-butanol, and isobutanol at 10 volume percent, 20 volume percent, and 30 volume percent. The results show that total heat of vaporization of the alcohol gasoline blends is in line with the decreasing heat of vaporization in kilojoules per kilogram with increasing alcohol carbon number, as expected. Mass spectrometer results show that methanol fully evaporates at significantly lower fraction evaporated relative to other alcohols even though it is present at higher molar concentration at a fixed volumetric concentration. Certain alcohols, especially methanol and ethanol, can suppress the evaporation of aromatic compounds such as cumene during the evaporation process in some samples. While the use of mass spectrometry to analyze the composition of the evolving gas mixture provided useful results for a relatively simple research gasoline (FACE B), additional research is required to practically apply this methodology to more complex commercial gasolines.
Fioroni, Gina M., Christensen, Earl, Fouts, Lisa, McCormick, Robert
Effect of EGR and Premixed Mass Percentage on Cycle to Cycle Variation of Methanol/Diesel Dual Fuel RCCI Combustion2019-26-00901/9/2019
Reactivity controlled compression ignition has been a proven combustion strategy for better reduction of NOx and PM emissions without compromising the fuel economy. However, the combustion strategy still need more investigation to overcome its operational stability. In this study, the influence of hot/cooled exhaust gas recirculation and premixed mass percentage and there cyclic variation of Methanol/Diesel dual fuel reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI) combustion was investigated in a modified 3 cylinder light duty, turbocharged, CRDI diesel engine. Methanol/Diesel RCCI combustion was achieved by premixing methanol with intake air in the intake port and injecting diesel directly into the cylinder by flexible common rail direct injection system. The intake manifold was altered to adopt port fuel injection of methanol and EGR. Experiments were conducted at 3.4 bar and 5.1 bar BMEP at 1500 rpm by varying EGR and premixed mass percentage. Overall, the results shows that 26% cooled EGR resulted in less cycle to cycle variation, better reduction in NO, and smoke emissions with improved thermal efficiency at both loads with methanol mass percentage 76% and 81% respectively. At hot EGR operation the higher cyclic variation, higher pressure rise rate and higher NOx and smoke emissions observed than cooled EGR operation. It is also observed that 5.1 bar BMEP operation exhibited a lesser cycle to cycle variation and emissions compared to 3.4 bar BMEP operation.
Duraisamy, Ganesh, Rangasamy, Murugan, Nagarajan, Govindan
Effects of Bio-Alcohol Fuel Blends on the Aging of Engine Lubricating Oil2018-01-17469/10/2018
Bio-alcohol fuel blends will gain in importance for future mobility. The driving force is the necessary reduction of greenhouse gases and harmful exhaust gas components. The new fuels offer advantages in engine combustion and resulting exhaust emissions because of the short-chained molecules and resulting low C/H ratio as well as the higher oxygen content. The aim of the project is a systematic analysis and evaluation of the effects of two bio-alcohol blends on the lubrication oil ageing of a gasoline-driven Euro 6 passenger car engine. For this reason a test engine was operated with three different fuels: a fossil gasoline (E0) without bio-alcohol components, a blend containing 30% vol ethanol (E30) and a blend containing 15% vol methanol (M15). During the engine test, gas of the cylinder charge and blow-by has been sampled and analyzed by ion chromatography regarding short-chained organic and inorganic acids. Based on these results the acid entries in lubricating oil were determined. In addition to the acid entries the entry of fuel into the lubricating oil were determined and compared for different engine operation points and test fuels. The causes of the fuel entries are discussed, based on the different fuel compositions and the resulting properties of bio-alcohol fuel blends. The results of the project provide detailed insights in the influence of the bio-alcohol fuel blends lubricity and aging of engine lubricating oil. This knowledge is prerequisite for a successful introduction of fuels with higher amounts of bio-alcohol in the market to meet the target for carbon dioxide reduction in the future mobility sector.
Prehn, Sascha, Vogel, Christine, Buchholz, Bert
A Computational Study of Lean Limit Extension of Alcohol HCCI Engines2018-01-16799/10/2018
The purpose of present numerical study was to extend the operating range of alcohol (methanol and ethanol) fueled Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine under low load conditions. Ignition of pure methanol and ethanol under HCCI mode of operation requires high intake temperatures and misfires at low loads are common in HCCI engines. Three methods have been adapted to optimize the use of methanol and ethanol for HCCI operation without increasing the intake temperature. First, blending methanol and ethanol with ignition improver, namely di-methyl ether (DME) and di-ethyl ether (DEE), was used to increase the cetane number and ignitability of premixed charge. Second, based on the blended fuels, the spark assistance was used to reduce required intake temperature for auto-ignition. Third, DME and DEE were directly injected to methanol and ethanol operated HCCI engine, in the form of Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) combustion. Negligible improvement in reducing intake temperature was observed in spark-assisted HCCI combustion due to the slow flame propagation speed under the lean premixed condition with blended fuels. In all three methods, it was found that RCCI combustion was more effective at reducing the required intake temperature compared to HCCI and spark assisted combustion, in spite of the fact that they are operated at same lambda (3.3) operating conditions.
Zhou, Qiyan, Mubarak Ali, Mohammed Jaasim, Mohan, Balaji, Lu, Xing-Cai, Im, Hong
Blending Octane Number of 1-Butanol and Iso-Octane with Low Octane Fuels in HCCI Combustion Mode2018-01-16819/10/2018
Due to their physical and chemical properties, alcohols such as ethanol and methanol when blended with gasoline provide high anti-knock quality and hence efficient engines. However, there are few promising properties of 1-butanol similar to conventional gasoline which make it a favorable choice for internal combustion engines. Previously the author showed that by blending ethanol and methanol with low octane fuels, non-linear increase in the HCCI fuel number occurs in HCCI combustion mode. Very few studies have been conducted on the use of 1-butanol in HCCI combustion mode, therefore for this work, 1-butanol with a RON 96 was selected as the high octane fuel. Three low octane fuels with octane number close to 70 were used as a base fuel. Two of the low octane fuels are Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines (FACE gasolines), more specifically FACE I and FACE J and also primary reference fuel (PRF 70) were selected. In addition, iso-octane, which has a different chemical structure than 1-butanol but an octane number (100) close to 1-butanol, was also selected as high octane fuel. A Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine was used to conduct the experiments in HCCI combustion mode. HCCI fuel number was used for the octane rating similar to RON and MON in SI engine. 1-butanol and iso-octane were added in volume percentage 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% to each of the base fuels. It was found that the increase of HCCI fuel number of 1-butanol was not linear with percentage added. For most of the operating conditions, non-linear synergistic blending behavior was observed when 1-butanol was blended with the three base fuels. The base fuel composition played a significant role for the blending octane number of 1-butanol. A weaker octane enhancement effect was observed when iso-octane was blended with the three base fuels.
Waqas, Muhammad Umer, Mohammed, Abdulrahman, Masurier, Jean-Baptiste, Johansson, Bengt
Heat Loss Analysis for Various Piston Geometries in a Heavy-Duty Methanol PPC Engine2018-01-17269/10/2018
Partially premixed combustion (PPC) in internal combustion engine as a low temperature combustion strategy has shown great potential to achieve high thermodynamic efficiency. Methanol due to its unique properties is considered as a preferable PPC engine fuel. The injection timing to achieve methanol PPC conditions should be set very close to TDC, allowing to utilize spray-bowl interaction to further improve combustion process in terms of emissions and heat losses. In this study CFD simulations are performed to investigate spray-bowl interaction for a number of different piston designs and its impact on the heat transfer and the overall piston performance. The validation case is based on a single cylinder heavy-duty Scania D13 engine with a compression ratio 15. The operation point is set to low load 5.42 IMEPg bar with SOI -3 aTDC. After satisfactory agreement with experiments in terms of combustion phasing, in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate, the effect of piston bowl geometry is investigated by performing several CFD simulations with modified piston bowl geometry while keeping the compression ratio, CA50 and injection conditions the same as the baseline case. The influence of the wall temperature gradient, the near wall effective conductivity and the piston bowl area on the heat transfer is studied. It was observed that the flow structures that re-direct the hot vapor away from the in-cylinder walls will reduce the wall area that actively transfer the heat. The final piston performance comparison showed that piston bowl designs with a reduced area to volume ratio does not guarantee lower heat loss. Therefore, the mixing process as the result of the spray-bowl interaction and the resulting fuel distribution are considered as the main mechanisms to minimize the total heat losses.
Pucilowski, Mateusz, Jangi, Mehdi, Shamun, Sam, Tuner, Martin, Bai, Xue-Song
Catalytic Mechanism Converts CO2 to MethanolTBMG-328419/1/2018
Capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) and converting it to useful chemicals such as methanol could reduce both pollution and U.S. dependence on petroleum products. Catalysts are used to bring the reacting chemicals together in a way that makes it easier for them to break and rearrange their chemical bonds. Understanding details of these molecular interactions could point to strategies to improve the catalysts for more energy-efficient reactions.
Effects of Ethanol Evaporative Cooling on Particulate Number Emissions in GDI Engines2018-01-03604/3/2018
The spark ignition engine particulate number (PN) emissions have been correlated to a particulate matter index (PMI) in the literature. The PMI value addresses the fuel effect on PN emission through the individual fuel species reactivity and vapor pressure. The latter quantity is used to account for the propensity of the non-volatile fuel components to survive to the later part of the combustion event as wall liquid films, which serve as sources for particulate emission. The PMI, however, does not encompass the suppression of vaporization by the evaporative cooling of fuel components, such as ethanol, that have high latent heat of vaporization. This paper assesses this evaporative cooling effect on PN emissions by measurements in a GDI engine operating with a base gasoline which does not contain oxygenate, with a blend of the gasoline and ethanol, and with a blend of the gasoline, ethanol, and a hydrocarbon additive so that the blend has the same PMI as the original gasoline. As such, the dilution and the evaporative cooling effects of the ethanol could be separated. Measurements have also been done with methanol and MTBE. The results show that evaporative cooling effect can significantly change the PN emission. The extent of the change, however, depends on the details of the operating condition such as injection timing, engine coolant temperature, and load.
Chen, Yu, Zhang, Yihao, Cheng, Wai K.
Dual Fuel Methanol and Diesel Direct Injection HD Single Cylinder Engine Tests2018-01-02594/3/2018
Laws concerning emissions from heavy duty (HD) internal combustion engines are becoming increasingly stringent. New engine technologies are needed to satisfy these new requirements and to reduce fossil fuel dependency. One way to achieve both objectives can be to partially replace fossil fuels with alternatives that are sustainable with respect to emissions of greenhouse gases, particulates and nitrogen oxides (NOx). A suitable candidate is methanol. The aim of the study presented here was to investigate the possible advantages of combusting methanol in a heavy duty Diesel engine. Those are, among others, lower particulate emissions and thereby bypassing the NOx-soot trade-off. Because of methanol’s poor auto-ignition properties, Diesel was used as an igniting sources and both fuels were separately direct injected. Therefore, two separate standard common rail Diesel injection systems were used together with a newly designed cylinder head and adapted injection nozzles. This study serves as a proof-of-concept, demonstrating that methanol can successfully be used in a high pressure Diesel injection system. Additionally, the combustion properties of the dual fuel system were compared to those of pure Diesel with the same dual injection strategy. Methanol offered comparable combustion efficiencies to conventional Diesel with lower NOx and significantly lower soot emissions. A design of experiments study was performed to characterize the methanol-diesel system’s behavior in detail at a single speed-load point. A sweet spot analysis showed potential for optimizing the given setup towards even higher indicated gross efficiency with very low soot and low NOx.
Saccullo, Michael, Benham, Timothy, Denbratt, Ingemar
Blending Octane Number of Toluene with Gasoline-like and PRF Fuels in HCCI Combustion Mode2018-01-12464/3/2018
Future internal combustion engines demand higher efficiency but progression towards this is limited by the phenomenon called knock. A possible solution for reaching high efficiency is Octane-on-Demand (OoD), which allows to customize the antiknock quality of a fuel through blending of high-octane fuel with a low octane fuel. Previous studies on Octane-on-Demand highlighted efficiency benefits depending on the combination of low octane fuel with high octane booster. The author recently published works with ethanol and methanol as high-octane fuels. The results of this work showed that the composition and octane number of the low octane fuel is significant for the blending octane number of both ethanol and methanol. This work focuses on toluene as the high octane fuel (RON 120). Aromatics offers anti-knock quality and with high octane number than alcohols, this work will address if toluene can provide higher octane enhancement. Our aim is to investigate the impact of three gasoline-like fuels and two Primary Reference Fuels (PRFs). More specifically, fuels are FACE (Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) I, FACE J, FACE A, PRF 70 and PRF 84. A CFR engine was used to conduct the experiments in HCCI mode. For this combustion mode, the engine operated at four specific conditions based on RON and MON conditions. The octane numbers corresponding to four HCCI numbers were obtained for toluene concentration of 0, 2, 5, 10, 15 and 20%. Results show that the blending octane number of toluene varies non-linearly and linearly with the increase in toluene concentration depending on the base fuel, experimental conditions and the concentration of toluene. As a result, the blending octane number can range from close to 150 with a small fraction of toluene to a number closer to that of toluene, 120, with larger fractions.
Waqas, Muhammad Umer, Masurier, Jean-Baptiste, Sarathy, Mani, Johansson, Bengt
Soot and PAH Formation Characteristics of Methanol-Gasoline Belnds in Laminar Coflow Diffusion Flames2018-01-03574/3/2018
Particulate matter emissions are becoming a big issue for GDI engines as the emission regulations being more stringent. Methanol has been considered to be an important alternative fuel to reduce soot emissions. To understand the effect of methanol addition on soot and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) formation, the 2-D distributions of soot volume fraction and different size PAHs relative concentrations in methanol/gasoline laminar diffusion flames were measured by TC-LII and PLIF techniques. The effect of methanol was investigated under the conditions of the same carbon flow and the same flame height. The methanol volume fraction was set as M0/20/40/60/80. The results showed that the natural luminescent flame lift-off height and soot lift-off height increases consistently with the increasing methanol content due to the increase of outlet velocity of fuel vapor. Methanol addition is able to inhibit the soot and PAHs formations significantly, which may be largely due to the dilution of aromatics and methanol molecular structure. The effect of methanol on reducing soot is weakened with the increasing methanol ratio. Under the same flame height condition, the peak soot volume fraction in the M20, M40, M60, and M80 flames reduces by 35.6%, 58.7%, 74.9% and 88.5%. The PAHs concentration of four different scales decrease with the increasing methanol content, and the largest aromatic ring (450 nm) decrease the most. As the number of rings of aromatics increases, it peaks at a higher height, and its highly concentrated area gradually moves from the center of the flame to the two wings of the flame. The initial height of soot formation increases with the increasing methanol ratio, which increases more significantly under the same flame height condition than that under the same carbon flow condition.
Hua, Yang, Liu, Fushui, Wu, Han, Kang, Ning, Shi, Zhongjie
Experimental and Kinetic Analyses of Thermochemical Fuel Reforming (TFR) with Alcohol Enrichment in Plug Flow Reactor: a Verification of In-Cylinder TFR2017-01-227810/8/2017
In-cylinder thermochemical fuel reforming (TFR) in spark ignition natural gas engine was developed to reveal that thermochemical fuel reforming could increase H2 and CO concentration in reformed gas, leading to an increase of thermal efficiency and engine performance. Moreover, ethanol enrichment has been proved to have great potential to optimize TFR performance. In order to explain TFR phenomenon chemically, methane oxidation experiments were conducted in a laminar flow reactor with addition of ethanol and methanol at equivalent ratios of 1.5, 1.7, 1.9 and 2.1 from 948K to 1098K at atmospheric pressure. Experimental results showed that methanol have great ability to facilitate the oxidation of methane than that of ethanol. Meanwhile, the degree of methane conversion became more significantly as the equivalent ratio increased. Kinetic analysis of oxidation of methane with alcohol enrichment in a plug flow model was also conducted in this study. There was good agreement between experimental and computational results. The oxidation of methanol or ethanol released plenty of radicals such as H, OH and HO2, which further reacted with CH4 more intensively in fuel rich condition. Rate of production and sensitivity analyses showed that methanol could produce more reactive radicals, which were involved in a series of initial oxidation reactions of methane. It indicated that methanol have great potential to improve in-cylinder TFR performance.
Deng, Zhiwei, Li, Ang, Zhu, Lei, Huang, Zhen
Influence of the Methanol Proportion on the Combustion Characteristics of Methanol-Biodiesel -F-T Diesel Blended Fuel2017-01-233510/8/2017
The F-T diesel made from coal by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (F-T) can be used as a clean alternative fuel of diesel engine. To alleviate the drawback of high cost and low viscosity of F-T diesel, the Methanol-Biodiesel -F-T diesel multiple fuel (MBFT) was prepared by adding low-cost methanol and high-viscosity biodiesel as modifiers. Considering the immiscibility between alcohols and hydrocarbons, this paper carried out a series of stability tests and found that n-decanol was the optimum co-solvent of MBFT. The MBFTs blended by biodiesel with the volume fraction of 10% (10% vol.) and methanol with varying proportions of 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% vol. were denoted as M0, M5, M10 and M15, respectively. The increasing methanol proportion caused the increase of the oxygen content in the blended fuels and the reduction of heat value, surface tension and cetane number. The influence of methanol proportion on combustion characteristics of turbo-charging engine was studied. The study indicates that with the increase of the proportion of methanol, the ignition delay period of MBFT is prolonged 17.3∼37.1% while the normal combustion period and post combustion period is shortened 7.5∼16.0% and 28.3%∼49.0%, respectively; the peak value of heat release rate is increased 8.3%∼32.7% and the peak value phase is delayed 20.8%∼51.6%, the peak value of pressure rise rate also presents this trend. The combustion pressure oscillation amplitude increases 10.8%∼60.0% with the increase of methanol ratio, and the peak value phase of pressure oscillation is delayed 23.5%∼134.6%.
Yang, Tiantian, Wang, Tie, Qiao, Jing, Gao, Ji, Feng, Yizhuo, Sun, Dandan
Methanol Fuel Testing on Port Fuel Injected Internal-Only EGR, HPL-EGR and D-EGR ® Engine Configurations2017-01-228510/8/2017
The primary focus of this investigation was to determine the hydrogen reformation, efficiency and knock mitigation benefits of methanol-fueled Dedicated EGR (D-EGR®) operation, when compared to other EGR types. A 2.0 L turbocharged port fuel injected engine was operated with internal EGR, high-pressure loop (HPL) EGR and D-EGR configurations. The internal, HPL-EGR, and D-EGR configurations were operated on neat methanol to demonstrate the relative benefit of D-EGR over other EGR types. The D-EGR configuration was also tested on high octane gasoline to highlight the differences to methanol. An additional sub-task of the work was to investigate the combustion response of these configurations. Methanol did not increase its H2 yield for a given D-EGR cylinder equivalence ratio, even though the H:C ratio of methanol is over twice typical gasoline. Although the methanol H2 reformate yield did not increase over gasoline for a given equivalence ratio, the total yield did increase due to an extended rich misfire limit of the dedicated cylinder. Methanol-fueled D-EGR extended the maximum load of the engine by 2 bar BMEP. It also improved CoV of IMEP, increased dilution tolerance, improved combustion efficiency, and improved thermal efficiency. Cooled EGR also suppressed hot spot pre-ignition of methanol.
Randolph, Eric, Gukelberger, Raphael, Alger, Terrence, Briggs, Thomas, Chadwell, Christopher, Bosquez Jr., Antonio
The Effect of Injection Pressure on the NOx Emission Rates in a Heavy-Duty DICI Engine Running on Methanol.2017-01-219410/8/2017
Heavy-duty direct injection compression ignition (DICI) engine running on methanol is studied at a high compression ratio (CR) of 27. The fuel is injected with a common-rail injector close to the top-dead-center (TDC) with two injection pressures of 800 bar and 1600 bar. Numerical simulations using Reynold Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS), Lagrangian Particle Tracking (LPT), and Well-Stirred-Reactor (WSR) models are employed to investigate local conditions of injection and combustion process to identify the mechanism behind the trend of increasing nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions at higher injection pressures found in the experiments. It is shown that the numerical simulations successfully replicate the change of ignition delay time and capture variation of NOx emissions. The fuel vapor penetration length before the onset of ignition has been significantly altered at a higher injection pressure, which had an important impact on the high temperature zone and thus on the increased formation rate of NOx emissions.
Pucilowski, Mateusz, Jangi, Mehdi, Shamun, Sam, Tuner, Martin, Bai, Xue-Song
Experimental Investigation of Combustion Characteristics in a Heavy Duty Natural Gas Engine under Light Load with Methanol Addition2017-01-226810/8/2017
Engines fuelled with Liquefied natural gas (LNG) have been widely used in the heavy-duty vehicles. However, they suffer from poor combustion performance and flame instability under fuel-lean condition. In this work, experiments were performed on a turbo-charged, spark-ignition engine fuelled with natural gas (NG) and methanol. The combustion characteristics such as in-cylinder pressure, heat release rate (HRR), burned mass fraction (BMF), ringing/knock intensity (RI), ignition delay, centroid of HRR, and coefficient of variation (COV) of indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) were analyzed under light load (brake mean effective pressure=0.3876 MPa) with different methanol substitution rates (MSR=0%, 16%, 34%, 46%). The experimental results showed that combustion phase advanced with the increase in MSR due to faster burning velocity of methanol. Knock only occurred at MSR=46%, 2000 rpm. When the MSR rose 0% to 46%, the centroid of HRR shifted from 7.23° ATDC to 5.52° ATDC, the maximum in-cylinder pressure (Pmax) increased from 46.1 bar to 53.5 bar and the crank angle (CA) corresponding to Pmax moved from 9.5° ATDC to 6.5° ATDC at 1200 rpm. Similar with combustion phenomenon at 1200 rpm, the combustion phase advanced at 2000 rpm as well. Moreover, shorter ignition delay, higher in-cylinder pressure and larger rate of pressure rise were observed compared with pure NG mode. However, the interdependence between pressure parameters and their corresponding CA became weaker at MSR=46%. Meanwhile, the COV of IMEP and ignition delay measured in 100 cycles increased slightly.
Chen, Zhanming, Wang, Long, Zhang, Tiancong, Duan, Qimeng, Yang, Bo
Effect of Start of Injection on the Combustion Characteristics in a Heavy-Duty DICI Engine Running on Methanol2017-01-05603/28/2017
Methanol as an alternative fuel in internal combustion engines has an advantage in decreasing emissions of greenhouse gases and soot. Hence, developing of a high performance internal combustion engine operating with methanol has attracted the attention in industry and academic research community. This paper presents a numerical study of methanol combustion at different start-of-injection (SOI) in a direct injection compression ignition (DICI) engine supported by experimental studies. The aim is to investigate the combustion behavior of methanol with single and double injection at close to top-dead-center (TDC) conditions. The experimental engine is a modified version of a heavy duty D13 Scania engine. URANS simulations are performed for various injection timings with delayed SOI towards TDC, aiming at analyzing the characteristics of partially premixed combustion (PPC). The simulations are based on a relatively detailed chemical kinetic mechanism and a well-stirred reactor (WSR) approach, accelerated using a so-called chemistry coordinate mapping (CCM). The injection of the fuel is treated with Lagrangian Particle Tracking (LPT) method. A baseline case with SOI of -20 after TDC (ATDC) was studied experimentally; this case was chosen to validate the model and a good agreement between the experiments and the simulation is found after adjustment of the initial pressure and temperature condition. In all injection conditions the combustion phasing is kept the same, i.e. with the 50-percentage heat release at the same crank angle (CA50) by adjusting the intake temperature. It is shown that as SOI is delayed the combustion characteristics changes significantly leading to a high maximal pressure-rise-rate (MPRR). The SOIs between -20 and -7 ATDC results in a combustion process governed by auto-ignition with propagating ignition fronts. The MPRR increases with SOI due to the rapid heat release caused by ignition at lean but increasingly richer conditions towards stoichiometry. The diffusion controlled, diesel like combustion (CDC), starts to occur around SOI -3 ATDC. The first portion of injected fuel ignites with a delay at leaner conditions, and then forms a diffusion flame. The amount of fuel consumed in the ignition process is larger than the amount of fuel consumed in the diffusion flame. Thus, contribution to the total heat release from the ignition process is larger and more rapid from that when using diesel or gasoline in the same CDC injection. Such behavior is attributed to a longer ignition delay time, large latent heat value and higher stoichiometric mixture fraction for methanol than hydrocarbon fossil fuels. It is concluded that a single main injection strategy of methanol may not be preferable due to the high MPRR thus other injection strategies, e.g., multiple injections should be used.
Pucilowski, Mateusz, Jangi, Mehdi, Shamun, Sam, Li, Changle, Tuner, Martin, Bai, Xue-Song
Effect of Lube Oil Film Thickness on Spray/Wall Impingement with Diesel, M20 and E20 Fuels2017-01-08473/28/2017
Spray impacting on a lube oil film with a finite thickness is a common phenomenon in IC engines and plays a critical role in the fuel-air mixture process and combustion. With the use of early injection strategy to achieve HCCI combustion mode in diesel engines, this phenomenon becomes more and more prominent. In addition, oxygenated fuels such as methanol and ethanol are regarded as alternative fuel and additives to improve the overall performance of HCCI engine. Therefore, a better understanding about the role of lube oil film thickness in methanol-diesel and ethanol-diesel blended fuels spray/wall impingement is helpful for accumulating experimental data to establish a more accurate spray/wall impingement model and optimize the combustion in HCCI engines. In this paper, the effect of lube oil film thickness on the characteristics of spray/wall impingement of different fuels are investigated in a constant volume bomb test system. Fuels include diesel, methanol (20v%)-diesel (80v%) blended fuels(M20),ethanol(20v%)-diesel(80v%) blended fuels(E20). With the novel measurement methods, the information about film thickness and adhered fuel ratio was obtained. In general, the results demonstrate that the initial lube oil film influence the wall film distribution after impingement. With the increase of initial lube oil film thickness, the diffusion and merge interaction between spray droplets and oil film become obvious which intensify the phenomenon of the dilution of oil film. But due to the low-density and high-volatile property of M20 and E20 fuels compared to diesel, the level of diffusion and merge interaction between alcohol-diesel blended fuels spray and lube oil film is lower than that of diesel which means using alcohol-diesel blended fuels can mitigate the problem of lube oil dilution and local rich mixture during spray/wall impingement process.
Ge, Ming, Liang, Xingyu, Yu, Hanzhengnan, Wang, Yuesen, Zhang, Hongsheng
Development of Laminar Burning Velocity Correlation for the Simulation of Methanol Fueled SI Engines Operated with Onboard Fuel Reformer2017-01-05393/28/2017
Methanol fueled spark ignition (SI) engines have the potential for very high efficiency using an advanced heat recovery system for fuel reforming. In order to allow simulation of such an engine system, several sub-models are needed. This paper reports the development of two laminar burning velocity correlations, corresponding to two reforming concepts, one in which the reformer uses water from an extra tank to produce hydrogen rich gas (syngas) and another that employs the water vapor in the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) stream to produce reformed-EGR (R-EGR). This work uses a one-dimensional (1D) flame simulation tool with a comprehensive chemical kinetic mechanism to predict the laminar burning velocities of methanol/syngas blends and correlate it. The syngas is a mixture of H2/CO/CO2 with a CO selectivity of 6.5% to simulate the methanol steam reforming products over a Cu-Mn/Al catalyst. The simulation was exercised over syngas contents in the blend, fuel-air equivalence ratios, pressures, unburned gas temperatures and EGR ratios ranging respectively from 0% to 50%, 0.5 to 1.5, 10 to 85 bar, 550 to 800 K and 0% to 30% (by mass). The developed correlations are ready to be implemented into engine simulation tools as well as computational fluid dynamic codes. Based on the developed correlations, optimal control strategies and dilution methods have been studied. The engine is able to work with the same mass burning rate at leaner mixtures or lower intake charge temperatures with an onboard fuel reformer. If the engine is operated at stoichiometric condition, at the same mass fraction of methanol to the catalyst and the same EGR, the R-EGR concept is recommended because it provides a faster laminar burning velocity and does not require an extra tank of water for fuel reforming.
Nguyen, Duc-Khanh, Verhelst, Sebastian
Comparing the Exergy Destruction of Methanol and Gasoline in Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) Engine2017-01-07583/28/2017
Multi-dimensional models coupled with a reduced chemical mechanism were used to investigate the effect of fuel on exergy destruction fraction and sources in a reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI) engine. The exergy destruction due to chemical reaction (Deschem) makes the largest contribution to the total exergy destruction. Different from the obvious low temperature heat release (LTHR) behavior in gasoline/diesel RCCI, methanol has a negative effect on the LTHR of diesel, so the exergy destruction accumulation from LTHR to high temperature heat release (HTHR) can be avoided in methanol/diesel RCCI, contributing to the reduction of Deschem. Moreover, the combustion temperature in methanol/diesel RCCI is higher compared to gasoline/diesel RCCI, which is also beneficial to the lower exergy destruction fraction. Therefore, the exergy destruction of methanol/diesel RCCI is lower than that of gasoline/diesel RCCI at the same combustion phasing. From the further analysis in a perfectly stirred reactor under isothermal and isobaric conditions, methanol demonstrates the larger Deschem/released energy (RE) ratio than n-heptane and iso-octane. By summarizing all the reaction paths of the three fuels, it is found that the primary heat release reactions are almost the same for them, which are all among small molecules and radicals. In all these reactions, the reactions of “H+O2+(M) ↔ HO2+(M)” (R83), “CO+OH ↔ CO2+H” (R99), and “HCO+M ↔ H+CO+M” (R100) play the most dominant effect on the Deschem for the three fuels. Overall, the fuel without LTHR and with large RE fraction from R83 and R99, and low RE fraction from R100, is preferable for the reduction of Deschem as well as the total exergy destruction.
Li, Yaopeng, Jia, Ming, Chang, Yachao, Xu, Guangfu
Evaporation and Cold Start Behavior of Bio-Fuels in Non-Automotive Applications2016-32-003411/8/2016
Worldwide increasing energy consumption, decreasing energy resources and continuous restriction of emission legislation cause a rethinking in the development of internal combustion engines and fuels. Alternative renewable fuels, so called bio-fuels, have the potential to contribute to environmentally friendly propulsion systems. This study concentrates on the usage of alcohol fuels like ethanol, methanol and butanol in non-automotive high power engines, handheld power tools and garden equipment with the focus on mixture formation and cold start capability. Although bio-fuels have been investigated intensely for the use in automotive applications yet, the different propulsion systems and operation scenarios of nonautomotive applications raise the need for specific research. A zero dimensional vaporization model has been set up to calculate the connections between physical properties and mixture formation. This model is able to calculate the vaporization behavior of different mixtures based on the chemical composition and the single component properties of fuels. Calculation cases for different applications and boundary conditions have been taken into account to evaluate the influence of fuel properties on the vaporization potential. In order to validate the results of the calculations, experimental investigations of the vaporization behavior have been performed. These investigations were made by using a cold start procedure on different four stroke engines. The results of the simulation give information about the cold start behavior of different fuels and are necessary to understand the mechanisms of vaporization during the cold start process.
Jandl, Stephan, Schacht, Hans-Juergen, Schmidt, Stephan, Dawin, Ute, Kölmel, Armin, Leiber, Stefan
Reforming Controlled Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition -Simulation Results2016-32-001411/8/2016
A computer model was built and a theoretical analysis was performed to predict the behavior of a system containing Homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine and a methanol reformer. The reformer utilizes the waste heat of the exhaust gases to sustain the two subsequent processes: dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether (DME) and water, and methanol steam reforming (SRM) where methanol and water react to mainly hydrogen, CO and CO2. Eventually, a gaseous mixture of DME, H2, CO, CO2, water (reused) and some other species is created in these processes. This mixture is used for the engine feeding. By adding water to the methanol and fixing the vaporized fuel's temperature, it is possible to manage the kinetics of chemical processes, and thus to control the products’ composition. This allows controlling the HCCI combustion. By a magnification of H2/DME ratio the ignition delay is increased and so it is possible to synchronize the ignition timing and also to control combustion duration. The simulation results prove feasibility of the suggested approach and a possibility of achieving substantially higher energy efficiency together with zero-impact NOx emissions in a wide range of engine operating modes.
Eyal, Amnon, Tartakovsky, Leonid
Well-to-Wheels Emissions of Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollutants of Dimethyl Ether from Natural Gas and Renewable Feedstocks in Comparison with Petroleum Gasoline and Diesel in the United States and Europe2016-01-220910/17/2016
Dimethyl ether (DME) is an alternative to diesel fuel for use in compression-ignition engines with modified fuel systems and offers potential advantages of efficiency improvements and emission reductions. DME can be produced from natural gas (NG) or from renewable feedstocks such as landfill gas (LFG) or renewable natural gas from manure waste streams (MANR) or any other biomass. This study investigates the well-to-wheels (WTW) energy use and emissions of five DME production pathways as compared with those of petroleum gasoline and diesel using the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET®) model developed at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The five DME pathways include 1) fossil NG with large-scale DME plants, 2) methanol from fossil NG with large-scale plants for both methanol and DME (separately), 3) LFG with small-scale DME plants, 4) manure-based biogas with small-scale DME plants, and 5) methanol from black liquor gasification with small-scale DME plants. This study analyzes DME production and use in the U.S. and Europe, and in two vehicle classes (light and heavy duty vehicles [LDVs and HDVs]). The WTW results show significant reductions in fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by DME compared to gasoline and diesel if DME is produced from LFG and manure-based biogas. When methanol from black liquor is used for DME production, there are reductions in GHG emissions, though smaller than DME produced from LFG and MANR. Meanwhile, fossil NG-based DME produced in large-scale DME plants or from NG-based methanol shows GHG emissions at the similar level as petroleum diesel does.
Lee, Uisung, Han, Jeongwoo, Wang, Michael, Ward, Jacob, Hicks, Elliot, Goodwin, Dan, Boudreaux, Rebecca, Hanarp, Per, Salsing, Henrik, Desai, Parthav, Varenne, Emmanuel, Klintbom, Patrik, Willems, Werner, Winkler, Sandra L., Maas, Heiko, De Kleine, Robert, Hansen, John, Shim, Tine, Furusjö, Erik
Exhaust PM Emissions Analysis of Alcohol Fueled Heavy-Duty Engine Utilizing PPC2016-01-228810/17/2016
The focus has recently been directed towards the engine out soot from Diesel engines. Running an engine in PPC (Partially Premixed Combustion) mode has a proven tendency of reducing these emissions significantly. In addition to combustion strategy, several studies have suggested that using alcohol fuels aid in reducing soot emissions to ultra-low levels. This study analyzes and compares the characteristics of PM emissions from naphtha gasoline PPC, ethanol PPC, methanol PPC and methanol diffusion combustion in terms of soot mass concentration, number concentration and particle size distribution in a single cylinder Scania D13 engine, while varying the intake O2. Intake temperature and injection pressure sweeps were also conducted. The fuels emitting the highest mass concentration of particles (Micro Soot Sensor) were gasoline and methanol followed by ethanol. The two alcohols tested emitted nucleation mode particles only, whereas gasoline emitted accumulation mode particles as well. Regarding soot mass concentration measurements; methanol never exceeded 1.6 mg/m3 while when operating on gasoline this value never descended below 1.6 mg/m3. From this result it can be concluded that the main contributor to PM mass emissions is mainly increasing CMD (Count Mean Diameter) in the accumulation mode size range, but can in diffusion combustion also be caused by a high amount of nucleation mode particles. A probable cause of higher particle number emissions, when running the engine on methanol compared to ethanol, is the corrosiveness of the fuel itself. Except for the ultra-low PM mass emitted from alcohol combustion, it is also possible to alter the EGR concentration with a higher level of freedom without having to consider the NOX - soot tradeoff.
Shamun, Sam, Shen, Mengqin, Johansson, Bengt, Tuner, Martin, Pagels, Joakim, Gudmundsson, Anders, Tunestal, Per
Microscopic and Macroscopic Spray Characteristics of GDI Injector Using Gasohol Fuels at Various Injection Pressures2016-01-08684/5/2016
The development of advanced gasoline direct injection (GDI) injector requires in-depth investigations of macroscopic and microscopic spray characteristics. Over the years, GDI injectors have undergone exponential improvement to be able to deliver fuel at high injection pressure. High fuel injection pressure (FIP) leads to superior fuel atomization, and consequently superior fuel-air mixing. Present investigations aim to improve our fundamental knowledge of the furl-air mixture preparation mechanisms of different test fuels. Experiments were conducted to study spray breakup of GDI injector. This study focuses on the spray investigations using Phase Doppler Interferometry (PDI) for the measurement of various spray related studies such as determination of arithmetic mean diameter (AMD), sauter mean diameter (SMD) and spray droplet velocity distributions. Gasohol mixtures (methanol and ethanol blended with gasoline) have been used as test fuels to investigate microscopic and macroscopic spray characteristics of these fuels injected from the GDI injector. The investigations were carried out at five different FIPs (40, 80, 120, 160, 200 bar). Macroscopic spray visualization was done using a high speed CCD camera at varying FIPs. It was found that spray penetration length increased with increasing FIP. Spray droplet size distribution decreased and spray droplets velocity distribution increased with increasing FIP. These results predicted behavior of GDI injector for mixture preparation at various FIPs for these two gasohols vis-à-vis baseline gasoline.
Sharma, Nikhil, Agarwal, Avinash Kumar
Improving the Efficiency of Conventional Spark-Ignition Engines Using Octane-on-Demand Combustion. Part I: Engine Studies2016-01-06794/5/2016
This paper is the first of a two part study which investigates the use of advanced combustion modes as a means of improving the efficiency and environmental impact of conventional light-duty vehicles. This first study focuses on the application of so-called Octane-on-Demand combustion, whereby the fuel anti-knock quality is customized to match the real-time requirements of an otherwise conventional spark-ignition engine. Methanol is utilized as the high octane fuel, while three alternative petroleum-derived fuels with Research octane numbers (RONs) ranging from 61 to 90 are examined as candidates for the lower octane fuel. Experimental engine calibration maps are first developed to quantify the minimum amount of methanol that must be added to each lower octane fuel in order to reproduce the baseline engine performance attained on a market gasoline (RON 95). The properties of the lower octane fuel are shown to affect the engine performance significantly. In particular, the lower octane fuel indirectly defines the evolution of several key fuel properties with engine load. This synergistic relationship ultimately presents a trade-off between minimizing the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, but can also be exploited to eliminate the traditional constraints on high load engine operation. Finally, the benefits and trade-offs associated with Octane-on-Demand are discussed in relation to powertrain design and emissions legislation. These benefits include several opportunities to simplify traditional aftertreatment systems, while also realizing higher pollutant conversion efficiencies. Overall, this work suggests that Octane-on-Demand can enable a degree engine performance and efficiency that is not possible with traditional gasolines, while simultaneously realizing the environmental benefits of lower octane petroleum-derived fuels that require less processing than those offered in the market today.
Morganti, Kai, Abdullah, Marwan, Alzubail, Abdullah, Viollet, Yoann, Head, Robert, Chang, Junseok, Kalghatgi, Gautam
Spray Behaviour and Particulate Matter Emissions with M15 Methanol/Gasoline Blends in a GDI Engine2016-01-09914/5/2016
Model M15 gasoline fuels have been created from pure fuel components, to give independent control of volatility, the heavy end content and the aromatic content, in order to understand the effect of the fuel properties on Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) fuel spray behaviour and the subsequent particulate number emissions. Each fuel was imaged at a range of fuel temperatures in a spray rig and in a motored optical engine, to cover the full range from non-flashing sprays through to flare flashing sprays. The spray axial penetration (and potential piston and liner impingement), and spray evaporation rate were extracted from the images. Firing engine tests with the fuels with the same fuel temperatures were performed and exhaust particulate number spectra captured using a DMS500 Mark II Particle Spectrometer. Data from the spray images and knowledge of the fuel evaporative performance has been used to explain some of the observed findings that might appear to be against the expected trends, but can be explained in terms of the saturation pressure ratio - the ratio of the fuel vapour pressure to the system pressure.
Mohd Murad, Safwan Hanis, Camm, Joseph, Davy, Martin, Stone, Richard, Richardson, Dave
Cetane Number Determination by Advanced Fuel Ignition Delay Analysis in a New Constant Volume Combustion Chamber2015-01-07984/14/2015
A new constant volume combustion chamber (CVCC) apparatus is presented that calculates the cetane number (CN) of fuels from their ignition delay by means of a primary reference fuel calibration. It offers the benefits of low fuel consumption, suitability for non-lubricating substances, accurate and fast measurements and a calibration by primary reference fuels (PRF). The injection system is derived from a modern common-rail passenger car engine. The apparatus is capable of fuel injection pressures up to 1200 bar and requires only 40 ml of the test fuel. The constant volume combustion chamber can be heated up to 1000 K and pressurized up to 50 bar. Sample selection is fully automated for independent operation and low levels of operator involvement. Capillary tubes employed in the sampling system can be heated to allow the measurement of highly viscous fuels. For primary reference fuel calibration, ignition delay times of six mixtures with defined CN in the range of 35 to 70 are measured and correlated to their CN using a mathematical best fit curve. First tests showed good correlation with conventionally determined engine CN for several diesel fuels. Methanol and ethanol with a CN below 20 were measured using a special low-CN calibration and higher chamber temperature and pressure. Two oxygenates with a high CN above 100 were measured after mixing with a low-CN primary reference fuel. This blending CN method allows extrapolating the CN for samples above the calibrated measurement range.
Seidenspinner, Philipp, Härtl, Martin, Wilharm, Thomas, Wachtmeister, Georg
Biodiesel (Mangifera Oil Methyl Ester) Derived from Triglycerides of Mangifera Kernel Seed and Leaves Oil by using Heterogeneous Catalyst2015-01-16824/14/2015
The mangifera indica oil is a nonedible vegetable oil, which is available in large quantities in mango cultivating countries including India. Very little research has been done on utilization of oil in general and optimization of transesterification process for biodiesel production. In present study, the transesterification processes with heterogeneous catalyst. The various input parameters like methanol to oil molar ratio (1:08, 1:12 and 1:16), heterogeneous catalyst types (ZnO, MgO and CaO), catalyst concentration (0.5, 1 and 1.5 wt %) and reaction temperature (59, 64 and 69°C) were studied by applying the orthogonal experimental array L9.ANOVA (F-test at P=0.05 contribution of each signal to noise factor) technique was used for optimization with the objective of maximizing the yield of high quality mangifera indica oil biodiesel. The optimum conditions for transesterification process are1:16 methanol to oil molar ratio of, 1.0 wt.% catalyst concentration, CaO as the catalyst type, 69°C reaction temperature. The optimum yield of MOME was 94.6%. The biodiesel produced (MOME) is within the limits prescribed by EN-14214 standard. The density, flash point and cloud and pour points for MOME were higher than those of the mineral diesel. Comparatively, the higher flash point of MOME makes it a safer fuel to handle. The calorific value of MOME was slightly lower than that of diesel. All these tests for the characterization of MOME demonstrated that almost all characteristics of MOME are comparable to those of diesel, and this makes it a potential substitute for diesel fuel in compression ignition engines.
Jadhav, Sangram D., Tandale, Madhukar S
Characterization of High Efficiency Octane-On-Demand Fuels Requirement in a Modern Spark Ignition Engine with Dual Injection System2015-01-12654/14/2015
In a regulatory environment for spark ignition (SI) engines where the focus is continuously looking into improvements in fuel economy and reduction in noxious emissions, the challenges to achieve future requirements are utmost. To effectively reduce CO2 emissions on a well-to-wheel basis, future fuels enabling high efficiency SI engines will have to not only satisfy advanced engine requirements, i.e. high knock resistance, but also produce less CO2 emissions in the refinery. This paper describes how to characterize SI combustion's on-demand octane requirement with three different dual fuel configurations. Refinery naphtha was used for low octane component, and three oxygenates were used for high octane knock inhibiting component, such as, Methanol and Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and Ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE). Each low and high octane fuel was introduced via production gasoline direct injector (DI) and port fuel injector (PFI) in both configurations. It was found that benefits of the high RON component was amplified when it was introduced through DI while the low RON naphtha was injected in PFI. Methanol had been shown to be most effective through DI due to its high heat of evaporation and charge cooling. Consequently, the minimum methanol requirement to maintain MBT is less than MTBE or ETBE by volume. An optimum oxygenate map was found within a range of 1500 to 3500 rpm in speed and 1bar to 13bar Brake Mean Effective Pressure (BMEP) in load range conditions. As a result, the engine could operate solely with low octane naphtha, up to loads of 4-bar BMEP. At a high load condition, such as 1500 rpm, 13bar BMEP, minimum requirement of methanol was 43% of total dual fuel, while MTBE requirement was 74%. This was because methanol's charge cooling in the chamber had a dominant effect on knock suppression, although a RON of MTBE was higher than methanol. On the contrary, the total fuel consumption with naphtha-methanol was higher than one with naphtha-MTBE. This was due to the fact that methanol's lower energy value required more naphtha as the primary fuel source, while MTBE could contribute 1.5 times higher energy than methanol. Three fuels with both high and low octane properties could provide the optimum octane on an as-required basis. This can enable engine manufacturers to further downsize engines by means of an additional parameter to dynamically control the knock boundary.
Viollet, Yoann, Abdullah, Marwan, Alhajhouje, Abdullah, Chang, Junseok
The Comparative Study of Gasoline and n-butanol on Spray Characteristics2014-01-275410/13/2014
n-butanol has been recognized as a promising alternative fuel for gasoline and may potentially overcome the drawbacks of methanol and ethanol, e.g. higher energy density. In this paper, the spray characteristics of gasoline and n-butanol have been investigated using a high pressure direct injection injector. High speed imaging and Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA) techniques were used to study the spray penetration and the droplet atomization process. The tests were carried out in a high pressure constant volume vessel over a range of injection pressure from 60 to 150 bar and ambient pressure from 1 to 5 bar. The results show that gasoline has a longer penetration length than that of n-butanol in most test conditions due to the relatively small density and viscosity of gasoline; n-butanol has larger SMD due to its higher viscosity. The increase in ambient pressure leads to the reduction in SMD by 42% for gasoline and by 37% for n-butanol. Based on the development of droplet velocity, it is found that the strong interaction between fuel jets could change the fuel distribution in the region close to the nozzle and this may be the joint effect of cavitation inside the nozzle and the vacuum near the nozzle caused by the high-speed fuel jets.
Li, Yanfei, Guo, Hengjie, Wang, Jian-Xin, Xu, Hongming
Emission and Performance Enhancement of Multi-Cylinder SI Engine Fuelled with LPG and Vaporized Water Methanol Induction2014-01-276410/13/2014
This work aims study on the method of NOx reduction and performance enhancement by analysis of MPFI multi-cylinder gasoline engine running on LPG using the gas injection system and vaporized water-methanol induction to the intake manifold. For the generation of vaporized water-methanol, heat from the exhaust gas has been used. Different percentages of water- methanol by mass basis were used with variable engine speed ranging from 2000 to 4500 RPM. The outcomes indicated that as the percentage water-methanol induction level of the engine increased, there is a slight increase in percentage of useful work, while the NOx decreased drastically about 47%. Additionally, the engine brake thermal efficiency gains. The mean gain in the brake thermal efficiency for a 20% water methanol with LPG is approximately 1.5% over the use of LPG without water-methanol induction.
Patil, Bhimrao, Nayak, Vighnesha, Padmanabha, Mohanan
Effects of Combustion Parameters and Lubricating Oil on Particulate Matter Emissions from a Turbo-Charged GDI Engine Fueled with Methanol/Gasoline Blends2014-01-284110/13/2014
The aim of this research is to experimentally investigate the effects of combustion parameters [ignition timings, injection timings, excess air ratio (λ)] and lubricating oil on particulate matter (PM) emissions from a 2.0 L turbo-charged gasoline direct injection (T-GDI) engine fueled with gasoline (octane number = 97), methanol/gasoline blends and pure methanol. The results of this paper show that the PM number concentration mostly presents a typical bimodal distribution in figures. The particle number concentration mainly concentrates in the nucleation mode. With the increase of methanol volume fraction in the blended fuel, the PM emissions decrease significantly. Furthermore, there are few particles when the engine fueled with pure methanol. As advancing ignition timing, the total PM number rises by over about 200%. Under the pre-ignition condition, the higher in-cylinder temperature may also accelerate the formation of the nucleation mode particles. As advancing injection timing, PM emissions decrease first, and then increase. As decreasing λ, the total PM number would be more than doubled due to the rich air-fuel mixture. The lower λ may significantly decelerate the oxidation trend of the PM in the combustion process, so that the PM number increases rapidly. The existence of lubricating oil shows a very great impact on PM emissions of T-GDI engine. As increasing a small volume fraction of lubricating oil in the fuel, the PM number significantly increases by several times, especially for accumulation mode particles.
Qin, Jing, Li, Xiang, Pei, Yiqiang
Ammonia Gasoline Fuel Blends: Feasibility Study of Commercially Available Emulsifiers and Effects on Stability and Engine Performance2014-01-275910/13/2014
Ammonia and hydrocarbon fuel blends, similar to ethanol and gasoline fuel blends can be used to commercialize ammonia as an alternative fuel. Feasibility of developing ammonia gasoline liquid fuel blends and the use of ethanol and methanol as emulsifiers to enhance the solubility of ammonia in gasoline were studied using thermostated vapor liquid equilibrium (VLE) high pressure cells, in this research. Solubility test results prove that emulsifier free pure gasoline is capable of dissolving 23 g/l of ammonia on mass basis (4.5% of ammonia on volume basis) at 345 kPa pressure and 286.65 K temperature in liquid phase. Solubility level is increased with the use of ethanol and methanol. Gasoline with 10% ethanol can retain 51.4 g/l (11.0% on volume basis) of ammonia in the liquid phase at the same pressure and temperature. Methanol has better emulsifying capabilities. Solubility level of gasoline with 10% methanol is 61.8 g/l (11.0% on volume basis). Better performances are observed when the ammonia rich fuels are benchmarked against baseline fuel especially at higher engine speeds.
Haputhanthri, Shehan O.
Vehicle Evaporative Emissions Characterization by Chromatographic Techniques Applied to Different Gasoline-Ethanol Blends2014-01-15744/1/2014
Currently, regulations on vehicle evaporative emissions only focus on the sum of Total Hydrocarbons (THC) without taking into account either the detailed hydrocarbon composition nor other chemicals besides hydrocarbons emitted from gasoline evaporation. As a consequence, this composition, also known as speciation, is not always noted and is even more unknown when biofuels such as ethanol are introduced in the market. Furthermore, these regulations do not differentiate the source of these emissions in the vehicle. The programme described in this paper is designed to investigate the influence of the addition of ethanol to gasoline on evaporative emissions. It has tried to go one step ahead of these directives obtaining more detailed characterization of these evaporative emissions. The programme has enabled a list of compounds (methanol, ethanol, aldehydes, ketones and hydrocarbons) to be determined in evaporative emissions among different ethanol-gasoline fuels (E0, E5-S, E10 and E85), applied to Euro 4 and Flexifuel vehicles by three chromatographic methods based on California Air Resources Board (CARB). Additionally, permeation from evaporation emissions has been determined separately. This document provides valuable information about the speciation of evaporative emissions and several conclusions have been drawn.
Paz, Susanna, Delgado, Rosa, Riba, David
Prospects for High-Temperature Combustion, Neat Alcohol-Fueled Diesel Engines2014-01-11944/1/2014
The use of neat alcohols, namely methanol and ethanol, in direct-injection, compression-ignited engines is difficult, most notably due to their poor ignitability. By employing a high-temperature combustion strategy, this challenge may be overcome, thus creating the opportunity for using these oxygenated and inherently low-sooting fuels for heavy-load applications. Experimental data are provided from a single-cylinder research engine that shows particulate matter (PM) emissions for Diesel-style combustion of both methanol and ethanol that are below the current US Government regulation limit. The level of particulates remained low up to stoichiometric ratios of fuel and air. A complete emissions analysis indicates a high combustion efficiency of ∼ 96% at stoichiometric conditions. In order to achieve reliable combustion, some form of intake-air preheating was required. The issue of ignitability is addressed with modeling which indicates that highly turbocharged, non-intercooled air into a cylinder with low heat rejection (LHR) surfaces can achieve conditions that satisfy acceptable ignition delay requirements. With increased exhaust enthalpy, opportunities exist to use thermal or mechanical exhaust regeneration strategies. All of these features contribute to a clean, high-efficiency Diesel engine with heavy-load capability. To explore the nature of soot formation within alcohol spray jets, images are provided from another single-cylinder device with optical access. The images show single-plume combustion for both methanol and ethanol into an air environment similar to that of an engine. Broadband luminosity is observable for both fuels within the interior of each jet. This indicates that a balance exists between soot formation and oxidation, the difference of which is responsible for engine-out emissions.
Roberts, Gregory, Johnson, Bernard, Edwards, Chris
Scope of Fe-ZSM5 Zeolite Based Urea-SCR with Fish Oil Bio-Diesel Fuel in Compressed Ignition Engine2014-01-15414/1/2014
The present consumption rates and heavy dependence on fossil fuels pose a humongous threat to the environment. The increased pollution in urban areas is already causing serious sociological, ecological and economic implications. The issue of energy security led governments and researchers to look for alternate means of renewable and environment friendly fuels. Biodiesel has been one of the promising, and economically viable alternatives. The biodiesels are reported to cause reduction in CO, HC and PM emissions. However, NOx emissions are increased in case of biodiesel in CI engine. Therefore, a Urea-SCR over Fe-ZSM5 honeycomb substrate (400cpsi) zeolite catalyst after treatment system is an effective technology to reduce emissions for biodiesel applications. Exhaust gases pass through the catalyst and reactions take place along its surface, consequently converting NOx into nitrogen and H2O. This conversion compliments the functioning of fish oil biodiesel in reducing the overall emissions. Taking a lead from this, the present study focuses on evaluation of performance and emission characteristics of a medium capacity diesel engine on blends of fish oil biodiesel and diesel employing Urea-SCR. The relationship of urea injection distance from the SCR catalyst in the exhaust pipe is also studied. Fish oil was trans-esterified with methyl alcohol to produce methyl ester. B20 blend of biodiesel was used since it balances the property differences with conventional diesel e.g. performance, emission benefits and cost. Further, B20 blend can be used in automotive engines with no major modification. To produce Urea injection in the exhaust pipe, a solution of urea (32.5%w/w) with water was sprayed using electronic injectors. Fe-ZSM5, honeycomb structure substrate (400cpsi) was used as the SCR catalyst. Fe-ZSM5 was used due to its high activity in the working temperature regime of the current paper. The fuel, F20 and diesel, were tested in CI engine, one at a time, with and, without Urea-SCR. The distance of Urea injection in the exhaust pipe was also varied and related performance and emissions were studied in each case. The results showed that the use of F20 with SCR reduces NOx as compared to the absence of SCR, without compromising on the thermal efficiency and other emissions. Also the greater distance of injection from the SCR unit has been found to be beneficial for NOx reduction.
Sharma, Shubham, Kumar, Naveen, Jain, Sambhav, Kumar, Sidhant
Influence of Methanol Induction on Performance, Emission and Combustion Behavior of a Methanol - Diesel Dual Fuel Engine2014-01-13154/1/2014
Experimental work was carried out to evaluate the performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a dual fuel engine with diesel as pilot fuel and methanol as inducted primary fuel. A single cylinder water cooled direct injection diesel engine developing a power output of 3.7kW at 1500 rev/min. was modified to work in the dual fuel mode. Tests were conducted at fixed loads such as 100%, 80%, 60% and 40% of the maximum power output with varying methanol induction rates. Brake thermal efficiency in dual fuel operation was better than normal diesel operation with methanol induction mainly at high power outputs. It increased from 30.3% with neat diesel to a maximum of 32.7% when methanol contributed about 44% of energy share. Smoke was reduced significantly with all methanol induction rates at all power outputs in dual fuel operation with diesel as pilot fuel. It was reduced from 3.8 BSU to 1.8 BSU with diesel at the maximum efficiency point at 100% load. NO emission was found lower in dual fuel operation at all loads and all methanol admission rates. This trend was noted mainly due to the reduction in the charge temperature due to vaporization of methanol. However, there was an increase in HC and CO emissions with methanol induction in dual fuel operation. Cylinder peak pressure and maximum rate of pressure rise were found as higher with methanol induction as compared to neat diesel operation mainly at high power outputs due to improvement in combustion. At low power outputs due to misfire peak pressure and maximum rate of pressure rise were reduced. Ignition delay and combustion duration were observed to be higher with methanol induction as compared to neat diesel operation all power outputs. Heat release rate resulted in improved premixed combustion phase with methanol induction mainly at high power outputs. However, at very high rates of methanol induction, premixed combustion phase became inferior due to misfire. It was concluded that diesel as pilot fuel and methanol as the inducted primary fuel could reduce smoke and NO levels significantly in a dual fuel engine with improved thermal efficiencies. However, care must be taken for controlling HC and CO emissions. In addition poor part load performance must be paid attention.
Masimalai, Senthil Kumar
Economics of Transportation Hydrocarbon Fuels and Environmental Regulations with Conceptual Solutions - Carbon-Neutral and Carbon-Negative Synfuels2014-01-19434/1/2014
Of all current proposals for sustainable transportation, the assumption is energy scarcity when there are economically favorable alternatives using existing technology. This paper explores the economics of a sustainable transportation energy pathway that provides carbon-neutral and carbon-negative synthetic fuel derived from seawater as the feedstock and power via Ocean Thermal Energy Cycle (OTEC). Seawater-based synthetic fuel is naturally carbon-neutral - different synthesis processes can yield hydrogen, methane, methanol and ethanol as well as gasoline, diesel or jet fuel - and is carbon-negative when combined with aquaculture. Methanol is favored as a fuel as it requires relatively lower capital investment; can be easily transported and stored; can be used as a feedstock to many chemical processes that currently rely on petrochemicals; and can be coproduced with or converted to dimethyl ether. This paper proposes a new process that for the first time marries OTEC-power and seawater-based-methanol synthetic fuel generation. The proposed process is optimized for highest product yield for a given capital investment, in that operating costs and therefore product costs are dominated by capital cost amortization. The methanol fuel produced by this process within the amortization period has a cost per unit of energy potentially comparable to petroleum-derived gasoline or diesel fuel and post-amortization to natural gas. The economics of this new process is compared to prior synthetic methanol processes proposed by Meyer Steinberg and William Avery.
Bucknell, John R.
Alcohol-Water MixturesAMS3006H (Current)12/5/2013
This specification covers mixtures of methyl alcohol and/or ethyl alcohol with water in the form of liquids.
AMS B Finishes Processes and Fluids Committee
A Study on the Improvement of NOx Emission Performance in a Diesel Engine Fuelled with Biodiesel2013-01-267710/14/2013
The use of biofuel is essential for the reduction of greenhouse gas emission. This study highlights the use of biodiesel as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emission from the diesel engine of heavy-duty vehicles. Biodiesel is fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) obtained through ester exchange reaction by adding methanol to oil, such as rapeseed oil, soybean oil, palm oil, etc. The CO2 emission from combustion of biodiesel is defined to be equivalent to the CO2 volume absorbed by its raw materials or plants in their course of growth. On the other hand, however, operation of diesel engine with biodiesel is known to increase the NOx emission when compared with that with conventional diesel fuel. Then suppressing this NOx increase is regarded as a critical issue. This paper consists of two parts: comprehending the factors of NOx emission increase and improving this emission performance in a diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel. In the first part, the basic combustion and emission characteristics of biodiesel were analyzed by using a single-cylinder diesel engine with applying double and single injection. From the results of single-cylinder engine bench test, NOx emission from biodiesel operation was increased and smoke emission was decreased compared with those from conventional diesel operation. In addition, the factor of NOx emission increase was considered in detail using a zero-dimensional simple cycle simulation model. As a result, the factor of NOx increase in biodiesel seems to be changing of local excess air ratio in fuel spray compared with conventional diesel fuel. In the second part, NOx emission from biodiesel engine was decreased by the control of air entrainment in the fuel spray with optimization of fuel injection pressure and diameter of injection nozzle hole. From the results, making diameter of nozzle hole large and decreasing fuel injection pressure had a great effect on NOx reduction with suppressing smoke emission under medium load conditions.
Mizushima, Norifumi, Kawano, Daisuke, Ishii, Hajime, Iwasa, Koichiro, Arai, Hiroki, Ishii, Daisuke
Comparative Performance Analysis of SI Engine Fed by Ethanol and Methanol Reforming Products2013-01-261710/14/2013
A comparative theoretical analysis of the spark ignition (SI) engine performance is performed for the cases of feeding it by the reforming products of two different alcohols: ethanol and methanol. Energy efficiency of the steam reforming process, optimal reactor temperature and obtainable compositions of the reforming products are showed and analyzed for the considered two fuel types. Three compositions of the reforming products: ethanol steam reforming (SRE), methanol steam reforming (SRM) and products of the low-temperature ethanol reforming are considered as gaseous fuels in the engine performance simulations. Change in the fuel burning velocity as a function of fuel composition and air excess factor is taken into account in a modeling of the heat release process. Effect of the selected reforming product compositions on the achievable internal combustion engine (ICE) and reformer-ICE powerplant efficiencies, NOx and CO emissions are analyzed and compared with the cases of ICE feeding by reference fuels: gasoline, ethanol and methanol.
Tartakovsky, Leonid, Baibikov, Vladimir, Veinblat, Mark
Contaminants for Testing Air Brake Components and Auxiliary Pneumatic Devices—Truck and BusJ2024_201305 (Historical)5/23/2013
This SAE Information Report establishes a minimum level of uniform recipes for contaminants which may be used when durability testing pneumatic components to obtain additional information on how a device may perform under more true-to-life operating conditions. This type of contamination testing, however, is not meant to replace the type of performance testing described in SAE J1409 and SAE J1410. Durability testing in the presence of contamination, however, will yield results more reflective of actual in-service field conditions and provide an additional evaluation of pneumatic devices. While the contaminant supply rate and other test criteria of the device being tested must be set by the device manufacturer or user, the items covered in this document will be:
Truck and Bus Brake Supply and Control Components Committee
Development and Validation of a Knock Prediction Model for Methanol-Fuelled SI Engines2013-01-13124/8/2013
Knock is one of the main factors limiting the efficiency of spark-ignition engines. The introduction of alternative fuels with elevated knock resistance could help to mitigate knock concerns. Alcohols are prime candidate fuels and a model that can accurately predict their autoignition behavior under varying engine operating conditions would be of great value to engine designers. The current work aims to develop such a model for neat methanol. First, an autoignition delay time correlation is developed based on chemical kinetics calculations. Subsequently, this correlation is used in a knock integral model that is implemented in a two-zone engine code. The predictive performance of the resulting model is validated through comparison against experimental measurements on a CFR engine for a range of compression ratios, loads, ignition timings and equivalence ratios. Compared to older correlations that were developed for gasoline, the current autoignition delay correlation captures the high temperature sensitivity of methanol autoignition kinetics. This results in a better prediction of the knock limited spark advance for variations in compression ratio and load. Also the deterioration of knock as a function of spark advance is well reproduced for these conditions. The largest model inaccuracies appear when changing equivalence ratio. Knock tendency is consistently overpredicted for rich mixtures. This is probably due to the effect of evaporation cooling and wall heat transfer which are not well captured by the current model. Further model improvements should therefore focus on these thermal processes inside the cylinder.
Vancoillie, Jeroen, Sileghem, Louis, Verhelst, Sebastian
Effect of Cetane Improvers on Gasoline, Ethanol, and Methanol Reactivity and the Implications for RCCI Combustion2013-01-16784/8/2013
The focus of the present study was to characterize the fuel reactivity of high octane number fuels (i.e., low fuel reactivity), namely gasoline, ethanol, and methanol when mixed with cetane improvers under lean, premixed combustion conditions. Two commercially available cetane improvers, 2-ethylhexyl nitrate and di-tert-butyl peroxide, were used in the study. First, blends of the primary reference fuels iso-octane and n-heptane were port injected under fixed operating conditions. The resulting combustion phasings were used to generate effective PRF number maps. Then, blends of the aforementioned base fuels and cetane improvers were tested under the same lean premixed conditions as the PRF blends. Based on the combustion phasing results of the base fuel and cetane improver mixture, the effective PRF number, or octane number, could be determined. In all three base fuels it was found that 2-ethylhexyl nitrate is more effective at increasing fuel reactivity compared to di-tert-butyl peroxide. However, 2-ethylhexyl nitrate has a potential disadvantage due its nitrate group, which can manifest itself as NOx emissions. The relationship between the fuel-bound nitrate group and the engine-out NOx emissions was extensively characterized in the present study. It was also observed that methanol's response to cetane improvers was better than that of ethanol, in spite of the fact that they have similar octane numbers in their neat form. Once the reactivity of the base fuels was characterized, two mixtures of methanol and cetane improvers were selected and compared to diesel fuel as the high reactivity fuel (i.e., direct injected) for RCCI combustion.
Dempsey, Adam B., Walker, N. Ryan, Reitz, Rolf D.
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