Jet-Penetration in Prechamber-Ignited Lean Large-Bore Natural Gas Engines

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kammerstätter ◽  
S. Bauer ◽  
T. Sattelmayer
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Heat Release ◽  
Reaction Zone ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Chamber Pressure ◽  
Main Chamber ◽  
Penetration Length ◽  
Ignition Probability ◽  
Natural Gas Engines ◽  
Jet Penetration

Combustion in lean large-bore natural gas engines is usually initiated by gas-scavenged prechambers. The hot reacting products of the combustion in the prechamber penetrate the main chamber as reacting jets, providing high ignition energy for the lean main chamber charge. The shape and intensity of the reaction zone in these jets are the key elements for efficient ignition and heat release in the main chamber. The influence of geometrical and operational parameters on the reaction during jet penetration was investigated in detail. As the periodically chargeable high pressure combustion cell used in the study provides full optical access to the entire main chamber the evolution of the spatial distribution of the reaction zones was investigated in terms of OH*-chemiluminescence. As jet penetration is a very fast and highly transient process the emission of OH* was recorded at a frequency of f = 30000 Hz. The macroscopic reaction zone parameters in the jet region (penetration length and angle, reacting area and light emission) reveal the influence of orifice size and prechamber gas injection on the heat release in the shear layer between the jet and the lean charge in the main chamber. In addition, the influence of the development of the reaction in these zones on the ignition probability and the main chamber pressure rise is shown. With an appropriate selection of the combination of the prechamber orifice geometry and the operating parameters significant improvements of ignition probability and heat release in the main chamber were obtained.

Influence of Prechamber-Geometry and Operating-Parameters on Cycle-to-Cycle Variations in Lean Large-Bore Natural Gas Engines

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kammerstätter ◽  
T. Sattelmayer
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Light Emission ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Operating Parameters ◽  
Main Chamber ◽  
Ignition Probability ◽  
Natural Gas Engines ◽  
University Of Munich ◽  
Large Cylinder

Lean large-bore natural gas engines are usually equipped with gas-scavenged prechambers. After ignition and during combustion in the prechamber hot reacting jets penetrate the main chamber and provide much higher ignition energies than electric spark plugs. Although prechambers stabilize combustion, limitations of the concept are observed at very lean main chamber mixtures and large cylinder diameters, which appear as cycle-to-cycle variations of heat release and pressure. At the Thermodynamics Institute of the Technical University of Munich cycle-to-cycle variations are investigated in an unique periodically chargeable high pressure combustion cell with full optical access to the entire main chamber. Recently, the influence of the ignition timing, the amount of scavenge-gas of the prechamber and the cross section of the prechamber exit orifices on cycle-to-cycle variations have been studied. From the pressure traces characteristic parameters of the combustion process like the ignition probability, the ignition delay and the rate of the pressure rise have been derived. By analysing the emission of OH*-chemiluminescence in terms of reacting area and light emission and on the basis of numerical simulations information on the source of cycle-to-cycle variations is obtained. Finally it is shown that cycle-to-cycle variations can be reduced remarkably by appropriate selection and combination of prechamber geometry and operating parameters.

Experimental Examination of Prechamber Heat Release in a Large Bore Natural Gas Engine

2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel B. Olsen ◽  
Allan T. Kirkpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Heat Release ◽  
Equivalence Ratio ◽  
Dynamic Pressure ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Main Chamber ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Gas Engine ◽  
Natural Gas Engine ◽  
Common Solution

A common solution in reducing NOx emissions to meet new emission regulations has been lean burn combustion. However, with very lean air∕fuel (A∕F) ratios, both carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions become unacceptably high due to the spark misfiring and combustion instabilities. In order to mitigate this, a prechamber ignition system is often used to stabilize combustion at very lean A∕F ratios. In this paper, the heat release in a retrofit prechamber system installed on a large bore natural gas engine is examined. The heat release analysis is based on dynamic pressure measurements both in the main chamber and prechamber. The Woschni correlation is utilized to model heat transfer. Based on heat release modeling and test data analysis, the following observations are made. Main chamber heat release rates are much more rapid for prechamber ignition compared to spark ignition. During combustion in the prechamber, much of the fuel flows into the main chamber unreacted. About 52% of the mass in the prechamber, at ignition, flows into the main chamber during prechamber combustion. Prechamber total heat release, pressure rise, and maximum jet velocity all increase with increasing prechamber equivalence ratio. Prechamber combustion duration and coefficient of variation of peak pressure are minimized at a prechamber equivalence ratio of about 1.09.

Experimental Examination of Prechamber Heat Release in a Large Bore Natural Gas Engine

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel B. Olsen ◽  
Allan T. Kirkpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Heat Release ◽  
Equivalence Ratio ◽  
Laminar Flame ◽  
Dynamic Pressure ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Main Chamber ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Gas Engine ◽  
Natural Gas Engine

A common solution to reducing NOX emissions to meet new emissions regulations has been lean burn combustion. However, with very lean air/fuel (A/F) ratios, both carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions become unacceptably high due to spark misfiring and combustion instabilities. In order to mitigate this, a prechamber ignition system is often used to stabilize combustion at very lean A/F ratios. In this paper, the heat release in a retrofit prechamber system installed on a large bore natural gas engine is examined. The heat release analysis is based on dynamic pressure measurements both in the main chamber and prechamber. The Woschni correlation is utilized to model heat transfer. Based on heat release modeling and test data analysis the following observations are made. Main chamber heat release rates are much more rapid for prechamber ignition compared to spark ignition. During combustion in the prechamber much of the fuel flows into the main chamber un-reacted. About 52% of the mass in the prechamber, at ignition, flows into the main chamber during prechamber combustion. Prechamber total heat release, pressure rise, and maximum jet velocity all increase with increasing prechamber equivalence ratio. Prechamber combustion duration and coefficient of variation of peak pressure are minimized at a prechamber equivalence ratio of about 1.09, which corresponds roughly to the equivalence ratio of highest laminar flame speed. The above performance optimum does not correspond to the equivalence ratio where the most prechamber energy is released.

The scavenging timing of pre-chamber on the performance of a natural gas engine

2020 ◽  
pp. 146808742096087
Author(s):  
Xue Yang ◽  
Yong Cheng ◽  
Pengcheng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Injection System ◽  
Maximum Pressure ◽  
Ignition Process ◽  
Main Chamber ◽  
Ignition Timing ◽  
Gas Engine ◽  
Natural Gas Engines ◽  
Natural Gas Engine

The pre-chamber ignition system scavenged with natural gas can effectively improve the in-cylinder combustion process and extend the lean-burn limit of natural gas engines. The scavenging process affects the flow field and fuel-air mixture concentration distribution in the pre-chamber and affects the combustion process in the pre-chamber as well as the ignition process in the main chamber. This has a significant influence on the performance of natural gas engines. It is supposed that the ratio of natural gas remaining in the mixture inside the pre-chamber at the ignition timing affects the combustion process in the pre-chamber. To verify this suppose, an independent injection system for injecting natural gas into the pre-chamber is designed and experiments are carried out on a single-cylinder natural gas engine. The ratio of natural gas remaining in the mixture inside the pre-chamber at the ignition timing is adjusted by changing the injection start angle of the scavenging process. The combustion process in the pre-chamber and the main chamber are analyzed using the in-cylinder pressures. The results indicate that, with the delay of the injection start angle, the ratio of natural gas remaining in the mixture inside the pre-chamber at the ignition timing increases, the combustion process in the pre-chamber is enhanced, the maximum pressure difference between two chambers increases and appears earlier. The energy of the hot jets and the penetration of the jets increase, which enhances the combustion process in the main chamber.

An Experimental Study of Cyclic Variations in a Lean Burn Natural Gas Fuelled Spark Ignition Engine

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ramesh ◽  
Mohand Tazerout ◽  
Olivier Le Corre
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Heat Release ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Spark Ignition ◽  
Spark Ignition Engine ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Complete Combustion ◽  
Average Value ◽  
Indicated Mean Effective Pressure

This work deals with the nature of cycle by cycle variations in a single cylinder, lean burn, natural gas fuelled spark ignition engine operated at a constant speed of 1500 rev/min under variable equivalence ratio, fixed throttle conditions. Cycle by cycle variations in important parameters like indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), peak pressure, rate of pressure rise and heat release characteristics were studied. At the lean misfire limit there was a drastic increase in combustion duration. With mixtures leaner than the lean limit, good cycles generally followed poor cycles. However, the vice versa was not true. Cycles that had a high initial heat release rate lead to more complete combustion. A high rate of pressure rise led to a high IMEP. The IMEP of cycles versus their frequency of occurrence was symmetric about the average value when the combustion was good.

Study of cycle-by-cycle variations of natural gas direct injection combustion using a rapid compression machine

2003 ◽  
Vol 217 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z Huang ◽  
S Shiga ◽  
T Ueda ◽  
H Nakamura ◽  
T Ishima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Heat Release ◽  
Maximum Rate ◽  
Direct Injection ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Maximum Pressure ◽  
Rapid Compression Machine ◽  
Combustion Duration ◽  
Rate Of Heat Release ◽  
Rapid Compression

Cycle-by-cycle variations of natural gas direct injection (CNG DI) combustion were studied by using a rapid compression machine. Results show that CNG DI combustion can realize high combustion stability with less cycle-by-cycle variation in the maximum pressure rise, the maximum rate of pressure rise and the maximum rate of heat release at the given equivalence ratios. Mixture stratification and fast flame propagation with the aid of turbulence produced by the high speed fuel jet are considered to be responsible for these behaviours. Cycle-by-cycle variations in combustion durations and combustion products present higher magnitudes than those of maximum pressure rise and maximum rate of heat release. Cycle-by-cycle variations of CO and unburned CH4 show an interdependence with the variation of the late combustion duration, and the variation of NO x shows an interdependence with the variation of the rapid combustion duration. Cycle-by-cycle variations are found to be insensitive to the equivalence ratios in CNG DI combustion.

CFD Modeling of the Performance of a Prechamber for Use in a Large Bore Natural Gas Engine

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan Kirkpatrick ◽  
Gi-Heon Kim ◽  
Daniel Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Fuel Injection ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Cfd Modeling ◽  
Main Chamber ◽  
Gas Engine ◽  
Natural Gas Engines ◽  
Natural Gas Engine ◽  
Cfd Models

The topic of this paper is the performance of a prechamber for use in a large bore two stroke natural gas engine. With increased regulation of emissions from stationary natural gas engines, there has been interest in modification of the combustion process, such as extending the lean limit, to reduce NOx emissions. One promising combustion technique uses an ignition prechamber. CFD models of a prechamber and the cylinder were developed in order to simulate the performance of a prechamber ignition system. The modeling included a full three dimensional transient analysis with scavenging, moving piston, and main chamber fuel injection. The CFD analysis included the fuel injection into the prechamber, pressurization by the inflowing main chamber gases, spark ignition, combustion, and flame propagation into the main combustion chamber. The computations indicated that the prechamber is more well mixed than the main engine chamber, with the prechamber mixture close to stoichiometric for better ignition. There is a strong, well-organized vortex in the prechamber induced by the incoming jet from the main chamber. The combustion flame in the prechamber travels in the direction of the gas vortex along lines of increasing equivalence ratio. The flame then propagates across the main cylinder in a very uniform fashion, indicating that there is sufficient energy to ignite the lean, partially mixed mixture in the main chamber. The orientation of the prechamber nozzle was also investigated, and an orientation of twenty degrees relative to the main chamber was found to produce a flame that did not impinge on the piston.

Design and Bench-Top Testing of Multiplexed Fiber Delivered Laser Ignition System for Natural Gas Engines

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachin Joshi ◽  
Adam Reynolds ◽  
Bryan Willson ◽  
Azer P. Yalin
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Fiber Optics ◽  
Optical Fibers ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Laser Pulses ◽  
Solid Core ◽  
Cyclic Variability ◽  
Natural Gas Engines ◽  
Silica Fibers

Past research has demonstrated the feasibility of using optical sparks for engine ignition, and has shown potential benefits associated with reduced cyclic variability and increased rate of cylinder pressure rise, thus extending the lean operating limit of natural gas engines. This contribution details the design and bench-top testing of a fiber-optic delivery system for ignition of natural gas engines. The system is designed for use on a Caterpillar G3516C engine and is comprised of a single Nd:YAG laser as the energy source, a multiplexer for switching the beam between cylinders, fiber optics to deliver the laser pulses to individual cylinders, and optical plugs to couple the beam into the cylinders. The optical fibers are a critical component of the system and discussion of use of both solid core silica fibers and cyclic olefin polymer-coated silver hollow fibers is included. The multiplexer design is presented and optical testing of the multiplexed fiber delivery on the bench-top is reported. Design considerations for engine integration are introduced.

Laser Based Ignition of Natural Gas-Air Mixtures

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sreenath B. Gupta ◽  
Raj R. Sekar ◽  
Zhiyue Xu ◽  
Keng H. Leong ◽  
Claude B. Reed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Focal Length ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Specific Power ◽  
Beam Polarization ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Natural Gas Engines ◽  
High Specific Power

In current natural gas engines, lean operation to reduce NOx emissions along with the requirement to maintain high specific power results in in-cylinder conditions that demand spark voltages beyond the capabilities of present ignition systems. Unable to overcome such limitations, presently these engines are operated well below their full potential (about 15% less). Additionally, undue maintenance demands are placed for the upkeep of ignition systems. Laser based ignition (LBI) on the other hand, overcomes the above limitations and potentially reduces emissions and increases efficiency. Experimental studies were performed to identify such potential benefits while using lasers to ignite quiescent methane-air mixtures. Quiescent methane-air mixtures at various conditions (φ = 0.6–1.0, fill pressure = 2–20 Bar) were established in a pressure vessel and were ignited using lasers and by conventional ignition systems. Such tests showed lasers to ignite mixtures with initial pressures 30% higher than those limiting ignition by conventional ignition systems. However, extension of the lean ignition limit appeared to be marginal and was defined by φ = 0.675. Also, for single point ignition followed here, the rates of pressure rise and ignition delays were identical and did not depend upon the method of ignition. Other characteristics in terms of (a) effect of focal length, (b) effect of fuel composition, and (c) effect of laser beam polarization are presented. In practice, in-cylinder conditions such as turbulence, velocity and temperature are likely to have an additional bearing on the ignition characteristics. Such effects will be determined through future investigations.

Effects of Natural Gas Compositions on Engine In-Cylinder Process

2015 ◽  
Vol 1092-1093 ◽  
pp. 498-503
Author(s):  
La Xiang ◽  
Yu Ding
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Engine Performance ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Maximum Pressure ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Natural Gas Engines ◽  
Lower Maximum

Natural gas (NG) is one of the most promising alternative fuels of diesel and petrol because of its economics and environmental protection. Generally the NG engine share the similar structure profile with diesel or petrol engine but the combustion characteristics of NG is varied from the fuels, so the investigation of NG engine combustion process receive more attentions from the researchers. In this paper, a zero-dimensional model on the basis of Vibe function is built in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. The model provides the prediction of combustion process in natural gas engines, which has been verified by the experimental data in the NG test bed. Furthermore, the influence of NG composition on engine performance is investigated, in which the in-cylinder maximum pressure and temperature and mean indicated pressure are compared using different type NG. It is shown in the results that NG with higher composition of methane results in lower maximum temperature and mean indicated pressure as well as higher maximum pressure.

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