Investigating the Development of Thermal Stratification from the Near-Wall Regions to the Bulk-Gas in an HCCI Engine with Planar Imaging Thermometry

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 1046-1074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Dronniou ◽  
John E. Dec
Author(s):  
Benjamin Lawler ◽  
Mark Hoffman ◽  
Zoran Filipi ◽  
Orgun Güralp ◽  
Paul Najt

Naturally occurring thermal stratification significantly impacts the characteristics of homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion. The in-cylinder gas temperature distributions prior to combustion dictate the ignition phasing, burn rates, combustion efficiency, and unburned hydrocarbon and CO emissions associated with HCCI operation. Characterizing the gas temperature fields in an HCCI engine and correlating them to HCCI burn rates is a prerequisite for developing strategies to expand the HCCI operating range. To study the development of thermal stratification in more detail, a new analysis methodology for postprocessing experimental HCCI engine data is proposed. This analysis tool uses the autoignition integral in the context of the mass fraction burned curve to infer information about the distribution of temperature that exists in the cylinder prior to combustion. An assumption is made about the shape of the charge temperature profiles of the unburned gas during compression and after combustion starts elsewhere in the cylinder. Second, it is assumed that chemical reaction rates proceed very rapidly in comparison to the staggering of ignition phasing from thermal stratification. The autoignition integral is then coupled to the mass fraction burned curve to produce temperature-mass distributions that are representative of a particular combustion event. Due to the computational efficiency associated with this zero-dimensional calculation, a large number of zones can be simulated at very little computational expense. The temperature-mass distributions are then studied over a coolant temperature sweep. The results show that very small changes to compression heat transfer can shift the distribution of mass and temperature in the cylinder enough to significantly affect HCCI burn rates and emissions.


Author(s):  
Benjamin Lawler ◽  
Mark Hoffman ◽  
Zoran Filipi ◽  
Orgun Güralp ◽  
Paul Najt

Naturally occurring thermal stratification significantly impacts the characteristics of HCCI combustion. The in-cylinder gas temperature distributions prior to combustion dictate the ignition phasing, burn rates, combustion efficiency, and unburned hydrocarbon and CO emissions associated with HCCI operation. Characterizing the gas temperature fields in an HCCI engine and correlating them to HCCI burn rates is a prerequisite for developing strategies to expand the HCCI operating range. To study the development of thermal stratification in more detail, a new analysis methodology for post-processing experimental HCCI engine data is proposed. This analysis tool uses the autoignition integral in the context of the mass fraction burned curve to infer information about the distribution of temperature that exists in the cylinder prior to combustion. An assumption is made about the shape of the charge temperature profiles of the unburned gas during compression and after combustion starts elsewhere in the cylinder. Secondly, it is assumed that chemical reaction rates proceed very rapidly in comparison to the staggering of ignition phasing from thermal stratification. The autoignition integral is then coupled to the mass fraction burned curve to produce temperature-mass distributions that are representative of a particular combustion event. Due to the computational efficiency associated with this zero-dimensional calculation, a large number of zones can be simulated at very little computational expense. The temperature-mass distributions are then studied over a coolant temperature sweep. The results show that very small changes to compression heat transfer can shift the distribution of mass and temperature in the cylinder enough to significantly affect HCCI burn rates and emissions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 169 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-140
Author(s):  
Michał GĘCA ◽  
Jacek HUNICZ ◽  
Piotr JAWORSKI

Despite the fact that HCCI engines are distinguished by mixture homogeneity, some degree of stratification always appears inside a combustion chamber. It is especially applied to residual effect engines utilizing negative valve overlap. Mixture stratification is a result of the imperfect mixing of fresh air with trapped residuals. Direct fuel injection introduces stratification as well, due to fuel vaporization. As a consequence, the temperature within the combustion chamber is uneven. Thermal stratification affects auto-ignition timing and combustion evolution in a high extent. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a degree of thermal stratification in HCCI engine utilizing negative valve overlap. Investigations were performed using three-dimensional CFD model of the combustion system, made by using AVL FIRE software. Simulations were realized for various timings of fuel injection into the cylinder. It was found that fuel injection timing had a significant effect on the thermal stratification and resulting auto-ignition timing.


2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Chang ◽  
Z Filipi ◽  
D Assanis ◽  
T-W Kuo ◽  
P Najt ◽  
...  

An experimental study was performed to provide qualitative and quantitative insight into the thermal effects on a gasoline-fuelled homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine combustion. The single-cylinder engine utilized exhaust gas rebreathing to obtain large amounts of hot residual gas needed to promote ignition. In-cylinder pressure, heat release analysis, and exhaust emission measurement were employed for combustion diagnostics. Fast response thermocouples were embedded in the piston top and cylinder head surface to measure instantaneous wall temperature and heat flux, thus providing critical information about the thermal boundary conditions and a thorough understanding of the heat transfer process. Two parameters determining thermal conditions in the cylinder, i.e. intake charge temperature and wall temperature, were considered and their effect on ignition and burning rate in an HCCI engine was investigated through systematic experimentation. The approach allowed quantitative analysis, and separating qualitatively different effects on the core gas temperature from the effects of near-wall temperature stratification. The results show great sensitivity to changes in wall temperature and such like, but a somewhat weaker effect of intake charge temperature on HCCI combustion. Variations of combustion phasing and peak burn rates due to wall temperature changes can be compensated if the intake charge temperature is varied in the opposite direction and with a factor of 1.11. The combustion stability limit of the HCCI engine depends more on wall temperature than on intake charge temperature. Analysis of a large number of individual cycles indicates that decreasing intake temperature retards timing, and the burn rates change primarily as a function of ignition timing. In contrast, lowering the wall temperature led to greater reduction in the bulk burn rate and greater increase in cyclic variability than expected simply as a result of retarded ignition, thus indicating significance of the thermal stratification in the near-wall boundary layer.


Author(s):  
Benjamin Lawler ◽  
Satyum Joshi ◽  
Joshua Lacey ◽  
Orgun Guralp ◽  
Paul Najt ◽  
...  

Thermal stratification of the unburned charge in the cylinder has a profound effect on the burn characteristics of a Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine. Experimental data was collected in a single cylinder, gasoline-fueled, HCCI engine in order to determine the effects of combustion chamber geometry and wall conditions on thermal stratification and HCCI combustion. The study includes a wall temperature sweep and variations of piston top surface material, piston top geometry, and compression ratio. The data is processed with a traditional heat release routine, as well as a post-processing tool termed the Thermal Stratification Analysis, which calculates an unburned temperature distribution from heat release. For all of the sweeps, the 50% burned point was kept constant by varying the intake temperature. Keeping the combustion phasing constant ensures the separation of the effects of combustion phasing from the effects of wall conditions alone on HCCI and thermal stratification. The results for the wall temperature sweep show no changes to the burn characteristics once the combustion phasing has been matched with intake temperature. This result suggests that the effects of wall temperature on HCCI are mostly during the gas-exchange portion of the cycle. The ceramic coatings were able to very slightly decrease the thermal width, increase the burn rate, increase the combustion efficiency, and decrease the cumulative heat loss. The combustion efficiency increased with the lower surface area to volume ratio piston and the lower compression ratio. Lastly, the compression ratio comparison showed a noticeable effect on the temperature distribution due to the effect of pressure on ignition delay, and the variation of TDC temperature required to match combustion phasing.


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