Optimization on manifold injection in DI diesel engine fuelled with acetylene

Abstract

Researchers demonstrated that implementing new combustion technology and optimising fuel quantity results in a significant reduction in traditional fossil fuel usage and emission levels. The Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) combustion strategy is one of the low temperature combustion technologies, and it is used to reduce the overall combustion temperature while also providing better combustion control. This study looks into RCCI combustion technology, which uses conventional diesel fuel as the high reactivity fuel (HRF) injected through the injector and acetylene gas as the low reactivity fuel (LRF) injected into the cylinder via a modified inlet manifold alongside air. The modified engine setup was tested for performance, emissions, and combustion under various load conditions, as well as different mass flow rates of acetylene gas, a low reactivity fuel that is injected with air. The flow field of the low reactivity fuel at the inlet manifold is analysed using the Computational Fluid Dynamics principle, which is used to determine the best flow rate for improving combustion quality. According to the simulation results, the optimal acetylene flow rate is 3 Litres Per Minute (LPM), and experimentation shows that at 3 LPM acetylene injection, the brake thermal efficiency (BTE) improves by about 3.2%, and emissions such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), smoke intensity, and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) are reduced by about 35%, 17%, 10%, and 21%, respectively.