Numerical Simulation on the Working Process of a Lean Burn Natural Gas Engine

2013 ◽  
Vol 664 ◽  
pp. 916-922
Author(s):  
Li Yan Feng ◽  
Chun Huan Zhang ◽  
Chang Jun Xiong
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Flame Propagation ◽  
Mixture Distribution ◽  
Spark Ignition Engine ◽  
Combustion System ◽  
Working Process ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Natural Gas Engine ◽  
Initial Flame ◽  
Injection Strategies

The working process of a lean burn natural gas spark ignition engine was simulated with a 3-D CFD software package AVL-FIRE. Such simulations were made to analyze and understand the flow field, fuel/air mixture distribution, ignition and flame propagation. The simulations provide basis for the optimization of the combustion system of the engine. Two injection strategies for the pre-chamber enrichment were established and compared. The results indicate that with enrichment injection in the pre-chamber, the fuel/air equivalence ratio is precisely controlled in the range of 1.0 to 1.1, stable ignition in the pre-chamber is ensured, and fast initial flame propagation in main combustion chamber is realized.

Effect of Port Gas Injection on the Combustion Instabilities in a Spark-Ignition Lean-Burn Natural Gas Engine

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1850124
Author(s):  
Li-Yuan Wang ◽  
Li-Ping Yang ◽  
En-Zhe Song ◽  
Chong Yao ◽  
Xiu-Zhen Ma
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Gas Injection ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Combustion System ◽  
Combustion Instabilities ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Engine Load ◽  
Gas Engine ◽  
Natural Gas Engine

The combustion instabilities in a lean-burn natural gas engine have been studied. Using statistical analysis, phase-space reconstruction, and wavelet transforms, the effect of port gas injection on the dynamics of the indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) fluctuations have been examined at a speed of 800[Formula: see text]rpm and engine load rates of 25% and 50%. The excessive air coefficient is 1.6 for each engine load, and the port gas injection timing (PGIT) ranges from 1 to 120 degrees of crankshaft angle ([Formula: see text]CA) after top dead center (ATDC) of the intake process. The results show that the PGIT has a significant effect on cyclic combustion fluctuations and the dynamics of the combustion system for all studied engine loads. An unreasonable PGIT leads to increased combustion fluctuations, and loosened and bifurcated structures of combustion system attractors. Furthermore, for both low and medium engine loads, the IMEP time series at earlier gas injections ([Formula: see text]CA and [Formula: see text]CA ATDC) undergoes low-frequency fluctuation together with high-frequency fluctuations in an intermittent fashion. For other PGITs, high-frequency intermittent fluctuations become persistent combined with weak low-frequency oscillations. Our results can be used to understand the oscillation characteristics and the complex dynamics of combustion system in a lean-burn natural gas engine. In addition, they may also be beneficial to the development of more sophisticated engine control strategies.

Observation of Flame Propagation in a Heavy-Duty Natural-Gas Lean Burn Spark-Ignition Engine

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinlong Liu ◽  
Cosmin E. Dumitrescu
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Flame Propagation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Turbulent Flame ◽  
Propagation Speed ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Spark Ignition Engine ◽  
Heavy Duty ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Local Flow

Abstract Natural gas (NG) is an alternative combustible fuel for the transportation sectors due to its clean combustion, small carbon footprint, and, with recent breakthroughs in drilling technologies, increased availability and low cost. Currently, NG is better suited for spark-ignited (SI), as a gasoline replacement in conventional SI engines or as a diesel replacement in diesel engines converted to SI operation. However, the knowledge on the fundamentals of NG flame propagation at conditions representative of modern engines (e.g., at higher compression ratios and/or lean mixtures) is limited. Flame propagation inside an engine can be achieved by replacing the original piston with a see-through one. This study visualized flame activities inside the combustion chamber of an optically-accessible heavy-duty diesel engine retrofitted to NG SI operation to increase the understanding of combustion processes inside such converted engines. Recordings of flame luminosity throughout the combustion period at lean-burn operating conditions indicated that the fully-developed turbulent flame formed from several smaller-scale kernels. These small kernels varied with shapes and locations due to different flow motion around the spark location (including the effect of spark electrodes on the local flow separation), different local temperature, or different energy released in these regions. In addition, the turbulent flame was heavily wrinkled during propagation, despite it was grown from a relatively-circular kernel. Moreover, the intake swirl accelerated the flame propagation process while rotating the turbulent flame during its development. Furthermore, the flame propagation speed reduced dramatically when entering the squish region, while the direction from which the flame first touched the bowl edge changed with individual cycles. The results can help the CFD community to better develop RANS and/or LES simulations of such engines under lean-burn operating conditions.

Performance and Combustion Investigation of a Lean Burn Natural Gas Engine Using CFD

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sridhar Sahoo ◽  
Srinibas Tripathy ◽  
Dhananjay Kumar Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Equivalence Ratio ◽  
Spark Ignition Engine ◽  
Engine Fuel ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Gas Engine ◽  
Natural Gas Engine ◽  
Spark Timing ◽  
Combustion Duration ◽  
Wide Range

Natural gas is widely used in sequentially port fuel injection engine to meet stringent emission regulation. Lean burn operation is one of the ways to improve spark-ignition engine fuel economy. The instability in the combustion process of the lean burn engine is one of the major challenges for engine research. In this study, the performance and combustion characteristics of a lean burn sequential injection compressed natural gas (CNG) engine were investigated numerically using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling over a wide range of air/fuel equivalence ratio. A detailed chemical kinetic mechanism was used for natural gas combustion along with laminar flame speed model to capture lean burn operating condition within the combustion chamber. Combustion pressure, indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), and heat release were analyzed for performance analysis, whereas flame development angle (CA 10), combustion duration, thermal efficiency were taken for combustion analysis. The results show that on increasing air/fuel equivalence ratio at a given spark timing, IMEP decreases as the lean burn mixture produces less amount of gross power output due to insufficient available energy. Moreover, lower burning velocity characteristic of natural gas extends the combustion duration, where a substantial amount of total energy released after top dead center. It is also seen that optimum spark timing (MBT) for maximum IMEP advances with an increase in air/fuel equivalence ratio due to late ignition timing under lean burn condition. CFD model successfully captures the effect of dilution to illustrate the considerations to design future combustion engine for spark ignited natural gas engine.

Optical analysis of flame inception and propagation in a lean-burn natural-gas spark-ignition engine with a bowl-in-piston geometry

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 1584-1596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinlong Liu ◽  
Cosmin Emil Dumitrescu
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Flame Propagation ◽  
Diesel Engines ◽  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Spark Ignition ◽  
Spark Ignition Engine ◽  
Expansion Velocity ◽  
Cylinder Pressure ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Piston Bowl

Heavy-duty diesel engines can convert to lean-burn natural-gas spark-ignition operation through the addition of a gas injector in the intake manifold and of a spark plug in place of the diesel injector to initiate and control combustion. However, the combustion phenomena in such converted engines usually consist of two distinct stages: a fast-burning stage inside the piston bowl followed by a slow-burning stage inside the squish area. This study used flame luminosity data and in-cylinder pressure measurements to analyze flame propagation inside a bowl-in-piston geometry. The experimental results showed a low coefficient of variation and standard deviation of peak cylinder pressure, moderate rate of pressure rise, and no knocking for the lean-burn (equivalence ratio 0.66), low-speed (900 r/min), and medium-load (6.6 bar IMEP) operating condition. Flame inception had a strong effect on the flame expansion velocity, which increased fast once the flame kernel established, but it reduced near the bowl edge and the entrance of the narrow squish region. However, the burn inside the bowl was very fast. In addition, the long duration of burn inside the squish indicated a much lower flame propagation speed for the outside-the-bowl combustion, which contributed to a long decreasing tail in the apparent heat release rate. Furthermore, cycles with fast flame inception and fast burn inside the bowl had a similar end of combustion with cycles with delayed flame inception and then a retarded burn inside the bowl, which indicated that the combustion inside the squish region determined the combustion duration. Overall, the results suggested that the spark event, the flame development inside the piston bowl, and the start of the second combustion stage affected the phasing and duration of the two combustion stages, which (subsequently) can affect engine efficiency and emissions of diesel engines converted to a lean-burn natural-gas spark-ignition operation.

Improvement in Thermal Efficiency of Lean Burn Pre-Chamber Natural Gas Engine by Optimization of Combustion System

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian xiong ◽  
Yasuo Moriyoshi ◽  
Koji Morikawa ◽  
Yasushi takahashi ◽  
Tatsuya Kuboyama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Combustion System ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Gas Engine ◽  
Natural Gas Engine

Measurements and Modelling of a Lean Burn Gas Engine

1996 ◽  
Vol 210 (6) ◽  
pp. 449-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
C R Stone ◽  
K J S Mentis ◽  
M Daragheh
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Combustion Model ◽  
Hydrocarbon Emissions ◽  
Combustion System ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Gas Engine ◽  
Natural Gas Engine ◽  
Brake Mean Effective Pressure ◽  
Pressure Maximum

Natural gas is an alternative fuel that has potential for low emissions and a high efficiency. This paper presents the experimental results and predictions from a computer simulation of a fast burn high compression ratio (FBHCR) combustion system intended for use in a lean burn natural gas engine. Comparisons are made between the FBHCR combustion system at two compression ratios, predictions made by a two-zone combustion model and measurements from the original combustion system, for the brake efficiency, brake mean effective pressure, maximum cylinder pressure and the brake specific NOx emissions. Experimental measurements of the unburnt hydrocarbon emissions, the burn duration and the cycle-by-cycle variations in combustion are also discussed from the original and fast burn combustion systems. The results show how the conflicting aims of low emissions and low fuel consumption can be satisfied using a lean burn combustion system. The computer predictions are shown to be reliable, and thus suitable for estimating the performance of other engine builds.

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