Effects of Heat Release Mode on Emissions and Efficiencies of a Compound Diesel Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Combustion Engine

A compound diesel homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion system has been developed based on the combined combustion strategies of multiple injection strategy and a mixing enhanced combustion chamber design. In this work, a STAR-CD based, multidimensional modeling is conducted to understand and optimize the multiple injection processes. The parameters explored included injection timing, dwell time, and pulse width. Insight generated from this study provides guidelines on designing the multipulse injection rate pattern for optimization of fuel-air mixing. Various heat release modes created by different injection strategies are investigated by experimental comparison of combustion efficiency, heat loss, and thermal efficiency. It is demonstrated that the process of fuel evaporation and mixing are strongly influenced by pulse injection parameters. Through control of the parameters, the stratification and autoignition of the premixed mixture, and the heat release mode can be controlled. The dispersed mode of heat release created only by the compound diesel HCCI combustion is a flexible mode in combustion control. The thermal efficiency with this mode can reach approximately to as high as that of conventional diesel combustion, while the NOx and smoke emissions can be reduced simultaneously and remarkably.