Effect of Pilot Injection Timings on the Combustion Temperature Distribution in a Single-Cylinder CI Engine Fueled with DME and ULSD

Abstract

Many studies of DiMethyl Ether (DME) as an alternative fuel in Compression-Ignition (CI) engines have been performed. Although diverse DME engine research has been conducted, the investigation of combustion behavior and temperature distribution in the combustion engine has not progressed due to the fact that there is no sooting flame in DME combustion. In order to investigate the combustion characteristics in this study, the KIVA-3 V code was implemented to research various pilot injection strategies on a single-cylinder CI engines with DME and Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) fuels. The combustion distribution results obtained from the numerical investigation were validated when compared with the measurement of flame temperature behaviors in the experimental approach. This study showed that long intervals between two injection timings enhanced pilot combustion by increasing the ambient pressure and temperature before the start of the main combustion. Different atomization properties between DME and ULSD fuels contributed to the formation of a fuel-air mixture at the nozzle tip and piston lip regions, separately, which strongly affected the temperature distribution of the two fuels. In addition, the pilot injection timing played a vital role in regard to ignition delay and peak combustion temperatures. Exhaust emissions, such as NOx and soot, are related to the local equivalence ratio and temperature in the combustion chamber, also illustrated by the contrary result on a Phi (equivalence ratio) - T (temperature) map.