Materials Today: Proceedings: Aman Aggarwal, Suyash Yadav, Kshitij Singh, Ajay Singh Verma, Sandeep Chhabra
Materials Today: Proceedings: Aman Aggarwal, Suyash Yadav, Kshitij Singh, Ajay Singh Verma, Sandeep Chhabra
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: The heightened depletion rate of fossil fuels and growing degradation of environment has energized the
Available online 28 April 2022 various researchers to work prominently in search of an alternative, abundant and environment friendly
fuels. Renewable and clean energy plays key role for the sustainable development of the society. This
Keywords: paper examines using hydrogen (H2) as the primary fuel in internal combustion (IC) engines. H2 seems
Hydrogen (H2) to be a great contender among newly emerging renewable resources of energy and it is considered as
Alternative fuel the future of the fuels by researchers that may replace the hydrocarbons fuels. High auto ignition tem-
Water injection technique
perature for cranking engine, high flame velocity and low quenching distance are the main challenges
Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR)
Crankcase ventilation
when H2 is burnt in IC engines. In this paper, the effect of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR), water injec-
tion, blending biodiesel, and ignition delay on performance parameters has been discussed to tackle the
problems of soot, and high engine temperature while using H2 as fuel.
Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Innovative Technologies
in Mechanical Engineering-2021.
The present scenario of fuels is solely based on fossil fuels Wide Range of Flammability: Due to this H2 can run very effi-
which are non-renewable sources and very soon they are going ciently on lean condition mixture.
to be depleted. Various environmental and societal problems, Less Ignition Energy: This enables H2 fueled engine at lean con-
which include but are not limited to environmental pollution, dition mixture to ignite easily and gives rise to sudden ignition.
greenhouse effect and global warming can be directly blamed on Short Quenching Distance: Hydrogen flames become very chal-
excessive usage of fossil fuels. The above stated problems are the lenging to be quenched as compared to gasoline flames.
motivations behind the research and development for cleaner Higher Self Ignition Temperature: It determines compression
energy resources. H2 stands out as one of the most promising pro- ratio for any engine to work on.
spects to replace fossil fuels, but it requires further research before Higher Flame Velocity: H2 fueled engines can quite easily reach
it can be commercialized and authorized to be used publicly. to the cycle which has ideal properties thermodynamically.
H2 is abundantly available in our environment, but it cannot be Fast Diffusion: It aids in the formation of fuel & air mixture with
used as is and hence, it needs to be produced and modified accord- uniform amount. If the hydrogen gets leak somehow, it dis-
ing to our needs. This leads to the production cost of usable H2 and perses at very fast rate.
is the main reason behind it’s three times costlier nature than other Density is low: Greater volume is needed to store adequate
petroleum products available in the markets. Hydrogen’s heating hydrogen to generate sufficient driving range for a vehicle.
value is higher than that of the petroleum about 3 times and it also The energy density of mixture of hydrogen & air is low resulting
is one of the cleanest fuels [1]. Hydrogen’s excellent characteristics, loss in power output [2].
the abundance of H2 in the environment and the engines’ perfor-
mance when running on H2, makes it one of the most sought- 1.2. Literature review
after types of research by the researchers of automotive field. H2
having a wide range of ignition, there is no need for a throttle valve Vasu Kumar, et al. [3] observed that there are methods to use
in the setup [2]. pure H2 as SI engine fuel. Major emissions of a hydrogen fuelled
engine include NOx emissions, water vapours, and Hydrocarbons,
CO2, SO2 and even smoke, are not observed or if, then at very min-
[Link]
2214-7853/Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Innovative Technologies in Mechanical Engineering-2021.
A. Aggarwal, S. Yadav, K. Singh et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 64 (2022) 1211–1216
imal amount compared to the diesel fuelled engine. Sometimes fuel requirement for same power output. Also, in this paper they
hydrogen peroxide of lesser volume could also be found. NOx found that using Exhaust Gas Recirculation with Hydrogen Induc-
emission is major concern in hydrogen engines. External sources tion we can minimize NOx as well as other emissions such as CO,
for ignition like spark plug or we can say, glow plugs are supposed FSN (Filter Smoke Number).
to begin the charge because of the high value of self-ignition tem- J. Serrano, et al. [15] used water Injection technique in a 2-
perature, H2 has (858 K). Ghazi A. Karim, et al. [4] explained that stroke diesel engine which was used in dual combustion to stop
optimization of design and use of proper technique injection and combustion knocking and self-ignition issues. It also reduced more
combustion techniques could overcome most of the problems NOx emissions than with the use of EGR. Osama H. Ghazal, et al.
and limitations of hydrogen fueled engine. In addition, hydrogen [16] observed that increase in the brake power of an engine, cylin-
fueled engine shows superior operational characteristics over con- der temperature, NO emissions and BSFC (Brake specific fuel con-
ventional fueled engines. Niculae Negurescu, et al. [5] also sup- sumption for the constant hydrogen & flow rate of water mass
ported this fact. Shivaprasad K V, et al. [6] used Electronic and for specific injection timing; but loss in BTE. Moreover, the
Control Unit in a single cylinder SI engine for controlling the tim- advanced injection timing reduces BTE, thermal efficiency and
ings of all injections and time period of injection of gasoline. even CO emissions but, NO emissions were increased.
Increase in BMEP (brake mean effective pressure) and BTE (Brake
thermal efficiency) was observed at low engine speeds which
2. Methodology
was decreased at higher speed due to low flammability of hydro-
gen. Up to 20% blends of hydrogen were found satisfactory for
Just like Spark-Ignited Gasoline engine, an IC engine can also
the fuel to maintain performance parameters. Shahid Imran, et al.
work with Hydrogen as its fuel which can be injected directly into
[1] added that in Rapeseed Methyl Ester (RME) piloted hydrogen
it. A combustible mixture is formed when H2 fuel is mixed with air
process, there is lesser NOx emissions compared to Diesel piloted
and this mixture can be burned in a SI engine at an equivalent ratio
hydrogen but overall performance by Diesel piloting was better.
which is below the lean conditions of flammability limit of
Bo Zhang, et al. [7] found that Methanol has oxygen atom and
Gasoline-Air mixture. Such combustion produces low flame tem-
has higher octane number; Hydrogen-blended Methanol engine
peratures and gives high engine efficiency, lower NOx emissions,
was found to be clean and efficient at lean and idle conditions.
all while giving lowest possible heat transfer to the walls. There-
Mohamed Brayek, et al. [8] and Behdad Shadidi, et al. [9] concluded
fore, excess research is still going on in various places for a success-
that with use of hydrogen the power, torque, and BTE decreases
ful and highly efficient Hydrogen engine [3].
while the BSFE increases. On the other hand, the hazardous
exhaust pollutants like CO, UHC, CO2, and soot are reduced while
increase in NOx is a matter of concern, but Mohamed Brayek, 2.1. Type of fuel delivery system
et al. [8] argued that NOx concentration decreases by 7–15 times
compared to gasoline while using ultra lean mixture of Port Injection System: In this system, the fuel is supplied
hydrogen-air. Ameer Suhel, et al. [10] assessed the performance directly to the engine intake manifold at all intake ports instead
and emission behaviour at various pressures for the injection and of bringing in the fuel at a centre point. In the starting period of
engine load conditions. Apart from NOx emissions, greater volumes intake stroke, the hydrogen is injected into the intake manifold
of HCNG with diesel at 220 bar injection pressure were observed to and so the conditions are relatively less critical, and chances of
give best efficiency, performance and lesser emissions. Niculae Pre-Ignition are also minimized. Port injection system is of 2
Negurescu, et al. [5] suggested direct injection as the solution for types which are namely: 1. Electronic Fuel Injector and 2. Con-
abnormal combustion and backfiring as it injects fuel in the initia- stant Fuel Injector.
tion of compression stroke. Direct injected hydrogen gives 30% Direct Injection System: In this type of injection, when the fuel
more power as compared to the gasoline engine as it restricts is injected the intake valve is closed. The engine does not back-
the deterioration of inlet air quality. fire as this system avoids the premature ignition during the
Pavlos Dimitriou, et al. [11] explained that carbon and soot intake stroke.
emissions can be reduced by using biodiesel-hydrogen process Central Injection System: It uses carburettor to produce air–fuel
but affects the NOx production as compared to that in diesel mixture to inject in engine and hence is the simplest method to
engines. During high loads engine can provide more amount of deliver hydrogen to the engine. Using this system will result in
thermal energy by exhaust but combustion methods used as the two main advantages for a hydrogen engine. Firstly, the hydro-
alternatives need to be applied for the optimum operation at low gen supply pressure required here is not so high when com-
load conditions. Taib Iskandar Mohamad, et al. [12] came up with pared to other methods. Secondly, gasoline engines are easily
idea of using hydrogen fractions in CNG. By adding hydrogen, we convertible to hydrogen engines as most of the gasoline engines
can improve the fuel properties. Result shows gain in volumetric use central injectors or carburettors [3].
efficiency results in more power which can be attained by hydro-
gen enrichment. When engine is at a low speed then, more enrich- 2.2. Why DI (Direct Injection)?
ment fraction produces more output meanwhile emissions like
CO2, CO and hydrocarbons which are left unburnt decrease with The pre-ignition problem can be eliminated by using Direct
increasing enrichment fraction. Injection in the intake manifold; however, this technique does
Joachim Demuynck, et al. [13] discussed measurements of not ensure pre-ignition problem in the combustion chamber.
instantaneous heat flux in a SI engine. Methanol, gasoline and A well-designed DI system is the one which is specifically
methane heat losses were compared with hydrogen. It was designed based on the engine configuration and on the combus-
observed that for richer mixtures the higher heat losses had a neg- tion properties of hydrogen which helps in ensuring the smooth
ative effect on the engine efficiency. In conclusion, EGR should be operation of the engine by foreshadowing and preventing any
used while using lean hydrogen mixtures in port fuel injected engi- undesirable combustion phenomena.
nes to stabilize the greater engine efficiency during the complete The DI operation can be used to tackle and avoid the problem of
load range. W. B. Santoso, et al. [14] found that using high percent- backfiring as it is limited to the external mixture formation.
age of hydrogen fuel is not good for and engine because at low load Occurrence of surface ignition could be largely reduced via
it will result in higher specific energy consumption meaning more proper engine design [3].
1212
A. Aggarwal, S. Yadav, K. Singh et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 64 (2022) 1211–1216
1213
A. Aggarwal, S. Yadav, K. Singh et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 64 (2022) 1211–1216
rate. The delay period also increases due to the cooling effect of the
water on the mixture of H2-air injected before diesel injection in
cylinder [15,16].
Fig. 3. In-cylinder temperature (a) without EGR, (b) comparison between with and without EGR tests for two H2 proportions [18].
Fig. 4. Effect of injection of water on NO, cylinder pressure and temperature [16].
1214
A. Aggarwal, S. Yadav, K. Singh et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 64 (2022) 1211–1216
Fig. 5. Change of (a) cylinder temperature (b) cylinder pressure (c) brake power (d) fuel consumption (e) engine emissions due to variable engine speeds [16].
Fig. 6. Change of (a) brake thermal efficiency and fuel consumption (b) power and torque (c) cylinder temperature and pressure (d) engine emissions due to variable injection
timings of diesel [16].
Fig. 7. (a) Pressure Relief Valve on Engine Crankcase; (b) Positive crankcase ventilation system [2].
Hotspot temperatures are reduced using EGR and this also helps observed. Late injection timings provide best results for the per-
in solving the problem of preignition. The recirculated exhaust formance parameters but high delays could lead to increased
gases results in reduced peak ignition temperature which vibrations and knocking at high loads.
reduces NOx emissions. For eliminating backfire only 25–30% Crank case ventilation is much more crucial for hydrogen engine
of recirculated exhaust gases are enough. then normal combustion engine as hydrogen exhaust gases con-
With the use of Water Injection Technique, the NOx emissions sist water vapour which upon condensation inside the crankcase
are reduced to half due to decrease in cylinder temperature, can cause various problems, if proper ventilation is not provided.
and the instance of maximum cylinder pressure gets delayed. Higher degree of engine wear can occur when water and oil mix
No major effect on the engine performance parameters is and hence result in reduced lubrication ability.
1215
A. Aggarwal, S. Yadav, K. Singh et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 64 (2022) 1211–1216
1216