Dual-fuel Compression
Ignition Engine Fuelled
with LPG in the Liquid
Phase
EAEC-07/PT01-1
Authors
Sławomir Luft - Politechnika Radomska
Abstract
Keywords: dual-fuel compression ignition engine, LPG
Investigation on dual-fuel compression ignition engine
was carried out for many years in the Department of
Internal Combustion Engines and Automobiles in
Technical University of Radom. The standard fuel injection
system of a compression ignition engine was modified to
deliver second fuel into the engine intake manifold.
During the inlet and compression strokes, this fuel forms a
homogenous mixture with air. Ignition of this mixture is
initiated by the injected dose of diesel fuel.
Such combustion system solution is close to the HCCI
(homogeneous-charge compression ignition) system that
is considered to be the best future solution (Takatsuto et
al. 1998). It is worth to mention that the described fuelling
conception has many advantages, such as:
easiness of compression ignition engine adaptation to
combustion fuels having high octane and low cetane
ratings;
easiness of engine starting (using diesel fuel);
improvement of engine overall efficiency;
lower harmful emissions;
possibility of application of various fuels (gasoline,
alcohols, LPG, natural gas etc.) that until now were applied
to spark ignition engines,
easy way of regulation and control of combustion process
beginning.
Pertinence of this approach seems to be reasonable and
confirmed by many publications that present results of
investigations carried out in Poland and abroad (Kusaka et
al. 1998; Ogawa et al. 1998; Furutani et al. 1998;
Stelmasiak, 2001; Stelmasiak et al. 2001).
Basic investigation was carried out using a stationary one-
cylinder 1HC102 engine having cubic capacity Vs = 0,98
dm3, with direct injection to the combustion chamber
located in the piston, compression ratio = 17, power rating
N = 11 kW at the engine speed n = 2200 rpm. Till now, the
effect of several fuels on basic engine operating
parameters and emissions was analysed in investigation.
The following fuels were applied:
methanol evaporated in an evaporator and delivered in
the gas phase into the intake manifold,
methanol injected into the intake manifold in the liquid
phase,
ethanol injected into the intake manifold in the liquid
phase,
propane-butane mixture (LPG) evaporated in an
evaporator and delivered in the gas phase into the intake
manifold.
The paper presents results of preliminary investigation on
the engine fuelled with LPG, injected into the intake
manifold in the liquid phase, for two versions injection
systems for the ignition diesel fuel dose: the first - with
traditional injection pump and the second - with a
common rail system.
The following is to be said for such conception:
expected improvement of filling the cylinder as a result of
cooling the air charge in the process of LPG fuel
evaporation,
expected lowering of combustion temperature that
favours lower NOx emission and higher engine overall
efficiency,
precision of controlling the quantity of LPG dose as well as
possibility of synchronisation between the LPG injection
process and stages of the inlet valve opening,
expected prevention of self-ignitions occurrence and
knock combustion of LPG
- air mixture (as a result of lower circulation temperature).
The paper presents results of investigation on both engine
versions obtained from load characteristics for the engine
speed n = 1800 rpm. Two values of injection timing of the
pilot dose were applied: ai1 = 10°BTDC and ai2 = 20°BTDC.
The results were compared with characteristics obtained
for standard fuelling.