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Optical diagnostics of early flame development in a DISI (direct injection spark ignition) engine fueled with n-butanol and gasoline

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  • Merola, Simona Silvia
  • Tornatore, Cinzia
  • Irimescu, Adrian
  • Marchitto, Luca
  • Valentino, Gerardo

Abstract

Given the instability in supply and finite nature of fossil fuels, alternative renewable energy sources are continuously investigated throughout the production–distribution-use chain. Within this context, the research presented in this work is focused on using butanol as gasoline replacement in a Direct Injection Spark Ignition engine. The impact of this fuel on the combustion processes was investigated using optical diagnostics and conventional methods in a transparent single cylinder engine. Three different load settings were investigated at fixed engine speed, with combined throttling and mixture strength control. The engine was operated in homogenous charge mode, with commercial gasoline and pure n-butanol fueling. High spatial and temporal resolution visualization was applied in the first phase of the combustion process in order to follow the early flame development for the two fuels. The optical data were completed with conventional measurements of thermodynamic data and pollutants emission at the exhaust. Improved performance was obtained in throttled stoichiometric mode when using the alternative fuel, while at wide open throttle, gasoline featured higher indicated mean effective pressure at both air–fuel ratio settings. These overall findings were correlated to flame characteristics; the alcohol was found to feature more distorted flame contour compared to gasoline, especially in lean conditions. Differences were reduced during throttled stoichiometric operation, confirming that mass transfer processes, along with fuel chemistry and physical properties, exert a significant influence on local phenomena during combustion.

Suggested Citation

  • Merola, Simona Silvia & Tornatore, Cinzia & Irimescu, Adrian & Marchitto, Luca & Valentino, Gerardo, 2016. "Optical diagnostics of early flame development in a DISI (direct injection spark ignition) engine fueled with n-butanol and gasoline," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 50-62.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:108:y:2016:i:c:p:50-62
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2015.10.140
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Tian, Zhi & Zhen, Xudong & Wang, Yang & Liu, Daming & Li, Xiaoyan, 2020. "Combustion and emission characteristics of n-butanol-gasoline blends in SI direct injection gasoline engine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 267-279.
    3. Manfredi Villani & Phillip Aquino, 2020. "Turbulent Flame Geometry Measurements in a Mass-Production Gasoline Direct Injection Engine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-23, January.
    4. Abd Rashid Abd Aziz & Yohannes Tamirat Anbese & Ftwi Yohaness Hagos & Morgan R. Heikal & Firmansyah, 2017. "Characteristics of Early Flame Development in a Direct-Injection Spark-Ignition CNG Engine Fitted with a Variable Swirl Control Valve," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-16, July.
    5. Zhen, Xudong & Wang, Yang & Liu, Daming, 2020. "Bio-butanol as a new generation of clean alternative fuel for SI (spark ignition) and CI (compression ignition) engines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 2494-2521.
    6. Liu, Xinghua & Ma, Yue & Li, Shuyuan & Yan, Hua & Wang, Daxi & Luo, Yongfeng, 2019. "Study of the reaction mechanism of aluminum based composite fuel and chlorine trifluoride oxide," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 393-399.
    7. Magín Lapuerta & Rosario Ballesteros & Javier Barba, 2017. "Strategies to Introduce n-Butanol in Gasoline Blends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-10, April.
    8. Rakopoulos, Constantine D. & Rakopoulos, Dimitrios C. & Kosmadakis, George M. & Papagiannakis, Roussos G., 2019. "Experimental comparative assessment of butanol or ethanol diesel-fuel extenders impact on combustion features, cyclic irregularity, and regulated emissions balance in heavy-duty diesel engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 1145-1157.
    9. Duan, Xiongbo & Li, Yangyang & Liu, Jingping & Guo, Genmiao & Fu, Jianqin & Zhang, Quanchang & Zhang, Shiheng & Liu, Weiqiang, 2019. "Experimental study the effects of various compression ratios and spark timing on performance and emission of a lean-burn heavy-duty spark ignition engine fueled with methane gas and hydrogen blends," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 558-571.
    10. Ji, Changwei & Shi, Lei & Wang, Shuofeng & Cong, Xiaoyu & Su, Teng & Yu, Menghui, 2017. "Investigation on performance of a spark-ignition engine fueled with dimethyl ether and gasoline mixtures under idle and stoichiometric conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 335-342.
    11. Santiago Martinez & Adrian Irimescu & Simona Silvia Merola & Pedro Lacava & Pedro Curto-Riso, 2017. "Flame Front Propagation in an Optical GDI Engine under Stoichiometric and Lean Burn Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-23, September.

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