IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v324y2025ics0360544225016019.html

Understanding the role of ammonia combined injection in improving combustion and emissions characteristics for heavy-duty CI engine

Author

Listed:
  • Shi, Cheng
  • Duan, Ruiling
  • Cheng, Tengfei
  • Nie, Fuquan
  • Yan, Xiaodong
  • Zhu, Jian

Abstract

In this study, a three-dimensional numerical simulation approach was employed to develop a dual-fuel ammonia-diesel engine model. Subsequently, the impacts of various ammonia energy fractions on engine combustion and emission performance under two injection modes were examined through a comparative analysis: PFI and DI. The results indicate that, in the PFI mode, the IMEP significantly decreased, demonstrating poorer economic performance compared to the neat diesel mode, though it exhibited superior emission characteristics. In contrast, the DI mode notably improved the economic performance, with significantly lower unburned NH3 emissions than the PFI mode. In the DI mode, when the ammonia energy fraction reached 40, the engine displayed optimal performance. Specifically, the in-cylinder fuel mixture was homogeneous, exhibiting greater TKE. The IMEP was 9.40 % higher than the neat diesel mode, at 1.081 MPa. Building upon this, under a combined injection mode, the combustion and emission processes of engine were examined in more detail, with an ammonia energy fraction of 60. Five different DI:PFI ratios (1:4, 2:3, 1:1, 3:2, and 4:1) were considered. The results showed that increasing the DI ratio improved the formation of the air-fuel mixture inside the engine, accelerated flame propagation, and enhanced the economic performance. Notably, when the DI to PFI ratio was 3:2, the IMEP reached its peak at 1.16 MPa, a 7.60 % increase compared to the DI mode. Additionally, the indicated thermal efficiency was 44.61 %, which was 6.14 % higher than the ADI-40 case.

Suggested Citation

  • Shi, Cheng & Duan, Ruiling & Cheng, Tengfei & Nie, Fuquan & Yan, Xiaodong & Zhu, Jian, 2025. "Understanding the role of ammonia combined injection in improving combustion and emissions characteristics for heavy-duty CI engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:324:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225016019
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.135959
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225016019
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.135959?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shi, Cheng & Cheng, Tengfei & Yang, Xiyu & Zhang, Zheng & Duan, Ruiling & Li, Xujia, 2024. "Implementation of various injection rate shapes in an ammonia/diesel dual-fuel engine with special emphasis on combustion and emissions characteristics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    2. Shi, Cheng & Chai, Sen & Di, Liming & Ji, Changwei & Ge, Yunshan & Wang, Huaiyu, 2023. "Combined experimental-numerical analysis of hydrogen as a combustion enhancer applied to wankel engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PC).
    3. Shi, Cheng & Zhang, Zheng & Wang, Huaiyu & Wang, Jingyi & Cheng, Tengfei & Zhang, Liang, 2024. "Parametric analysis and optimization of the combustion process and pollutant performance for ammonia-diesel dual-fuel engines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    4. Ezzat, M.F & Dincer, I., 2018. "Development and assessment of a new hybrid vehicle with ammonia and hydrogen," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 226-239.
    5. Shi, Cheng & Lei, Jian & Tian, Guohong & Ma, Zedong & Yang, Xiyu & Zhu, Jian, 2025. "Numerical investigation on recess geometry amelioration of an ammonia-hydrogen zero-carbon Wankel engine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    6. Lin, Zhelong & Liu, Shang & Sun, Qiyang & Qi, Yunliang & Wang, Zhi & Li, Jun, 2024. "Effect of injection and ignition strategy on an ammonia direct injection–Hydrogen jet ignition (ADI-HJI) engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    7. Qiao, Qinyu & Zhao, Fuquan & Liu, Zongwei & Jiang, Shuhua & Hao, Han, 2017. "Cradle-to-gate greenhouse gas emissions of battery electric and internal combustion engine vehicles in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 1399-1411.
    8. Wang, Huaiyu & Ji, Changwei & Wang, Du & Wang, Zhe & Yang, Jinxin & Meng, Hao & Shi, Cheng & Wang, Shuofeng & Wang, Xin & Ge, Yunshan & Yang, Wenming, 2023. "Investigation on the potential of using carbon-free ammonia and hydrogen in small-scaled Wankel rotary engines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    9. Cheng, Tengfei & Duan, Ruiling & Li, Xueyi & Yan, Xiaodong & Yang, Xiyu & Shi, Cheng, 2025. "Progressive split injection strategies to combustion and emissions improvement of a heavy-duty diesel engine with ammonia enrichment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 316(C).
    10. Zhou, Xinyi & Li, Tie & Wang, Ning & Wang, Xinran & Chen, Run & Li, Shiyan, 2023. "Pilot diesel-ignited ammonia dual fuel low-speed marine engines: A comparative analysis of ammonia premixed and high-pressure spray combustion modes with CFD simulation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    11. Cui, Jingchen & Chen, Weize & Wang, Bing & Fan, Yuanzhi & Tian, Hua & Long, Wuqiang & Liu, Xing, 2024. "Effects of relative position of injectors on the performance of ammonia/diesel two-stroke engines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    12. Huang, Yuhan & Surawski, Nic C. & Zhuang, Yuan & Zhou, John L. & Hong, Guang, 2021. "Dual injection: An effective and efficient technology to use renewable fuels in spark ignition engines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    13. Lei, Jian & Chai, Sen & Tian, Guohong & Liu, Hua & Yang, Xiyu & Shi, Cheng, 2024. "Understanding the role of methanol as a blended fuel on combustion behavior for rotary engine operations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Tao & Wang, Chunguang & Chen, Zhanming & Luo, Ding & Chen, Hao, 2025. "A numerical and experimental study of the spray and combustion characteristics of a diesel and ammonia dual-fuel engine with direct injection," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    2. Zhang, Yanzhi & Jia, Ming & Chang, Yachao & Li, Yaopeng, 2025. "High-fidelity LES of ammonia spray evaporation and mixing under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    3. Sun, Qiyang & Qi, Yunliang & Lin, Zhelong & Liu, Yi & Zhu, Wuzhe & Chen, Qingchu & Peng, Yue & Wang, Zhi, 2025. "Experimental study on combustion and emission characteristics of a pure ammonia engine with spark ignition," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    4. Sun, Bo & Liu, Hang & Shi, Cheng & Duan, Ruiling & Cheng, Tengfei & Zhao, Xi, 2025. "Parametric analysis of flow and combustion phenomena for ammonia-diesel heavy-duty engine considering intake air temperature and swirl ratio number," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
    5. Sun, Bo & Liu, Hang & Shi, Cheng & Wang, Ruofei & Wang, Huaiyu & Nie, Fuquan, 2025. "Comparative assessment of mixture formation and combustion characteristics of a hydrogen/n-butanol rotary engine with various rotor recess designs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    6. Wang, Long & Gan, Huibing & Li, Yuelong & Liu, Yanlin & Lu, Daoyi & Wang, Huaiyu, 2025. "Numerical investigation of ammonia-diesel dual-fuel engine based on ammonia thermal cracking for hydrogen to reduce unburned ammonia and GHG," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sun, Bo & Liu, Hang & Shi, Cheng & Wang, Ruofei & Wang, Huaiyu & Nie, Fuquan, 2025. "Comparative assessment of mixture formation and combustion characteristics of a hydrogen/n-butanol rotary engine with various rotor recess designs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    2. Wang, Long & Gan, Huibing & Li, Yuelong & Liu, Yanlin & Lu, Daoyi & Wang, Huaiyu, 2025. "Numerical investigation of ammonia-diesel dual-fuel engine based on ammonia thermal cracking for hydrogen to reduce unburned ammonia and GHG," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    3. Shi, Cheng & Cheng, Tengfei & Duan, Ruiling & Nie, Fuquan & Yan, Xiaodong & Yang, Xiyu, 2025. "An insight into the effects of injection pressure and nozzle dimension on combustion characteristics and pollutant formation of ammonia/diesel dual-fuel engines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    4. Bao, Jianhui & Lei, Jian & Zhang, Shiqi & Peng, Jianxin & Zhu, Jianzhuo & Shi, Cheng, 2025. "Stratified combustion optimization in ammonia/hydrogen rotary engines through asynchronous dual-direct-injection with thermal load management," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 339(C).
    5. Shi, Cheng & Cheng, Tengfei & Yang, Xiyu & Zhang, Zheng & Duan, Ruiling & Li, Xujia, 2024. "Implementation of various injection rate shapes in an ammonia/diesel dual-fuel engine with special emphasis on combustion and emissions characteristics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    6. Sun, Bo & Liu, Hang & Shi, Cheng & Duan, Ruiling & Cheng, Tengfei & Zhao, Xi, 2025. "Parametric analysis of flow and combustion phenomena for ammonia-diesel heavy-duty engine considering intake air temperature and swirl ratio number," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
    7. Yang, Xiyu & Yang, Fangliang & Li, Nan & Zhang, Liang & Lei, Jian & Shi, Cheng & Bai, Yun & Dong, Quan, 2024. "Study on prediction of gas injection mass fluctuation for hydrogen-diesel co-direct injection system: A prediction algorithm driven by model and perception iterative," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    8. Bao, Jianhui & Lei, Jian & Tian, Guohong & Wang, Xiaomeng & Wang, Huaiyu & Shi, Cheng, 2024. "A review of the application development and key technologies of rotary engines under the background of carbon neutrality," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    9. Sun, Bo & Wang, Yuyao & Shi, Cheng & Nie, Fuquan & Yan, Xiaodong, 2025. "Combined effect of chamber geometry and compression ratio on the combustion process in a methanol-enriched rotary engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    10. Meng, Hao & Zhan, Qiang & Ji, Changwei & Yang, Jinxin & Wang, Shuofeng, 2025. "Comprehensive multi-performance research of hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine by experimental and data-driven methods," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    11. Wang, Qingyang & Wang, Yang & Zhou, Yuhan & Hao, Yanan & Long, Wuqiang & Tian, Hua & Dong, Pengbo, 2025. "Impact of diesel post-injection strategy on combustion and emission characteristics of a high-speed ammonia/diesel dual direct-injection engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    12. Nie, Xuexuan & Bi, Yuhua & Lei, Jilin & Shen, Lizhong & Chen, Guisheng & Liu, Shaohua & Fu, Quan, 2025. "Generation characteristics of nitrogen-containing pollutants in ammonia-diesel dual-fuel engines under different operating conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    13. Lei, Jian & Chai, Sen & Tian, Guohong & Liu, Hua & Yang, Xiyu & Shi, Cheng, 2024. "Understanding the role of methanol as a blended fuel on combustion behavior for rotary engine operations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    14. Lei, Jian & Zhang, Shiqi & Bao, Jianhui & Xin, Gu & Yang, Xiyu & Shi, Cheng, 2025. "The low-carbon transition of rotary engines: Potential and challenges of alcohol fuels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    15. Shi, Cheng & Lei, Jian & Tian, Guohong & Ma, Zedong & Yang, Xiyu & Zhu, Jian, 2025. "Numerical investigation on recess geometry amelioration of an ammonia-hydrogen zero-carbon Wankel engine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    16. Yang, Xiyu & Yang, Fangliang & Dong, Quan & Shi, Cheng & Li, Nan & Zhang, Liang, 2025. "The study based on hydrogen-diesel co-direct injection system: A correction algorithm for circulating gas injection mass," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    17. Lin, Zhelong & Liu, Yi & Chen, Qingchu & Sun, Qiyang & Zhu, Wuzhe & Qi, Yunliang & Wang, Zhi, 2025. "Experimental study on the combustion pattern in an ammonia engine using micro diesel ignition," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    18. Elbanna, Ahmed Mohammed & Cheng, Xiaobei, 2024. "The role of charge reactivity in ammonia/diesel dual fuel combustion in compression ignition engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    19. Yu, Changyou & Sun, Wanchen & Li, Degang & Zhang, Hao & Yang, Miao & Guo, Liang & Liu, Xia & Wang, Xiaotian & Wang, Xiangchao & Li, Renjie, 2025. "Experimental study on negative valve overlap condition and Miller cycle on combustion characteristics of ammonia-alcohol dual-fuel ignition engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
    20. Shi, Cheng & Zhang, Zheng & Wang, Huaiyu & Wang, Jingyi & Cheng, Tengfei & Zhang, Liang, 2024. "Parametric analysis and optimization of the combustion process and pollutant performance for ammonia-diesel dual-fuel engines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:324:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225016019. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.