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Ammonia-hydrogen direct injection in a rotary engine: A pathway to cleaner combustion

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  • Sun, Yu
  • Yang, Jinxin
  • Wang, Shuofeng
  • Zhang, Yijin

Abstract

Ammonia-hydrogen blended combustion is effective approach to achieving zero-carbon emissions in the Wankel rotary engine (WRE). This study proposes hydrogen direct injection (HDI) strategy that enhances in-charge efficiency, achieves high-efficiency combustion, and optimizes the injection strategy to improve the performance of the WRE. Firstly, the effects of premixing intake and HDI under different excess air ratios on the mixture formation and performance of WRE were compared. It was found that the HDI strategy could improve the indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) by 21.43 %. Afterwards, the influence of 9 cases with varying hydrogen nozzle diameters (HNDs) and hydrogen injection angles (HIAs) on combustion and emissions was analyzed. It was observed that the decrease of HND result in higher injection velocities, which affect the concentration distribution of fuel within the cylinder. The concentration of ammonia-hydrogen fuel near the spark plug is crucial for combustion. At the HIA of 60°, a significant delay in ignition was observed near the trailing spark plug. When the HIA is set to 45°, the highest indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) reaches 37.9 % and the maximum IMEP is 0.68 MPa, while variations of HND had minimal impact on ITE, IMEP, and NOx generation in the WRE.

Suggested Citation

  • Sun, Yu & Yang, Jinxin & Wang, Shuofeng & Zhang, Yijin, 2025. "Ammonia-hydrogen direct injection in a rotary engine: A pathway to cleaner combustion," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:324:y:2025:i:c:s036054422501610x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.135968
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    References listed on IDEAS

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