Methods for Characterization of the Diesel Combustion and Emission Formation Processes

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Methods for Characterization of the Diesel Combustion and Emission Formation Processes Methods for Characterization of the Diesel Combustion and Emission Formation Processes Mikael Lindström Doctoral thesis TRITA – MMK 2011:10 Department of Machine Design ISSN 1400–1179 Royal Institute of Technology ISRN/KTH/MMK/R-11/10-SE SE-100 44 Stockholm ISBN 978-91-7501-037-3 TRITA – MMK 2011:10 ISSN 1400-1179 ISRN/KTH/MMK/R-11/10-SE ISBN 978-91-7501-037-3 Methods for Characterization of the Diesel Combustion and Emission Formation Processes Mikael Lindström Doctoral thesis Academic thesis, which with the approval of Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, will be presented for public review in fulfillment of the requirements for a Doctorate of Engineering in Machine Design. Public review: Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, F3, Lindstedtsvägen 26, Stockholm, on June 8, 2011, 10:00. I. Abstract In this thesis various aspects of the diesel engine fuel injection, combustion and emission formation processes have been evaluated. Several types of evaluation tools and methods have been applied. Fuel spray momentum was used to characterize injection rate and hole-to-hole variations in fuel injectors. Using both instantaneous fuel impulse rates and instantaneous mass flow measurements, spray velocity and nozzle flow parameters were evaluated. Several other hole-to- hole resolved injector characterization methods were used to characterize a set of fuel injectors subjected to long term testing. Fuel injector nozzle hole-to-hole variations were found to have a large influence on engine efficiency and emissions. The degree of hole-to-hole variations for an injector has been shown to correlate well with the performance deterioration of that injector. The formation and atomization of fuel sprays, ignition onset and the development of diffusion flames were studied using an optical engine. Flame temperature evaluations have been made using two different methods. NO-formation depends strongly on flame temperature. By applying a NO-formation evaluation method based on both heat release rate and flame and gas temperature it was possible to achieve a reasonable degree of correlation with measured exhaust emissions for very varying operating conditions. The prediction capability of the NO-formation evaluation method was utilized to evaluate spatially and temporally resolved NO-formation from flame temperature distributions. This made it possible to pinpoint areas with a high degree of NO-formation. It was found that small hot zones in the flames can be responsible for a large part of the total amount of NO that is produced, especially in combustion cases where no EGR is used to lower the flame temperature. By applying optical diagnostics methods the combustion and emission formation phenomena encountered during production engine transients were evaluated. The transient strategy of the engine involved reducing the EGR-rate to zero during the initial parts of the transient. Increased general flame temperature and the occurrence of small hot zones were found to explain the increase in NO-emissions during these transients. 3 4 II. Acknowledgments This work is the result of an Industrial PhD-project which was jointly financed by SCANIA CV AB, the Swedish Energy Agency and the Agency for Innovation Systems, VINNOVA. I would like thank all the people from Scania and KTH who have been a part of this project and provided valuable ideas, help with my publications and other support. Especially my supervisors and steering committee members, Hans-Erik Ångström, Ernst Winklhofer, Anders Björnsjö, Andreas Cronhjort, Per Risberg, Jonas Holmborn and Lars Dahlén. I would also like to thank my fellow PhD-students and the laboratory staff at KTH for valuable help. I would finally like to thank my family and friends for support. I would like to thank my father for awakening my interest in technical things, without which this thesis would not exist. 5 6 III. List of Papers Paper I Development of a Fuel Spray Impulse Measurement Device and Correlation with Time Resolved Mass Flow , SAE Technical Paper 2009-01-1880, Lindström M., Ångström H-E. Presented at the SAE 2009 International Powertrains, Fuels & Lubricants Meeting, Florence, Italy, by M. Lindström. The development of used equipment, experimental work and result evaluation were made by M. Lindström. Reviewed by H.-E. Ångström. Paper II A Study of Hole Properties in Diesel Fuel Injection Nozzles and its Influence on Smoke Emissions , THERMO- AND FLUID-DYNAMIC PROCESSES IN DIESEL ENGINES, THIESEL 2008, Lindström M., Ångström H-E. Presented at THIESEL 2008 in Valencia, Spain, by M. Lindström. The development of experimental equipment, the experimental work and result evaluation were made by M. Lindström. Emission measurements and nozzle X- ray tomography were obtained from Scania., Reviewed by H.-E. Ångström. Paper III A Study of In-Cylinder Fuel Spray Formation and its Influence on Exhaust Emissions using an Optical Diesel Engine , SAE Technical Paper 2010-01-1498, Lindström M., Ångström H-E. Presented at the SAE 2009 International Powertrains, Fuels & Lubricants Meeting, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by M. Lindström. Experimental work and result evaluation were made by M. Lindström. Reviewed by H.-E. Ångström. Paper IV In-Flame Evaluation of Emission Formation in Optical and Metal Engine Using High Speed Camera and Endoscope , THERMO- AND FLUID- DYNAMIC PROCESSES IN DIESEL ENGINES, THIESEL 2010, Lindström M., Ångström H-E. 7 Presented at THIESEL 2010 in Valencia, Spain, by M. Lindström. The experimental work and result evaluation were made by M. Lindström. Reviewed by H.-E. Ångström. Paper V A Study of Combustion and Emission Formation Characteristics during Production Engine Transients using Optical Diagnostics , Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Vol 225, Part D, Journal of Automobile Engineering, 2011, Lindström M., Westlund. A, Ångström H-E. The experimental work was made in cooperation with A. Westlund. Method development and result evaluation were made by M. Lindström. Reviewed by H.- E. Ångström 8 Table of content 1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 11 1.1 The invention and evolution of the internal combustion engine ............. 11 1.2 The Otto engine ....................................................................................... 14 1.3 The Diesel engine .................................................................................... 15 2 Diesel fuel injection and spray formation ...................................................... 18 2.1 Fuel jet formation, break-up and atomization ........................................ 18 2.2 Air entrainment and combustion system air utilization efficiency ........ 19 3 Combustion and emission formation ............................................................. 21 3.1 Schematics of the development of a diesel diffusion flame ................... 21 3.2 The soot formation and oxidation processes .......................................... 23 3.3 Flame temperature and NO-formation ................................................... 26 4 The influence of fuel injection parameters on diesel engine operation ......... 31 4.1 Fuel injection strategies - multiple fuel injections ................................. 31 4.1.1 Pilot injection ....................................................................................... 31 4.1.2 Split injection ....................................................................................... 32 4.1.3 Post injection ....................................................................................... 33 4.2 The influence of nozzle and hole parameters on diesel engine combustion ......................................................................................................... 33 5 Transient engine operation ............................................................................. 42 6 Summary of the diesel engine processes ....................................................... 45 7 Experimental setup - Overview of experimental equipment and evaluation methods .................................................................................................................. 48 7.1 Fuel injection rate and impulse measurements ..................................... 48 7.2 Overview of test engines ...................................................................... 50 7.3 Optical engine and spray vessel ............................................................ 51 9 7.4 Methods used for characterization of hole-to-hole variations ............... 54 7.5 Flame temperature evaluations using VisioFEM and ThermoVision ... 55 8 List of papers with main results ..................................................................... 60 9 Characterizing the diesel process using fuel injection measurements, optical diagnostics and thermodynamic analysis ............................................................... 64 9.1 Lighting and camera considerations when photographing the different parts of the diesel combustion process ............................................................... 64 9.2 Fuel injection and atomization ............................................................. 65 9.3 Ignition and premixed combustion....................................................... 66 9.4 Influence of pilot injections on ignition ............................................... 68 9.5 Diffusion combustion and emission formation .................................... 71 9.5.1 NO-formation ...................................................................................
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