Enabling Ethanol Use as a Renewable Transportation Fuel: A Micro- and Macro-scale Perspective by Ripudaman Singh A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Mechanical Engineering) in the University of Michigan 2019 Doctoral Committee: Professor Margaret S. Wooldridge, Chair Professor Andre Boehman Associate Professor Mirko Gamba Professor Gregory Keoleian Assistant Professor Andrew Mansfield, Eastern Michigan University Ripudaman Singh [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7159-0242 © Ripudaman Singh 2019 Dedication “To my grandparents who taught me to surpass the boundaries” ii Acknowledgments Just as great things cannot be achieved in isolation, this dissertation work was possible only with the support, guidance and love from a community of people. First, I would like to thank Professor Margaret S. Wooldridge for giving me the opportunity to be a part of her research group. She is the best advisor I could have asked for, it is only her nurturing and belief in me that I have been able to complete this work. She gave me the freedom to explore opportunities and guided me on way to achieving the goals I wanted to. The rich intellectual environment in her group has helped me grow as a researcher. I would also like to thank Professor Andre Boehman, Associate Professor Mirko Gamba, Professor Gregory Keoleian and Assistant Professor Andrew Mansfield for serving on my committee. Their invaluable feedback and recommendations played a significant role in shaping this dissertation. My sincere thanks to Dr. Francis Kemausuor and the Energy Center at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana for being such great hosts during my work at Ghana. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my research sponsors including the Department of Energy, Robert BOSCH LLC, Ford Motor Co., UM Rackham graduate school and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan. Without the monetary and intellectual support from sponsors, this work would have not been possible. I am thankful for the valuable help and support of the staff and technicians in the Mechanical Engineering department. Jim Elkins for helping put the two engine set-ups in the test facility; Bill Kirkpatrick for helping ensure the auxiliary systems to the test cell were always iii functional; Kent Pruss for machining all those complex parts; Melissa Mcgeorge for expediting the ordering and shipping of all the packages required for the test facility. Thanks to my friends, my past lab-mates, and my present lab-mates, who made being in the lab fun and exciting. Dr. Mohammad Fatourie and Dr. Dimitris Assanis for guiding me throughout my Ph.D. work. Dr. Cesar Barraza Botet, Luis Gutierrez, Mario Medina, Rachel Schwind, Miles Burnett for their friendship, having insightful discussions on topics ranging from future of the automotive industry to losing body fat. I am thankful to all the friends who are like a family here in Ann Arbor. Most importantly, I am grateful for my family’s constant love and support. My grandparents who inculcated the spirit of working hard and staying honest. My parents, Gurmeet Singh and Devinder Kaur, who have let me explore whatever I have wanted to in life, even though at times I could tell that they had little idea what I was working on. My sister, Ardaman Kaur and brother, Harshpreet Singh who motivated and supported me to pursue a degree in the U.S. I am grateful for the trust my family has put in me. iv Table of Contents Dedication ................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ......................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures............................................................................................................................x List of Appendices ................................................................................................................... xv Abstract ..................................................................................................................................xvi Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................1 1.1 Focus of Thesis Work: .......................................................................................................5 References...............................................................................................................................8 Chapter 2: Effects of Fuel Injection Events of Ethanol and Gasoline Blends on Boosted Direct Injection Engine Performance ..................................................................................... 10 2.1 Abstract ........................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 11 2.3 Experimental Set-up ........................................................................................................ 15 2.4 Experimental Approach ................................................................................................... 18 2.5 Experimental Results ....................................................................................................... 20 2.5.1 Single Fuel Injection Events- Effects of Injection Timing at intake manifold absolute pressure (MAP) = 1 bar: .................................................................................................... 20 2.5.2 Single Fuel Injection Events- Effects of intake manifold absolute pressure (MAP): .. 25 2.5.3 Binary Fuel Injection Events- Effect of intake manifold absolute pressure (MAP): ... 31 2.5.4 GT-Power Model Set-Up & Model Results ............................................................... 34 2.6 Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 37 2.7 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 40 2.8 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 42 2.9 Abbreviations: ................................................................................................................. 42 References............................................................................................................................. 43 Chapter 3: Influence of Fuel Injection Strategies on Efficiency and Particulate Emissions of Gasoline and Ethanol Blends in a Turbocharges Multi-cylinder Direct Injection Engine... 45 3.1 Abstract ........................................................................................................................... 45 3.2 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 46 v 3.3 Experimental Set-up ........................................................................................................ 47 3.4 Experimental Approach ................................................................................................... 50 3.5 Experimental Results: ...................................................................................................... 53 3.5.1 Single Fuel Injection Events- Effects of Injection Timing and Intake Pressure .......... 53 3.5.2 Multiple Fuel Injection Events- Equal Fuel Mass ...................................................... 57 3.5.3 Multiple Fuel Injection Events- Variable Fuel Mass .................................................. 62 3.5.4 Multiple Fuel Injection Events-Variable Fuel Mass and Injection Timing (SOI 3) ..... 64 3.5.5 Injection Strategies to Reduce Particulate Emissions ................................................. 68 3.5.6 Engine sensitivity to different fuel blends ................................................................. 74 3.6 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 82 3.7 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 83 3.8 Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. 84 References............................................................................................................................. 84 Chapter 4: Beyond the Engine Technology ............................................................................ 87 4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 87 4.2 Moving forward with ethanol as an alternative fuel.......................................................... 94 4.2.1 Ethanol production from main food crop (Generation-I Biofuels) ............................. 94 4.2.2 Inadequate infrastructure for ethanol distribution ...................................................... 97 4.3 A case study set in Ghana ...............................................................................................