Affiliation:
1. Weichai Power Co. Ltd., Weifang 261016, China
2. State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Abstract
To evaluate the significance of the geometrical parameters of a passive pre-chamber on engine performance, this study investigated the design of a plug-and-play passive pre-chamber in a 15 L heavy-duty natural gas engine. Multi-dimensional numerical investigations were conducted for parametric studies involving lateral angle, orifice diameter, and vertical angle. A compressive flow solver was employed for Navier–Stoke equations, coupled with detailed sub-models and a chemical kinetic scheme. The combustion model was calibrated and could well predict the engine combustion and operating performance. Seven pre-chamber schemes were evaluated, and four optimal ones were selected for experimental tests. The characteristics of the scavenging process, turbulent jet ignition, and main-chamber combustion were investigated and analyzed. The results show that, considering the trade-off between the ignition energy and the scavenging efficiency, the ratio of the pre-chamber to clearance volume is recommended to be 0.2~0.7%, and the corresponding area–volume ratio is 0.003~0.006 mm−1. Compared with the original natural gas engine, the pre-chamber retrofit can save up to 13.2% of fuel consumption, which presents a significant improvement in fuel economy.
Funder
National Key R&D Program of China
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Subject
Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes,Computer Science Applications,Process Chemistry and Technology,General Engineering,Instrumentation,General Materials Science
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