Using Mathematical Modeling to Evaluate the Performance of a Passenger Car When Operating on Various Fuels

Abstract

This article presents the results of experimental and computational studies of the performance of a car with a gasoline engine with spark ignition when retrofitted with a system of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). To analyze the impact of the use of LPG instead of gasoline, the mathematical model of the car’s movement according to the modes of the European driving cycle has been refined. It was established that when using LPG for a car in the driving cycle, fuel consumption in energy units decreases by 10.38%. Gas consumption, determined in mass units, is lower than gasoline consumption. In load modes, this difference is about 8% and in idle mode, it reaches 16–18%. The adequacy of the mathematical model is confirmed by experimental studies of the car on modern equipment with the measurement of fuel efficiency and environmental performance in motion, according to the specified cycle. The deviation of the calculated fuel consumption from the results of experimental studies does not exceed 0.86%. The values of environmental indicators obtained by calculations on the mathematical model differ from the experimental ones by an average of 15%. The conducted studies showed the expediency of using LPG by retrofitting a car with a gasoline engine with an LPG power supply system and the possibility of using mathematical modeling to assess the feasibility of such retrofitting.