Influence of Injection Timing on Performance and Exhaust Emission of CI Engine Fuelled with Butanol-Diesel Using a 1D GT-Power Model

Abstract

Injection timing variations have a significant effect on the performance and pollutant formation in diesel engines. Numerical study was conducted to investigate the impact of injection timing on engine performance and pollutants in a six-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine. Diesel fuel with different amounts (5%, 15%, and 25% by volume) of n-butanol was used. Simulations were performed at four distinct injection timings (5°, 10°, 20°, 25°CA bTDC) and two distinct loads of brake mean effective pressure (BMEP = 4.5 bar and 10.5 bar) at constant engine speed (1800 rpm) using the GT-Power computational simulation package. The primary objective of this research is to determine the optimum injection timing and optimum blending ratio for improved efficiencies and reduced emissions. Notable improvements in engine performance and pollutant trends were observed for butanol-diesel blends. The addition of butanol to diesel fuel has greatly diminished NOX and CO pollutants but it elevated HC and CO2 emissions. Retarded injection timing decreased NOX and CO2 pollutants while HC and CO2 emissions increased. The results also indicated that early injection timings (20°CA bTDC and 25°CA bTDC) lowered both CO2 and unburned hydrocarbon emissions. Moreover, advanced injection timing slightly improved brake thermal efficiency (BTE) for all engine loads. It is concluded that retarded injection timing, i.e., 10°CA bTDC demonstrated optimum results in terms of performance, combustion and emissions and among the fuels 15B showed good outcome with regard to BTE, higher heat release rate, and lower pollution of HC, CO, and NOx.