Experimental Investigation of Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Engine of Ethanol and Diesel Blends

Abstract

This paper deals with the experimental investigation of a Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) Engine system. The main objective of this research work is to study the effects of a premixed fuel ratio on the performance, combustion characteristics and reduction of oxides of nitrogen and smoke intensity, using the HCCI concept. The engine used for the experiments was of a Kirloskar TAF-I series. The engine is a four stroke, single cylinder air cooled diesel engine, of a rated power of 4.4 kW loaded with an electrical dynamometer. An electronic fuel injection circuit was developed to control the ignition timing and duration of the premixed charge. Ethanol was premixed, and a part injected before ignition, whereas the diesel fuel was injected by the conventional injector directly into the cylinder. The part injected ethanol and direct injected diesel were tested in various proportions, to optimize the operating range, and the same setup was tested with various % of EGR.The obtained results include data plots illustrating the performance, combustion and emission characteristics. The results indicate that the concentration of the oxides of nitrogen species rapidly decreased, and the smoke emissions were reduced simultaneously at 20% Rp and 20% EGR in 75% load and full load conditions.