Combustion and energy distribution of hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas engines with low heat rejection based on Atkinson cycle

Abstract

In order to reduce the heat loss and improve the indicated thermal efficiency of hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas engines, this article presents a combination of Atkinson cycle with high compression ratio and low heat rejection on the hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas prototype engine with 55% hydrogen blend. The combustion characteristics and energy distribution of the prototype and modified engines were investigated by simulation, and the conclusions are as follows: the pressure and temperature of modified engines are higher than those of the prototype during the combustion process. Compared with the prototype, the modified engines present lower peak heat release rate, but faster combustion after ignition, and their CA50 are closer to top dead center. Although the high compression ratio engine with Atkinson cycle generates more heat loss, its indicated thermal efficiency still increases by 0.6% with the decrease in the exhaust energy. Furthermore, the high compression ratio engine with low heat rejection and Atkinson cycle combines the advantages of low heat loss and relatively longer expansion stroke, so its heat loss reduces obviously, and 61.6% of the saved energy from low heat rejection and Atkinson cycle can be converted into indicated work that indicates a 4.5% improvement in indicated thermal efficiency over the prototype, which makes it perform better in terms of power and fuel economy simultaneously.