FUELS TO ENABLE LIGHT-DUTY DIESEL ADVANCED COMBUSTION REGIMES

CRC Project No. AVFL-16

Leaders:    K. Knoll
                  K. J. Wright

Scope and Objective

The objective of this effort is to identify the characteristics of advanced fuels that affect the achievable advanced combustion operating range of LD diesel engines and includes two main tasks:

Task 1 – Establish Engine Test Platform -- A research engine test platform will be established that is capable of investigating fuel effects in advanced combustion regimes. Ideally, the test engine will be capable of operating on fuels that span the boiling range from kerosene through No. 2 diesel fuel with a wide range of ignition qualities. Early injection technologies such as HCCI or premixed charge compression ignition are preferred approaches, but others may be considered. 

Task 2 – Investigate the Effect of Fuel Properties on Advanced Combustion Engine Operation -- It is anticipated that fuels (besides conventional diesel) may be better suited for advanced combustion engine operation and may expand the range of achievable loads. It is not clear what characteristics make a good advanced combustion fuel, but boiling range and autoignition temperature have been proposed as important parameters. This project will investigate the impact of cetane number, T90, and aromatic content in a matrix of test fuels. The FACE working group has developed a matrix of 9 test fuels that will be used for this project. The test program will initially include a subset of 5 fuels along with a cost figure for each additional fuel.

The advanced combustion operation with the fuels will be defined in terms of quantitative metrics which will include gaseous and particulate emissions, engine COV, cylinder pressure rise rate, and timing for 50% burn. Measured values will be EGR level, emissions, combustion parameters, and engine performance parameters including torque, air consumption and fuel consumption. Two operating points will be investigated. The first operating point will be 2100 rpm and highest achievable load and the second will be a low speed-low load test point (such as idle, if achievable).

Current Status and Future Program

Back to the AVFL Index