Performance, Combustion and Emissions Evaluation of Liquid Phase Port-Injected LPG on a Single Cylinder Heavy-Duty Spark Ignited Engine
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), like many other alternative fuels, has witnessed increased adoption in the last decade, and its use is projected to rise as stricter emissions regulations continue to be applied. However, much of its use is limited to dual fuel applications, gaseous phase injection, light-duty passenger vehicle applications, or scenarios that require conversion from gasoline engines. Therefore, to address these limitations and discover the most efficient means of harnessing its full potential, more research is required in the development of optimized fuel injection equipment for liquid port and direct injection, along with the implementation of advanced combustion strategies that will improve its thermal efficiency to the levels of conventional fuels. This paper focuses on the development of a liquid phase port-injection system for LPG, the design of a reference piston, and the baseline evaluation of the performance, combustion, and emissions characteristics of a single cylinder research engine to establish a benchmark comparable to existing LPG engines. A sweep of start of injection (SOI) timing is performed by injecting liquid LPG at several closed and open intake valve timings, which demonstrates no significant variation in engine performance, but accounts for a 10% reduction in bsCO with the optimal SOI timing. Spark timing sweep demonstrates the 50% burn crank angle location related to maximum brake torque (MBT) point with a brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of ~34% for the tested load case. The effect of equivalence ratio is also presented with optimal SOI timing at MBT condition. The engine starts exhibiting knocking combustion at 140kPa intake manifold air pressure (IMAP) with a peak torque of 253Nm and a 5% reduction in brake specific fuel consumption compared to the naturally aspirated scenario.
- Research Organization:
- Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- EE0009198
- OSTI ID:
- 1974443
- Journal Information:
- SAE Technical Paper Series, Conference: SAE International WCX, Detroit, Michigan April 18-20, 2023; ISSN 0148-7191
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Gaseous fuels variation effects on first and second law analyses of a small direct injection engine for micro-CHP systems
Experimental Investigation of Fuel-Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) Combustion Mode in a Multi-Cylinder, Light-Duty Diesel Engine