The Effect of Liquid Fuel on the Cylinder Liner on Engine-Out Hydrocarbon Emissions in SI Engines

The liquid fuel film on the cylinder liner is believed to be a major source of engine-out hydrocarbon emissions in SI engines, especially during cold start and warm-up period. Quantifying the liquid fuel film on the cylinder liner is essential to understand the engine-out hydrocarbon emissions formation in SI engines. In this research, two-dimensional visualization was carried out to quantify liquid fuel film on the quartz cylinder liner in an SI engine test rig. In addition, comparing visualization results with the trend of hydrocarbon emissions in this engine, the effect of cylinder wall-wetting during a simulated cold start and warmed-up condition was investigated with the engine experiment.

The visualization was based on laser-induced fluorescence and total reflection. Using a quartz liner and a special lens, only the liquid fuel on the liner was visualized. The calibration technique was developed to quantify the fluorescence signal with the thickness gage and the calibration device. The fluorescent intensity increases linearly with increase in the fuel film thickness on the quartz liner. Using this technique, the distribution of the fuel film thickness on the cylinder liner was measured quantitatively for different valve lifts and injected fuel mass in the test rig. In order to compare visualization results with the effect of liquid fuel on the cylinder liner on the hydrocarbon emissions, the engine experiment was conducted with respect to injection angle and injection timing.