To extend the operational range of premixed diesel combustion, fuel reformation by piston induced compression of rich homogeneous air-fuel mixtures was conducted in this study. Reformed gas compositions and chemical processes were first simulated with the chemistry dynamics simulation, CHEMKIN Pro, by changing the intake oxygen content, intake air temperature, and compression ratio. A single cylinder diesel engine was utilized to verify the simulation results. With the simulation and experiments, the characteristics of the reformed gas with respect to the reformer cylinder operating condition were obtained. Further, the thermal decomposition and partial oxidation reaction mechanisms of the fuel in extremely low oxygen concentrations were obtained with the characteristics of the gas production at the various reaction temperatures.
The main reformed products were hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and ethylene (C2H4) and the results indicated that the reforming depends on the maximum temperature in the cylinder, however, the amount of reformed gas is lower than the values predicted by the CHEMKIN simulation.
