LES Analysis on Cycle-to-Cycle Variation of Combustion Process in a DISI Engine

Combustion cycle-to-cycle variation (CCV) of Spark-Ignition (SI) engines can be influenced by the cyclic variations in charge motion, trapped mass and mixture composition inside the cylinder. A high CCV leads to misfire or knock, limiting the engine’s operating regime. To understand the mechanism of the effect of flow field and mixture compositions on CCV, the present numerical work was performed in a single cylinder Direct Injection Spark-Ignition (DISI) engine. A large eddy simulation (LES) approach coupled with the G-equation combustion model was developed to capture the CCV by accurately resolving the turbulent flow field spatially and temporally. Further, the ignition process was modeled by sourcing energy during the breakdown and arc phases with a line-shape ignition model which could move with the local flow. Detailed chemistry was solved both inside and outside the flame front. A compact 48-species 152-reactions primary reference fuel (PRF) reduced mechanism was used. By implementing an adaptive mesh refinement strategy based on the sub-grid scale reaction progress variable, a good balance between accuracy and efficiency was achieved. Compared with the available experimental data, the simulation results showed a satisfying agreement. Furthermore, a correlation analysis was done based on the combustion phasing, peak pressure and gross indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP). Also, the effect of in-cylinder flow field on the early flame development and the peak pressure was discussed under the considered operating condition.