Application of a Flow Field Based Heat Transfer Model to Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines

A realistic modeling of the wall heat transfer is essential for an accurate analysis and simulation of the working cycle of internal combustion engines. Empirical heat transfer formulations still dominate the application in engine process simulations because of their simplicity. However, experiments have shown that existing correlations do not provide satisfactory results for all the possible operation modes of hydrogen internal combustion engines.

This paper describes the application of a flow field-based heat transfer model according to Schubert et al. [1]. The models strength is a more realistic description of the required characteristic velocity; considering the influence of the injection on the global turbulence and on the in-cylinder flow field results in a better prediction of the wall heat transfer during the compression stroke and for operations with multiple injections.

Further an empirical hypothesis on the turbulence generation during combustion is presented. For validation the turbulence model is applied to a simulation methodology based on physical principals to predict the rate of heat release caused by the combustion process.

Measurements of the wall heat flux and the in-cylinder pressure are used for validation.