Particulate Matter Characterization Studies in an HSDI Diesel Engine under Conventional and LTC Regime

Several mechanisms are discussed to understand the particulate matter (PM) characterization in a high speed, direct injection, single cylinder diesel engine using low sulfur diesel fuel. This includes their formation, size distribution and number density. Experiments were conducted over a wide range of injection pressures, EGR rates, injection timings and swirl ratios, therefore covering both conventional and low temperature combustion regimes. A micro dilution tunnel was used to immediately dilute a small part of the exhaust gases by hot air. A Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) was used to measure the particulate size distribution and number density. Particulate mass was measured with a Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM). Analysis was made of the root cause of PM characterization and their relationship with the combustion process under different operating conditions. PM increased with an increase in EGR in conventional combustion regime and decreased with increase in EGR under the Low Temperature Combustion (LTC) regime. The size distribution and number density shows more complex trends. The particulate formation was broadly divided into nucleation and accumulation modes and their relative roles contributing to the final PM characterization are discussed.