Development of a Two-Zone HCCI Combustion Model Accounting for Boundary Layer Effects

The Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion concept is currently under widespread investigation due to its potential to increase thermal efficiency while greatly decreasing harmful exhaust pollutants. Simulation tools have been developed to explore the implications of initial mixture thermodynamic state on engine performance and emissions. In most cases these modeling efforts have coupled a detailed fuel chemistry mechanism with empirical descriptions of the in-cylinder heat transfer processes. The primary objective of this paper is to present a fundamentally based boundary layer heat transfer model. The two-zone combustion model couples an adiabatic core zone with a boundary layer heat transfer model. The model predicts film coefficient, with approximately the same universal shape and magnitudes as an existing global model. In addition, the new model resolves the boundary layer thickness and mass fraction trapped in the boundary layer, which are needed to predict and understand hydrocarbon quench. The two-zone model is then validated against experimental data and compared to the single zone formulation, which utilizes empirical heat transfer treatments.