Measurements and Modeling of Residual Gas Fraction in SI Engines

The residual gas in SI engines is one of important factors on emission and performance such as combustion stability. With high residual gas fractions, flame speed and maximum combustion temperature are decreased and there are deeply related with combustion stability, especially at Idle and NOx emission at relatively high engine load. Therefore, there is a need to characterize the residual gas fraction as a function of the engine operating parameters.

A model for predicting the residual gas fraction has been formulated in this paper. The model accounts for the contribution due to the back flow of exhaust gas to the cylinder during valve overlap and it includes in-cylinder pressure prediction model during valve overlap. The model is derived from the one dimension flow process during overlap period and a simple ideal cycle model.

The results showed that the residual gas fraction prediction model coincides well to the measured data over a wide range of engine operating condition such as intake pressure, air-fuel ratio, cam phasing and so on. This model can be used for calculating the residual gas fraction in cycle simulation and in engine heat release analysis.