A Comparative Study of HCCI and ATAC Combustion Characteristics Based on Experimentation and Simulations Influence of the Fuel Octane Number and Internal EGR on Combustion

Controlled Autoignition (CAI) combustion processes can be broadly divided between a CAI process that is applied to four-stroke engines and a CAI process that is applied to two-stroke engines. The former process is generally referred to as Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion and the later process as Active Thermo-Atmosphere Combustion (ATAC). The region of stable engine operation differs greatly between these two processes, and it is thought that the elucidation of their differences and similarities could provide useful information for expanding the operation region of HCCI combustion. In this research, the same two-stroke engine was operated under both the ATAC and HCCI combustion processes to compare their respective combustion characteristics. The results indicated that the ignition timing was less likely to change in the ATAC process in relation to changes in the fuel octane number than it was in the HCCI combustion process. It was also observed that the combustion state and the operation range of HCCI combustion approached those of ATAC under the application of internal exhaust gas recirculation.