This content is not included in
your SAE MOBILUS subscription, or you are not logged in.
The Prospects of Using Alcohol-Based Fuels in Stratified-Charge Spark-Ignition Engines
Technical Paper
2007-01-4034
ISSN: 0148-7191, e-ISSN: 2688-3627
Annotation ability available
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
Near-term energy policy for ground transportation is likely to have a strong focus on both gains in efficiency as well as the use of alternate fuels; as both can reduce crude oil dependence and carbon loading on the environment. Stratified-charge spark-ignition direct-injection (SIDI) engines are capable of achieving significant gains in efficiency. In addition, these engines are likely to be run on alternative fuels. Specifically, lower alcohols such as ethanol and iso-butanol, which can be produced from renewable sources.
SIDI engines, particularly the spray-guided variant, tend to be very sensitive to mixture preparation since fuel injection and ignition occur within a short time of each other. This close spacing is necessary to form a flammable mixture near the spark plug while maintaining an overall lean state in the combustion chamber. As a result, the physical properties of the fuel have a large effect on this process. Since alcohols tend to have higher heats of vaporization & lower energy densities compared to gasoline (which requires a greater fuel mass to be injected), the local conditions at the time of ignition can be very different from more conventional fuels.
In this study, an optically accessible engine is used along with high-speed image and pressure data, to study the operating characteristics when fuelled with ethanol & iso-butanol. These results are compared to those of iso-octane, a pure chemical commonly substituted for gasoline. First, a mapping study is completed to demonstrate that comparable performance can be achieved between the three fuels. Next, ignition and burning characteristics are analyzed and any differences between the fuels are highlighted. Finally, high-speed laser-induced fluorescence is used to study the evaporation and mixing process of the three fuels around the time of ignition. Through this study, a better understanding of SIDI engines run on alternative fuels can be achieved.
Recommended Content
Citation
Smith, J. and Sick, V., "The Prospects of Using Alcohol-Based Fuels in Stratified-Charge Spark-Ignition Engines," SAE Technical Paper 2007-01-4034, 2007, https://doi.org/10.4271/2007-01-4034.Also In
References
- Gautam, M. Martin D.W. II Carder D. Emissions Characteristics of Higher Alcohol/Gasoline Blends Proc Instn Mech Engrs 2000 214 165 182
- Gautam, M. Martin D.W. II Combustion Characteristics of Higher-Alcohols/Gasoline Blends Proc Instn Mech Engrs 2000 214 497 511
- Price, P. Twiney B. Stone R. Kar K. Walmsley H. Particulate and Hydrocarbon Emissions-Measurements From a Spray Guided Direct Injection Spark Ignition Engine with Oxygenate Fuel Blends SAE 2007
- Hull, A. Golubkov I. Kronberg B. Marandzheva T. van Stam J. An Alternative Fuel for Spark Ignition Engines International Journal of Engine Research 2006 7 203 214
- Demirbas, A. Progress and Recent Trends in Biofuels Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 2006 33 1 1 18
- Bayraktar, H. Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Using Gasoline-Ethanol Blends in Spark-Ignition Engines Renewable Energy 2005 30 1733 1747
- Varde, K.S. Clark C.P. A Comparison of Burn Characteristics and Exhaust Emissions from Off-Highway Engines Fueled by E0 and E85 SAE 2004
- Davis, G.W. Bouboulis J. Heil E. The Effect of Multiple Spark Discharge Ignition System and Spark Plug Electrode Configuration on Cold Starting of a Dedicated E85 Fueled Vehicle SAE 1999
- Popuri, S.S.S. Bata R.M. A Performance Study of Iso-Butanol-, Methanol-, and Ethanol-Gasoline Blends Using a Single Cylinder Engine SAE 1993
- Alasfour, F.N. The Effect of Using 30% Iso-Butanol-Gasoline Blend on Hydrocarbon Emissions From a Spark-Ignition Engine Energy Sources 1999 21 379 394
- Alasfour, F.N. Butanol - A Single-Cylinder Engine Study: Availability Analysis Applied Thermal Engineering 1997 17 6 537 549
- Alasfour, F.N. Butanol - A Single Cylinder Engine Study: Engine Performance International Journal of Energy Research 1997 21 21 30
- Bata, R.M. Elrod A.C. Lewandowski T.P. Butanol as a Blending Agent with Gasoline for I.C. Engines SAE 1989
- Heywood, J.B. Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals 1 1988 New York McGraw-Hill
- Padua, A.A.H. Fareleira J.M.N.A. Calado J.C.G. Density and Viscosity Measurements of 2,2,4-Trimethylpentane (isooctane) from 198 K to 348 K and up to 100 MPa J. Chem. Eng. Data 1996 41 1488 1494
- Huang, W.-C. Ramey D.E. Yang S.-T. Effects of Butyrate Uptake and Long-Term Stability of a Fibrous Bed Bioreactor on Continuous ABE Fermentation by Clostridium Acetobylicum 25th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals 2005 Denver, CO.
- Beushausen, V. Mueller T. Thiele T. Wesker T. Arndt S. Grzeszik R. Raimann J. Spatially Resolved Determination of Fuel/Air Ratio Inside a Direct Injection SI-Engine Under Real Fuel Conditions SAE 2003
- Lee Chang Sik Lee Ki Hyung Chon Mun Soo Kim Dae Sik Spray Structure and Characteristics of High-Pressure Gasoline Injectors for Direct-Injection Engine Applications Atomization and Sprays: Journal of the International Institutions for Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems 2001 11 35 48
- Davy, M. Williams P. Anderson R. Effects of Composition on Mixture Formation in a Firing Direct-Injection Spark-Ignition Engine: An Experimental Study Using Mie Scattering and PLIF Techniques SAE 2000
- Fansler, T.D. Drake M.C. Stojkovic B.D. Rosalik M.E. Local Fuel Concentration, Ignition and Combustion in a Stratified Charge Spark Ignited Direct Injection Engine: Spectroscopic, Imaging and Pressure-Based Measurements International Journal of Engine Research 2002 4 2 61 87
- Smith, J.D. Sick V. A Multi-Variable High-Speed Optical Study of Ignition Instabilities in a Spray-Guided Direct-Injected Spark-Ignition Engine SAE Paper 2006-01-1264 2006
- Smith, J.D. Sick V. Real-Time Imaging of Fuel Injection, Evaporation and Ignition in a Direct-Injected Spark-Ignition Engine ILASS-Americas 2006 Toronto, ON
- Smith, J.D. Development and Application of High-Speed Optical Diagnostic Techniques for Conducting Scalar Measurements in Internal Combustion Engines Mechanical Engineering 2006 University of Michigan Ann Arbor
- Smith, J.D. Sick V. High-Speed Fuel Tracer Fluorescence and OH Radical Chemiluminescence Imaging in a Spark-Ignition Direct-Injection Engine Applied Optics 2005 44 6682 6691
- Smith, J.D. Sick V. Crank-Angle Resolved Imaging of Biacetyl Laser-Induced Fluorescence in an Optical Internal Combustion Engine Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics 2005 81 579 584
- Smith, J.D. Sick V. Crank-Angle Resolved Imaging of Fuel Distribution, Ignition and Combustion in a Spark-Ignition Direct-Injection Engine SAE Paper 2005-01-3753 2005
- Zhang, R. Sick V. Multi-Component Fuel Imaging in a Spray-Guided Spark-Ignition Direct-Injection Engine SAE 2007
- Smith, J.D. Sick V. Quantitative, Dynamic Fuel Distribution Measurements in Combustion-Related Devices Using Laser-Induced Fluorescence Imaging of Biacetyl in Iso-Octane Proc. Combust. Inst. 2007 31 1 747 755
- Fissenewert, U. Sick V. Pucher H. Characterization of Combustion and NO Formation in a Spray-Guided Gasoline Direct-Injection Engine Using Chemiluminescence Imaging, NO-PLIF, and Fast NO Exhaust Gas Analysis SAE 2005
- Smith, G.P. Luque J. Park C. Jeffries J.B. Crosley D.R. Low Pressure Flame Determinations of Rate Constants for OH (A) and CH (A) Chemiluminescence Combustion and Flame 2002 131 59 69