A Study of the Mechanism of High-Speed Knocking in a Two-Stroke SI Engine with High Compression Ratio

Experimental methods and numerical analysis were used to investigate the mechanism of high-speed knocking that occurs in small two-stroke engines. The multi-ion probe method was used in the experiments to visualize flame propagation in the cylinder. The flame was detected by 14 ion probes grounded in the end gas region. A histogram was made of the order in which flames were detected. The characteristics of combustion in the cylinder were clarified by comparing warming up and after warming up and by extracting the features of the cycle in which knocking occurred. As a result, regions of fast flame propagation and regions prone to auto-ignition were identified. In the numerical analysis, flow and residual gas distribution in the cylinder, flame propagation and self-ignition were visualized by 3D CFD using 1D CFD calculation results as boundary conditions and initial conditions. Flame propagation calculated by 3D CFD was found to be directional due to in-cylinder flow caused by scavenging flow. The calculated direction of flame spread was matched with the experimentally measured direction. It was also found that the first auto-ignition occurred in the high temperature region where the concentration of residual gas was high. Finally, numerical analysis was performed for the high compression ratio engine specifications. As a result, the mechanism of knocking was clarified as the first auto-ignition caused by the high-temperature residual gas, followed by the pressure wave inducing continuous auto-ignition. The flow formed during the scavenging process and the subsequent compression process determine the directionality of flame propagation and residual gas distribution at top dead center. Thus, the possibility of knocking avoidance by scavenging air shape and combustion chamber shape was suggested.