A Study on Natural Gas Fueled Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Engine - Expanding the Operating Range and Combustion Mode Switching

Natural gas homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines require high compression ratios and intake air heating because of the high auto-ignition temperature of natural gas. In the first study, the natural gas fueled HCCI combustion with internal exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) was achieved without an intake air heater. The effects of the combustion chamber configuration, turbocharging, and external EGR were investigated for expanding the operating range. As a result, it was cleared that the combination of internal / external EGR and turbocharging is effective for expanding the HCCI operational range toward high loads. Meanwhile, the HCCI combustion characteristics at high engine speeds were unstable because of an insufficient reaction time for auto-ignition. Although the engine operation with a richer air-fuel ratio was effective for improving the combustion stability, the combustion noise (CN) was at an unacceptable level. Retarding of the ignition timing is effective for reducing the CN, however, misfires become a major problem. In the second study, from the results of CFD simulation, it was cleared that a local hot temperature spot promoted the occurrence of auto-ignition and prevented misfires under unstable conditions. In the third study, the combustion mode switching from SI (spark ignition) to HCCI was examined by switching the cam profiles. As a result, the combustion mode switching was demonstrated without misfires and with an acceptable CN level.