Comparison of RCCI Operation with and without EGR over the Full Operating Map of a Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine

Dual-fuel combustion using port-injection of low reactivity fuel combined with direct injection of a higher reactivity fuel, otherwise known as Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI), has been shown as a method to achieve high efficiency combustion with moderate peak pressure rise rates, low engine-out soot and NO_x emissions. A key requirement for extending to high-load operation is reduce the reactivity of the premixed charge prior to the diesel injection. One way to accomplish this is to use a very low reactivity fuel such as natural gas. In this work, experimental testing was conducted on a 13L multi-cylinder heavy-duty diesel engine modified to operate using RCCI combustion with port injection of natural gas and direct injection of diesel fuel. Natural gas/diesel RCCI engine operation is compared over the EPA Heavy-Duty 13 mode supplemental emissions test with and without EGR. Emissions and efficiency metrics were examined over the entire engine map for both operating modes. It was found that the use of EGR lowered combustion noise to less than 97 dBa and lowered the cycle averaged NO_x emissions by 48%, with only a slight increase in soot and 0.5 point decrease in brake thermal efficiency. Thus, operation with EGR offered the lowest total fluid consumption when considering the use of a selective catalytic reduction system for NO_x aftertreatment.