An Experimental Study on the Effect of Intake Primary Runner Blockages on Combustion and Emissions in SI Engines under Part-Load Conditions

Charge motion is known to accelerate and stabilize combustion through its influence on turbulence intensity and flame propagation. The present work investigates the effect of charge motion generated by intake runner blockages on combustion characteristics and emissions under part-load conditions in SI engines. Firing experiments have been conducted on a DaimlerChrysler (DC) 2.4L 4-valve I4 engine, with spark range extending around the Maximum Brake Torque (MBT) timing. Three blockages with 20% open area are compared to the fully open baseline case under two operating conditions: 2.41 bar brake mean effective pressure (bmep) at 1600 rpm, and 0.78 bar bmep at 1200 rpm. The blocked areas are shaped to create different levels of swirl, tumble, and cross-tumble. Crank-angle resolved pressures have been acquired, including cylinders 1 and 4, intake runners 1 and 4 upstream and downstream of the blockage, and exhaust runners 1 and 4. Exhaust runner temperature and emissions, including NO_x, HC, CO, CO₂, and O₂ are also measured. Combustion is quantified by calculating Coefficient of Variation (COV), Lowest Normalized Value (LNV), and burn duration. The impact of blockages on the increase of exhaust gas temperature by means of spark retardation is also analyzed.