Fuel Mixture Temperature Variations in the Intake Port

Temperature variation and heat transfer phenomena in the intake port of a spark ignition engine with port injection play a significant role in the mixture preparation process, especially during the warm up period. Cold temperatures in the intake port result in a large amount of liquid-fuel film. Since the liquid-fuel film responds at a slower speed than the gas-phase flow during transient operations, the liquid-fuel film acts as a fuel sink (or source) and can degrade the vehicle's driveability, fuel economy, and emissions control.

In this work, a one-dimensional, unsteady, multicomponent, multiphase flow model has been developed to study the mixture formation process in the intake port for a modern, multipoint-fuel-injection, gasoline engine. The droplet, liquid film and gas-phase mixture temperature variations and the effects of charge air, initial fuel and port wall temperatures involved in generating the air-fuel mixture are examined. The model not only quantitatively identifies the effects of each parameter on the final mixture but also shows the interactive influences of three phases of the mixture during the process. The predicted results have shown good agreement with the experimental data.