The Impact of Fuel Composition on SI Engine Calibration and Performance

Gasoline is composed of hundreds of components. The fuel properties can present a wide range of variation, depending on the formulation. Commercial fuel specifications differ from country to country, based on the features of each market. Also, fuels for some specific engine applications can differ widely from commercial fuels. For the next decades it is expected that the fossil fuels and bio-fuels usage in internal combustion engines remains to be the main source for vehicular propulsion. This justifies the intense worldwide research and development to comply with the challenges of increasing efficiency and emissions reduction. In this context the fuel can play an important role, mainly when there is the possibility to optimize fuel formulation, engine design and engine calibration for the desired application. Following previous works about methodologies for fuel development, the aim of this paper is to present the effect of different fuel formulations on the calibration, combustion and performance parameters of spark ignition engines. This paper discusses the potential advantages of using higher contents of iso-paraffins, n-paraffins or aromatics for different engine performance parameters in different applications. The experimental results and technical information presented can help fuel formulation in general and can be of particular interest for special usages such as motor sport or power generation.