No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The continuing tightening of emission regulations has encouraged extensive research into fuel spray vaporising and combustion. This thesis is an investigation into the effect that the cylinder boundaries have upon the quantity and composition of the unburnt hydrocarbons present in the exhaust gas and particulate matter. To determine the cylinder boundaries' effect on the exhaust hydrocarbon content a series of engine tests was completed. The engine used for these experiments was a modem four cylinder turbo charged direct injection diesel engine, operated at five steady state test points. The test consisted of two standard engine builds to determine the accuracy of measurement and to supply a base point for comparison. The second test used standard pistons with modified oil control rings to increase the oil film thickness. The final test used pistons with the top ring moved nearer the top of the piston by 5.5 mm to reduce the top land crevice volume by ?55%.The composition of the particulate soluble organic fraction (SOF) for the test using the low tangential load oil control piston ring was shown to have a greater fuel content than for other tests, showing that adsorption of the fuel in the lubricating oil contributes to the particulate. The reduction of the top ring crevice volume produced similar quantities of particulate SOF but it consisted of generally lighter hydrocarbon species. The effects of these changes were replicated in a mathematical model which calculated the in cylinder values for fuel, soot, temperature and hydrocarbons. The model also simulated the oxidation of hydrocarbons at the cylinder boundary and consisted of 3 primary zones; the combustion chamber, crevice volume and oil film. This research shows that careful design of engine components can influence the quantity and composition of the particulates exhaust gas and allow the reduction of regulated components.

High levels of soot-in-oil can cause an increase in engine wear and oil viscosity, thus reducing oil drain intervals. The mechanisms by which soot particles are entrained into the bulk oil are not well understood. The research reported in this thesis addresses questions on the mechanisms of soot transfer to the lubricating oil in light-duty diesel engines with high pressure EGR systems. Deposition as a result of blow-by gas passing the piston ring pack and by absorption to the oil film on the cylinder liner via thermophoresis are soot transfer mechanisms that have been considered in detail. The investigations are based on analytical and simulation studies, and results based on complementary experimental studies are used to validate these. The experimental investigations aimed at evaluating the typical rate of accumulation and size distribution of soot agglomerates in oil. The oil samples analysed were collected during regular services from light-duty diesel engine vehicles. These were representative of vehicles meeting Euro IV and V emission regulation standards driven under real-world conditions. The rate of soot-in-oil was determined by thermogravimetric analysis and results showed a concentration of approximately 1 wt% of soot-in-oil after 15,000 km. The particle size distribution was determined using a novel technique, Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA), applied for the first time to soot-laden oil samples by the author [1, 2]. Results showed an average particle size distribution of 150 nm, irrespective of oil drain interval. Almost the totality of the particles were between 70 and 400 nm, with micro particles not detected in any of the samples analysed. For the samples investigated in this work, the Euro standard did not influence either the rate of soot deposition or the particles size distribution. To the author’s best knowledge, this is the first time that rate of soot deposition and particles size distribution from oil samples collected from vehicles of different Euro standard driven under real-world conditions are analysed and compared. Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) is a common technique used in diesel engines in order to reduce NO¬x emissions. However, it has the drawback that it increases the production of soot. In this work, particular attention has been given to its effects on the rate of soot deposition in oil. Both its influence on the soot produced during the combustion process and on the soot re-introduced in the combustion chamber by the EGR gas has been investigated through CFD simulations using Kiva-3V. Examining the relative importance of near–surface transport of soot by thermophoresis to the oil film on the liner and from blow-by gases to surfaces in the ring pack shows the former to be the dominant mechanism of soot transfer. EGR increases the rate of deposition of soot on the liner not only by increasing net production of soot, but also through the re-cycled particles. At EGR levels higher than 20%, the contribution of the Re-cycled soot becomes the major source for soot-in-oil. The study of soot deposition was evaluated during the entire engine cycle, including compression stroke and post-Exhaust Valve Opening (EVO) period. Existing deposition models found in the literature typically limit the domain to only from the Start of Injection (SOI) to (EVO) period [3-5]. Results from this thesis indicated that compression stroke and post-EVO period can contribute up to 30% of the total rate of soot deposition into oil.

Engine manufactures are currently seeking to develop spark ignition engines that are more fuel efficient, more refined and produce lower amounts of polluting emissions. To achieve these objectives an improved understanding of the factors governing the combustion process is required. Engine in-cylinder fluid motion is known to fundamentally affect fuel–air mixture preparation and flame propagation. Therefore, characterisation and quantification of the in-cylinder flow is an important step in the process of achieving the conditions necessary for optimal combustion. This thesis reports the application of two-colour Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to measure extended velocity fields within the combustion chamber of a firing production geometry optical engine. Two-colour PIV was used to obtain high spatial resolution fluid velocity maps for a range of crank angles and engine conditions. PIV measurements were obtained in the unburned gas ahead of the propagating flame and a combustible seeding material was used to clearly define the burned gas region. Data is presented for both the normal 2-valve running conditions and with one inlet port deactivated for both open-valve and closed-valve fuel injection timing.

No description available.

Solid propellant is the highly energetic fuel burnt in the combustion chamber of ballistic weapons. It is manufactured, for this purpose, in either granular or stick form. Internal ballistics describes the behavior within the combustion chamber throughout the ballistic cycle upto projectile exit from the muzzle of the gun barrel. Over the last twenty years this has been achieved by modelling the process using two-phase flow equations. The solid granules or sticks constitute the first phase, which can be assumed to be incompressible over typical pressure ranges within the chamber. The gas-phase is composed of both the original ambient gas contained around the propellant and additional gas produced by the propellant gasifying on heating. Equations can be derived that describe the conservation of mass, momentum and energy in terms of average flow variables. The equations are a highly non-linear system of partial-differential- equations. High-speed flow features are observed in internal ballistics and ordinary fini te- difference methods are unsuitable numerical methods due to inaccurate prediction of discontinuous flow features. Modern shock-capturing methods are employed, which solve the system of equations in conservation form, with the ability to capture shocks and contact discontinuities. However, although the numerical solutions compare well with experiment over the bulk of the combustion chamber, the ignition models used in internal ballistics are unreliable. These are based on either gas or solid-surface temperature achieving some empirically measured 'ignition temperature' after which the propellant burns according to an empirical pressure dependent burning law. Observations indicate that this is not an adequate representation of ignition. Time differences between first solid gasification and ignition imply two distinct processes occurring. ]Further, ignition occurring in gas-only regions indicates that ignition is controlled by a gas-phase reaction. This thesis develops simple ideas to describe possible mechanisms for these physical observations. The aim is to provide an improved model of the ignition of solid propellant. A two stage reaction process is described involving endothermic gasification of the solid, to produce a source of reactant gas, followed by a very exothermic gas-phase ignition reaction. Firstly the gas-phase ignition is considered. A very simple reaction is suggested which is assumed to control the combustion of reactant gas, produced by solid gasification. Ignition is, by definition, the initiation of this exothermic reaction. Chemical kinetics are included in the gas-phase flow equations to explore the evolution of the reactant gas that is subject to changes in temperature and pressure. By assuming spatial uniformity, analytical solutions of the problem are deduced. The physical interpretation of the solution is discussed, in particular, the relationship between temperature, reactant concentration and ignition is explored. Numerical methods are required to solve the one-dimensional flow equations. Development of suitable CFD methods provides a method of solution. Finite-volume schemes, based on the original work by Godunov, are used to solve the conservation form of the equations. A simple test problem is considered whereby reactant gas is injected into a cylindrical combustion chamber. By examining the resulting flow histories, valuable information is gathered about the complicated coupling of chemistry and flow. Chemistry is included into a system of two-phase flow equations. By using standard averaging methods along with an equation for gas-phase species, equations are derived that describe the rate of change of average flo%v variables for both gas and particle phases. Numerical schemes are developed and some of the difficulties involved in two-phase flow systems, that are not an issue in single-phase flow, are presented. An internal ballistics application is considered as a test case and the solution discussed. The other important reaction involved in the combustion cycle, solid gasification, is explored. The model is based on detailed description of interphase mass and energy transfer at the solid-gas interface. This involves the solution of the heat conduction equation with a moving boundary that divides the solid and gas regions. Similar numerical schemes are constructed to solve the equations. Finally, this model is coupled with the equations of gas-phase reaction. This describes the complete cycle whereby increases in gas temperature cause the solid to increase in temperature and gasify. Subsequent gas-phase combustion of the reactant gases produces heat-transfer between the solid and gas and continues to accelerate gasification. Eventually this results in selfsustained combustion of the solid propellant.

The mechanisms governing the formation and destruction of soot in turbulent combustion are intimately coupled to thermal radiation due to the strong dependence of sooting processes and radiative loss on temperature. Detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions of the radiative and soot output from turbulent non-premixed flames are normally performed by parabolic algorithms. However, the modelling of combustion systems, such as furnaces and unwanted enclosure fires, often require a fully elliptic description of the flow field and its related physical phenomena. Thus, this thesis investigates the intimate coupling between radiative energy exchange and the mechanisms governing soot formation and destruction within a three-dimensional, general curvilinear CFD code. Thermal radiation is modelled by the discrete transfer radiation model (DTRM). Special emphasis is given to approximate solutions to the radiative transfer equation encompassing various models for the radiative properties of gases and soot. A new algorithm is presented, entitled the differential total absorptivity (DTA) solution, which, unlike alternative solutions, incorporates the source temperature dependence of absorption. Additionally, a weighted sum of gray gases (WSGG) solution is described which includes the treatment of gray boundaries. Whilst the DTA solution is particularly recommended for systems comprising large temperature differences, the WSGG solution is deemed most appropriate for numerical simulation of lower temperature diffusion flames, due to its significant time advantage. The coupling between radiative loss and soot concentration is investigated via a multiple laminar flamelet concept applied within the CFD simulation of confined turbulent diffusion flames burning methane in air at 1 and 3 atm. Flamelet families are employed relating individual sooting mechanisms to the level of radiative loss, which is evaluated by the DTRM formulated for emitting-absorbing mixtures of soot, C02 and H20. Combustion heat release is described by an eddy break-up concept linked to the k-c turbulence model, whilst temperature is evaluated from the solved enthalpy field. Detailed comparisons between prediction and experiment for the critical properties of mixture fraction, temperature and soot volume fraction demonstrate the effectiveness of this novel, coupled strategy within an elliptic flow field calculation.