This thesis presents the results of an investigation of the differences in combustion between gasoline and natural gas in a spark-ignition engine. Combustion development is influenced by calorific value, specific heat, flame speed and the gaseous or liquid state of the fuel. Simple simulation programs were set up to investigate the effects of low flame speed and higher specific heat of the fuel-air mixture. Actual performance was measured on a single cylinder test engine using ionization probes as flame detectors and a pressure pick-up. The experimental results show that longer ignition delay and limited flame speed at high pressure and temperature are the main reasons for' the power loss of natural gas at high engine speed; this is in addition to the basic loss due to the replacement of air by gaseous fuel in the cylinder. From calculations, it was learned that specific heat and dissociation differences had little effect on power. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Mechanical Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Not available / text