Combustion control for waste-heat recovery system in internal combustion engine vehicles: Increase in exhaust-gas heat by combustion phasing and its effect on thermal efficiency factors

Abstract

Utilizing exhaust-gas heat can be effective to improve the overall thermal efficiency of engine vehicles. However, the exhaust-gas heat and temperature at light loads may be insufficient for some exhaust-gas heat recovery systems. Exhaust-gas heat is largely influenced by the combustion phase, and a retardation of spark timing could increase exhaust-gas heat considerably. The current work evaluates the effect of a large retardation of spark-ignition timing on the exhaust-gas temperature and heat at steady operating conditions and at vehicle driving mode conditions. The relationships between the exhaust heat and thermal efficiency factors such as cooling-loss fraction, degree of constant volume, and pumping-loss fraction are also analysed in detail. The results show that a combination of spark retardation and intake throttle opening can increase exhaust-gas heat with minimum deteriorations in engine efficiency. The minimum deterioration in efficiency is attributed to reductions in cooling and pumping losses, while the degree of constant volume is decreased by the retarded combustion phase.

Keywords

spark-ignition engine exhaust heat recovery thermal efficiency degree of constant volume cooling-loss fraction

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ringler

Seifert

Guyotot

Hübner

, ‘Rankine cycle for waste heat recovery of IC engines.’ SAE paper 2009-01-0174

Kadota

Yamamoto

, ‘Advanced transient simulation on hybrid vehicle using Rankine cycle system.’ SAE paper 2008-01-0310

Shudo

Tsuga

Nakajima

, ‘Combustion characteristics of H₂—CO—CO₂ mixture in an IC engine.’ SAE Trans. J Engines 110 (3) (2001): 199–206

Kirwan

J. E.

Quader

A. A.

Grieve

, ‘Advanced engine management using on-board gasoline partial oxidation reforming for meeting super-ULEV (SULEV) emissions standards.’ SAE paper 1999-01-2927

Shudo

Shimamura

Nakajima

, ‘Combustion and emissions in a methane DI engine with hydrogen fumigation.’ JSAE Rev. 21 (1) (2000): 3–7

Bromberg

Cohn

D. R.

Rabinovich

Heywood

J. B.

, ‘Emissions reductions using hydrogen from plasmatron fuel converters.’ Int. J. Hydrogen Energ. 26 (10) (2001): 1115–1121

Shudo

Nagano

Kobayashi

, ‘Combustion characteristics of waste-pyrolysis gases in an internal combustion engine.’ Int. J. Automot. Technol. 4 (1) (2003): 1–8

Shudo

Ono

, ‘HCCI combustion of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and dimethyl ether.’ SAE Trans. J. Engines 111 (3) (2002): 459–464

Shudo

Ono

Takahashi

, ‘Influence of hydrogen and carbon monoxide on HCCI combustion of dimethyl ether.’ SAE Trans. J. Fuels Lubricants 111 (4) (2002): 1784–1793

10.

Shudo

Ono

Takahashi

, ‘Ignition control by DME-reformed gas in HCCI combustion of DME.’ SAE Trans. J. Fuels Lubricants 112 (4) (2003): 1195–1202

11.

Shudo

Yamada

, ‘Hydrogen as an ignition controlling agent for HCCI combustion engine by suppressing the low-temperature oxidation.’ Int. J. Hydrogen Energ. 32 (14) (2007): 3066–3072

12.

Shudo

, ‘Influence of gas composition on the combustion and efficiency of a homogeneous charge compression ignition engine system fuelled with methanol reformed gases.’ Int. J. Engine Res. 9 (5) (2008): 399–408 DOI: 10.1243/14680874JER01208

13.

Shudo

Shima

Fujii

, ‘Production of dimethylether and hydrogen by methanol reforming for an HCCI engine system with waste heat recovery: Continuous control of fuel ignitability and utilization of exhaust gas heat.’ Int. J. Hydrogen Energ. 34 (18) (2009): 7638–7647

14.

Shudo

Futakuchi

Nakajima

, ‘Thermal efficiency analysis in a hydrogen premixed combustion engine.’ JSAE Rev. 21 (2) (2000): 177–182

15.

Shudo

, ‘Improving thermal efficiency by reducing cooling losses in hydrogen combustion engines.’ Int. J. Hydrogen Energ. 32 (17) (2007): 4285–4293

16.

Shudo

Nabetani

Nakajima

, ‘Analysis of the degree of constant volume and cooling loss in a spark ignition engine fuelled with hydrogen.’ Int. J. Engine Res. 2 (1) (2001): 81–92 DOI: 10.1243/1468087011545361

17.

List

, Thermodynamik der Verbrennungskraftmachinen (: Springer, Berlin 1939)

18.

Shudo

Nabetani

Nakajima

, ‘Influence of specific heat on indicator analysis in a hydrogen combustion engine.’ JSAE Rev. 22 (2) (2001): 224–226