INTRODUCTION

HCCI has characteristics of the two most popular forms of combustion used in IC
engines: homogeneous charge spark ignition (gasoline engines) and stratified charge
compression ignition (diesel engines). As in homogeneous charge spark ignition, the
fuel and oxidier are mixed together. Howe!er, rather than using an electric
discharge to ignite a portion of the mixture, the concentration and temperature of the
mixture are raised b" compression until the entire mixture reacts simultaneousl".
#tratified charge compression ignition also relies on temperature increase and
concentration resulting from compression, but combustion occurs at the boundar" of
fuel$air mixing, caused b" an in%ection e!ent, to initiate combustion.
&he defining characteristic of HCCI is that the ignition occurs at se!eral places at a
time which makes the fuel'air mixture burn nearl" simultaneousl". &here is no direct
initiator of combustion. &his makes the process inherentl" challenging to control.
Howe!er, with ad!ances in microprocessors and a ph"sical understanding of the
ignition process, HCCI can be controlled to achie!e gasoline engine like emissions
along with diesel engine like efficienc". In fact, HCCI engines ha!e been shown to
achie!e extremel" low le!els of (itrogen oxide emissions (()
x
) without after
treatment catal"tic con!erter. &he unburned h"drocarbon and carbon monoxide
emissions are still high (due to lower peak temperatures), as in gasoline engines, and
must still be treated to meet automoti!e emission regulations.
HISTORY
HCCI engines ha!e a long histor", e!en though HCCI has not been as widel"
implemented as spark ignition or diesel in%ection. It is essentiall" an )tto combustion
c"cle. In fact, HCCI was popular before electronic spark ignition was used. )ne
example is the hot$bulb engine which used a hot !aporiation chamber to help mix
fuel with air. &he extra heat combined with compression induced the conditions for
combustion to occur.
OPERATION
METHODS
A mixture of fuel and air will ignite when the concentration and temperature of
reactants is sufficientl" high. &he concentration and'or temperature can be increased
se!eral different wa"s:
High compression ratio
*re$heat induction gases
+orced induction
,etain or reinduct exhaust
)nce ignited, combustion occurs !er" -uickl". .hen auto$ignition occurs too earl"
or with too much chemical energ" combustion is too fast. In such cases, high in$
c"linder pressures can destro" an engine. +or this reason, HCCI is t"picall" operated
at lean o!erall fuel mixtures.
ADVANTAGES
HCCI is closer to the ideal )tto c"cle than
spark ignited combustion.
/ean operation leads to higher efficienc" than
in spark ignited gasoline engines
Homogeneous mixing of fuel and air leads to
cleaner combustion and lower emissions. In
fact, due to the fact that peak temperatures are
significantl" lower than in t"pical spark ignited
engines, ()
x
le!els are almost negligible.
#ince HCCI runs throttle less, it eliminates
throttling losses
DISADVANTAGES
High peak pressures
High heat release rates
0ifficult" of control
/imited power range
High carbon monoxide and h"drocarbon pre$
catal"st emissions
CONTROL
Controlling HCCI is a ma%or hurdle to more widespread commercialiation. HCCI is
more difficult to control than other popular modern combustion methods.
In a t"pical gasoline engine, a spark is used to ignite the pre$mixed fuel and air. In
diesel engines, combustion begins when the fuel is in%ected into compressed air. In
both cases, the timing of combustion is explicitl" controlled. In an HCCI engine,
howe!er, the homogeneous mixture of fuel and air is compressed, and combustion
begins whene!er the appropriate conditions are reached. &his means that there is no
well$defined combustion initiator that can be directl" controlled. An engine can be
designed so that the ignition conditions occur at a desirable timing. Howe!er, this
would onl" happen at one operating point. &he engine could not change the amount
of work it produces. &his could work in a h"brid !ehicle, but most engines must
modulate their output to meet user demands d"namicall".
&o achie!e d"namic operation in an HCCI engine, the control s"stem must change
the conditions that induce combustion. &hus, the engine must control the
compression ratio, inducted gas temperature, inducted gas pressure, fuel$air ratio, or
-uantit" of retained or reinducted exhaust.
#e!eral approaches ha!e been suggested for control
(1)Variable comre!!io" ra#io!$ (%) Variable i"&'c#io" #emera#'re$ (()
Variable e)*a'!# +a! erce"#a+e$ (,) Variable -al-e ac#'a#io"
(1)VARIA.LE COMPRESSION RATIOS
&here are se!eral methods of modulating both the geometric and effecti!e
compression ratio. &he geometric compression ratio can be changed with a mo!able
plunger at the top of the c"linder head. &he effecti!e compression ratio can be
reduced from the geometric ratio b" closing the intake !al!e either !er" late or !er"
earl" with some form of !ariable !al!e actuation (i.e. !ariable !al!e timing
permitting 1iller c"cle). 2oth of the approaches mentioned abo!e re-uire some
amounts of energ" to achie!e fast responses and are expensi!e (no more true for the
3nd solution, the !ariable !al!e timing being now maitried). A 4rd proposed
solution is being de!eloped b" the 1C5$6 societ" (new rod).
(%)VARIA.LE INDUCTION TEMPERATURE
&his techni-ue is also known as fast thermal management. It is accomplished b"
rapidl" !ar"ing the c"cle to c"cle intake charge temperature. It is also expensi!e to
implement and has limited bandwidth associated with actuator energ".
(()VARIA.LE E/HAUST GAS PERCENTAGE
5xhaust gas can be !er" hot if retained or reinducted from the pre!ious combustion
c"cle or cool if recirculated through the intake as in con!entional 57, s"stems. &he
exhaust has dual effects on HCCI combustion. It dilutes the fresh charge, dela"ing
ignition and reducing the chemical energ" and engine work. Hot combustion
products con!ersel" will increase the temperature of the gases in the c"linder and
ad!ance ignition.
(,)VARIA.LE VALVE ACTUATION
8ariable !al!e actuation (88A) has been pro!en to extend the HCCI operating
region b" gi!ing finer control o!er the temperature$pressure$time histor" within the
combustion chamber. 88A can achie!e this !ia two distinct methods:
9. Controlling the effecti!e compression ratio: A !ariable duration 88A s"stem on
intake can control the point at which the intake !al!e closes. If this is retarded past
bottom dead center (20C), then the compression ratio will change, altering the in$
c"linder pressure$time histor" prior to combustion.
3. Controlling the amount of hot exhaust gas retained in the combustion chamber: A
88A s"stem can be used to control the amount of hot internal exhaust gas
recirculation (57,) within the combustion chamber. &his can be achie!ed with
se!eral methods, including !al!e re$opening and changes in !al!e o!erlap. 2"
balancing the percentage of cooled external 57, with the hot internal 57,
generated b" a 88A s"stem, it ma" be possible to control the in$c"linder
temperature.
HIGH PEA0 PRESSURES AND HEAT RELEASE RATES
In a t"pical gasoline or diesel engine, combustion occurs !ia a flame. Hence at an"
point in time, onl" a fraction of the total fuel is burning. &his results in low peak
pressures and low energ" release. In HCCI, howe!er, the entire fuel'air mixture
ignites and burns nearl" simultaneousl" resulting in high peak pressures and high
energ" release rates. &o withstand the higher pressures, the engine has to be
structurall" stronger and therefore hea!ier.
#e!eral strategies ha!e been proposed to lower the rate of combustion. &wo different
blends of fuel can be used, that will ignite at different times, resulting in lower
combustion speed. &he problem with this is the re-uirement to set up an
infrastructure to suppl" the blended fuel. Alternati!el", dilution, for example with
exhaust, reduces the pressure and combustion rate at the cost of work production.
PO1ER
In a gasoline engine, power can be increased b" increasing the fuel'air charge. In a
diesel engine, power can be increased b" increasing the amount of fuel in%ected. &he
engines can withstand a boost in power because the heat release rate in these engines
is slow. In HCCI howe!er, the entire mixture burns nearl" simultaneousl". Increasing
the fuel'air ratio will result in e!en higher peak pressures and heat release rates. Also,
increasing the fuel'air ratio (also called the e-ui!alence ratio) increases the danger of
knock. In addition, man" of the !iable control strategies for HCCI re-uire thermal
preheating of the charge which reduces the densit" and hence the mass of the air'fuel
charge in the combustion chamber, reducing power. &hese factors make increasing
the power in HCCI inherentl" challenging.
)ne wa" to increase power is to use different blends of fuel. &his will lower the heat
release rate and peak pressures and will make it possible to increase the e-ui!alence
ratio. Another wa" is to thermall" stratif" the charge so that different points in the
compressed charge will ha!e different temperatures and will burn at different times
lowering the heat release rate making it possible to increase power. A third wa" is to
run the engine in HCCI mode onl" at part load conditions and run it as a diesel or
spark ignition engine at full or near full load conditions. #ince much more research is
re-uired to successfull" implement thermal stratification in the compressed charge,
the last approach is being studied more intensi!el".
CAR.ON MONO/IDE AND HYDROCAR.ON EMISSIONS
#ince HCCI operates on lean mixtures, the peak temperatures are lower in
comparison to spark ignition and diesel engines. &he low peak temperatures pre!ent
the formation of ()
x
. Howe!er the" also lead to incomplete burning of fuel
especiall" near the walls of the combustion chamber. &his leads to high carbon
monoxide and h"drocarbon emissions. An oxidiing catal"st would be effecti!e at
remo!ing the regulated species since the exhaust is still ox"gen rich.
DI22ERENCE 2ROM 0NOC0
5ngine knock or pinging occurs when some of the unburnt gases ahead of the flame
in a spark ignited engine spontaneousl" ignite. &he unburnt gas ahead of the flame is
compressed as the flame propagates and the pressure in the combustion chamber
rises. &he high pressure and corresponding high temperature of unburnt reactants can
cause them to spontaneousl" ignite. &his causes a shock wa!e to tra!erse from the
end gas region and an expansion wa!e to tra!erse into the end gas region. &he two
wa!es reflect off the boundaries of the combustion chamber and interact to produce
high amplitude standing wa!es.
A similar ignition process occurs in HCCI. Howe!er, rather than part of the reactant
mixture being ignited b" compression heating ahead of a flame front, ignition in
HCCI engines occurs due to piston compression. In HCCI, the entire reactant mixture
ignites (nearl") simultaneousl". #ince there are !er" little or no pressure differences
between the different regions of the gas, there is no shock wa!e propagation and
hence no knocking. Howe!er at high loads (i.e. high fuel'air ratios), knocking is a
possibilit" e!en in HCCI.
CHARACTERISTICS O2 HCCI COM.USTION
#ome characteristics of HCCI combustion:
5fficienc" as high as for 0iesel.
8er" low emissions of soot and ()x.
+uel consumption benefit of 3:$36; compared to #I.
Auto$ignition b" compression.
Ignition and combustion controlled b" chemistr".
1ixture not perfectl" homogeneous.
2AMILY
.hen stud"ing the literature, a wide !ariet" of engine t"pes can be found that could
be placed in the HCCI famil". &he differences between these engines are the fuel, the
mixture preparation and the wa" in which HCCI combustion is facilitated.
,esearchers ha!e been able to run stable HCCI combustion with man" different fuels
(e.g. h"drogen, natural gas, gasoline and diesel oil). &he number of &i33ere"# "ame!
that can be attributed to (almost) the same process is large. #ome examples are:
Acti!e &hermo Atmosphere Combustion (A&AC).
Acti!ated ,adicals Combustion (A,, Honda).
&o"ota #oken Combustion (&#, &o"ota).
Controlled Auto$Ignition (CAI, +ord).
*remixed$Charge Compression Ignition (*CCI).
Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI).
As far as the mixture preparation is concerned, one approach is port$in%ection,
leading to a (nearl") homogeneous charge as in the #I engine. Another one is direct
in%ection (0I), in which the fuel can be in%ected !er" earl" in the compression stroke
or in a later stage under !er" high pressure. &he aim of both methods is to obtain an
(almost) homogeneous charge. &he most common means used to facilitate auto$
ignition (for a high ,)( fuel) are:
Increasing the compression ratio.
<sing intake air heating.
<sing i"#er"al EGR b" trapping combustion products b" some method that
can alter !al!e timing and'or lift (e.g. -ariable -al-e #imi"+ (88&),
!al!etronic, electronic !al!e control (58C)).
,unning the engine on fuel mixtures with different reacti!ities and
controlling the fraction of each fuel.
1ost of the processes presented here ha!e the characteristic that the mixture is
both lean (lambda = 9) and diluted (in addition to air and fuel, the mixture
consists of trapped residuals or re$circulated exhaust gases (57,)). +urthermore,
the mixture auto$ignites b" compression, instead of being ignited b" a spark.
HCCI CH51I#&,>
I"#ro&'c#io"
Chemical kinetics pla"s a ma%or role in the auto$ignition and fuel oxidation processes
that characterie HCCI combustion: <nlike in other engine t"pes, diffusion and
turbulence are of moderate importance compared with chemistr". &his is because the
gas mixture in the c"linder prior to auto$ignition is close to homogeneous. 2esides
this, ignition is initiated b" other means than a spark and, hence, no turbulence$
dependent flame propagation occurs. It can be concluded that realistic modeling of
the chemical processes is necessar" to obtain satisfactor" predictions for the moment
of auto$ignition, the rate of heat release and emissions formation. <nfortunatel", a
large number of (intermediate) species participate in an e!en greater number of
elemental reactions during the oxidation of h"drocarbons t"picall" found in gasoline
fuel. Including all these species and reactions in a detailed reac#io" mec*a"i!m and
implementing this in a modeling code (including fluid mechanics) leads to
unacceptabl" long calc'la#io" #ime!. &herefore, the aim is to reduce the sie of the
reaction mechanism as much as possible while maintaining it as realistic as possible.
&his can be achie!ed b" including the most rele!ant intermediate species and
reaction branches in the reduced mechanism. 1ore about this will be explained
further on in this chapter. In general three t"pes of reaction mechanisms could be
applied to HCCI modeling:
9. 0etailed reaction mechanisms (?9:,::: reactions and 9::: species)
3. Comprehensi!e mechanisms (?9::: reactions and 9:: species)
4. #keletal mechanisms (?6: reactions and 9: species)
Mo&eli"+ +a!oli"e o)i&a#io"
As these pages focus on gasoline$HCCI and some of the test engines at
Chalmers are run on this fuel, a reaction mechanism representing the oxidation of
gasoline is needed. &he problem is that gasoline is a complicated mixture of a large
number of h"drocarbons and that its composition !aries from countr" to countr" and
from season to season. (ext to the alkanes, c"clo$alkanes, alkenes and aromatics
commonl" found in gasoline, additi!es are present in the fuel. 5!en if the fuel would
be anal"ed !er" thoroughl" and its exact composition would be known, it would be
impossible to include all species in the reaction mechanism. &his means again that
one has to compromise between the sie of the reaction mechanism on one hand and
the extent to which the mechanism can represent gasoline on the other hand. In the
modeling work carried out at Chalmers, gasoline is assumed to be a mixture of 4
components: the aliphatic species i!o4oc#a"e and "4*e#a"e, as well as the aromatic
component #ol'e"e.
T*e o)i&a#io" o3 ali*a#ic *5&rocarbo"! a"& aroma#ic!
.hen the most important branches through which the decomposition of h"drocarbon
fuel proceeds are examined, it is seen that this process is rather similar for most
aliphatic h"drocarbons. An exception is formed b" the smallest aliphatic
h"drocarbon, methane. Although small h"drocarbons, such as methane (CH@) and
acet"lene (C3H3) are included in the reaction mechanism, the oxidation of these
species is not treated here. Instead, the discussion is focused on the main components
of the model fuel, n$heptane, iso$octane and toluene.
Controlling HCCI Combustion
U"&er co"!#r'c#io"
A ma%or obstacle blocking the introduction of HCCI (or CAI, as "ou wish) engines
on the market is the difficult" to control the moment of auto$ignition (when does it
start to burnA) and the rate of combustion (how fast does it burnA). In contrast to the
#I and 0iesel processes, HCCI combustion can not be controlled directl"B the spark$
timing can be manipulated in spark$ignition engines, while the moment and amount
of fuel in%ected can be controlled in 0iesel engines. If we assume that the addition of
fuel in HCCI engines is either b" port$in%ection or earl" direct$in%ection, to obtain a
near$homogeneous mixture, HCCI engines ha!e no direct wa" of controlling the
combustion process .
At present, HCCI research has come to the stage that man" seem to be working in an
attempt to sol!e this problem. #ome approaches used to control HCCI combustion
are :
9. split direct$in%ection in the negati!e !al!e o!erlap
3. !ariable !al!e timing
4. controlling the blend of two fuels
In general, the amount of gasoline in%ected during the main in%ection is controlling
the load, while the pilot in%ection is used to obtain a proper combustion phasing .
&he main difference between the pilot and the main in%ection is that the first takes
place before &op 0ead Centre (&0C) of the negati!e !al!e o!erlap, while the latter
takes place after &0C. HCCI modeling (read the literature in the *ublications$section
for more details) showed that the in$c"linder mixture temperature during the negati!e
!al!e o!erlap becomes higher than the auto$ignition temperature of the fuel. &his
means that the gasoline in%ected during the pilot in%ection can burn, or at least reform.
5xperimental results with a single$c"linder HCCI test engine confirmed heat release
during the negati!e !al!e o!erlap when pilot fuel is in%ected before &0C of the
negati!e !al!e o!erlap (pro!ided enough ox"gen is a!ailable to react with the fuel .(
#o, the pilot in%ection leads to heat release during the negati!e !al!e o!erlap. &his, in
turn, leads to a higher a!erage mixture temperature at the start (Intake 8al!e closing)
of the main combustion c"cle compared to a case without pilot fuel in%ection. As a
result, the gas temperature at the end of the compression stroke will rise too and auto$
ignition will be ad!anced .
+rom this, it can be concluded that !ar"ing the amount of pilot fuel in%ected can be
used to control HCCI combustion phasing in a c"cle$to$c"cle manner .
&he in%ection of fuel is split into a pilot and a main in%ection, which is represented in
the figure abo!e .