Introduction
Unlike spark-ignited engines where the combustible mixture is predominantly homogeneous, diesel combustion is heterogeneous in nature. Diesel fuel is injected into a cylinder filled with compressed air of high temperature. Emissions formed as a result of burning this uneven air/fuel mixture depend on the prevailing conditions not only during combustion, but also during the expansion and especially prior to the exhaust valve opening. Mixture preparation during the ignition delay, fuel ignition quality, residence time in different combustion temperatures, expansion duration, and general engine design features play a very important role in emission formation. In essence, the concentration of the different emission species in the exhaust is the result of their formation, and their reduction in the exhaust system. Incomplete combustion products formed in the early stages of combustion may be oxidized later during the expansion stroke. Mixing of unburned hydrocarbons with oxidizing gases, high combustion chamber temperature, and adequate residence time for the oxidation process permit more complete combustion. In most cases, once nitric oxide (NO)is formed it is not decomposed, particularly in the lean flame region (LFR), but may increase in concentration during the rest of the combustion process if the temperature remains high or even increases [Henein 1972]. However, some NO decomposition may take place in the fuel-rich regions unless further oxidation takes place. Since combustion is a complex series of chemical reactions and heat transfer processes, the resultant emissions formation requires further analysis and understanding. A simplified model for heterogeneous combustion was presented in Figure 1 in the paper on diesel combustion. A more developed version of this model is presented in the following diagram, where the sources of unburned hydrocarbons (HC) and NO in direct-injected diesel engines are indicated. Figure 1 details the species formed in both the premixed and mixing controlled combustion phases [Heywood 1988].
Fuel-Air Ratio
In naturally-aspirated diesel engines, if the change in volumetric efficiency is neglected, the mass of air per cycle is almost constant. Changing power at fixed speed is accomplished by controlling the amount of fuel injected. Injector-to-injector differences may lead to fuel distribution variations, amount of fuel deposited on the walls, cylinder gas pressure and temperature, and injection duration. In addition, fuel injected during the ignition delay period (premixed portion) will mix with air and produces a wide range of equivalence ratios. Some of these ratios may be too lean to support stabilized combustion, others may be close to the stoichiometric ratio and ready to combust, and yet others may be too rich and too slow to evaporate, mix, and engage in the combustion process. At the onset of autoignition, mixtures that are most likely to burn are those closer to stoichiometric ratio. Combustion will continue unless the localized A/F ratio decreases rapidly due to over mixing with surrounding air or if the flame is quenched by a thermal boundary layer [Heywood 1988]. As for the very lean mixture, it may eventually engage in the combustion process if it meets and mixes with additional evaporated fuel. The opposite is true of the large droplet sizes injected toward the end of injection duration. These droplets will need both additional air or lean mixtures and high temperatures to help them evaporate, mix, and subsequently engage in the combustion process. Evaporation, mixing, and combustion rates must be fast enough to consume most of the sprayed fuel in advance of significant expansion and cooling off during the expansion stroke, otherwise excessive unburned hydrocarbons will be found in the exhaust. Figure 2, a schematic representation of the premise presented for the three A/F ratios, describes their influence on forming unburned hydrocarbon emissions [Heywood 1988]. The explanation and the schematic shown in Figure 2 are specifically applicable to the portion of the fuel injected during the ignition delay period.
Hydrocarbon Formation From Fuel Injected After Ignition Delay Effect of Engine Load
At idle and light load conditions, spatial combustion is more likely, meaning that the fuel does not reach the walls of the combustion bowl, but burns in the space between the nozzle tip and the combustion bowl perimeter. In addition, the fuel concentration in the spray core is rather small. In this case, unburned hydrocarbon emissions originate mainly from the LFOR. Increases in local temperatures of this region as combustion continues are very small, and are associated with slower oxidation reaction rates. These reaction rates are further reduced due to the very low concentration of fuel molecules as they diffuse in the air around this region. The ratio of unburned hydrocarbons formed in this region to total fuel injected is highest at idling [Henein 1972]. As engine load increases, decreasing A/F ratio causes more fuel to be deposited on the walls and produces higher concentrations in the spray core. The unburned hydrocarbons formed in this case increase; however, there is sufficient oxygen in the mixture so that, with increased temperature, oxidation reaction rates are enhanced and hydrocarbon emissions reduced [Burn 1969][Marshall 1968][Perez 1968]. The effect of load on unburned hydrocarbons is shown graphically in Figure 4 [Henein 1972].
fairly high, and causing decomposition of the original fuel molecules. Since the A/F ratio in the spray core and near the combustion bowl walls is generally low (rich condition), there is a great possibility that some recombination reactions may occur between the hydrocarbon radicals and the intermediate compounds [Fristrom 1965]. This results in higher concentrations of the heavier hydrocarbons. The process of recombination of the hydrocarbon compounds and radicals also result in compounds having a different structure than the original fuel [Bascom 1971][Aaronson 1971].
Effect of Turbocharging
Turbocharging increases the mass of air inducted into the engine and allows a proportional increase in injected fuel quantity that leads to higher engine output. Air velocity through the intake port is higher in turbocharged engines relative to naturally-aspirated engines. It follows that air motion through the intake port of either a swirl-supported or quiescent combustion system is more likely to enhance mixing and mixture preparation. In general, better mixing leads to higher reaction and oxidation rates, and results in higher combustion temperatures which in turn cause a reduction in the concentration of hydrocarbon emissions. The reduction of hydrocarbon emissions with turbocharging, as observed by Perez and Landen for both DI and IDI engines, is shown in Figure 5 [Perez 1968].
Effect of F/A Ratio on HC Emissions in DI and IDI Turbocharged and Naturally-Aspirated Diesel Engines Effect of Nozzle Opening Pressure
The effect of nozzle opening pressure on performance and emissions was evaluated in a single cylinder research diesel engine [Henein 1972]. The engine was equipped with a toroidal combustion system and the results for unburned hydrocarbon emissions are given in Figure 6. The data is given for operation at both rated (2500 rpm) and peak torque (1600 rpm) speeds, full load conditions. It is apparent that by raising nozzle opening pressure HC emissions are increased, in both cases. Most of the HC increase however, is seen at nozzle opening pressures below 24 MPa (240 bar). It is believed that raising nozzle opening pressure improves atomization and widens the lean flame-out region which, as discussed earlier, is one of the major sources of unburned hydrocarbon emissions.
Effect on F/A Ratio on CO Emissions in Diesel Engines Formation of Nitrogen Oxides in Diesel Engines
In the exhaust of internal combustion engines, nitrogen oxides (NOx) refer to nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). In DI diesels, NO typically constitutes 70-90% of the total NOx. Nitric oxide is a by-product of combustion rather than a compound in transition like CO. Nitrogen makes up over 75% of the intake charge air by volume. With the balance of the inducted air volume being oxygen and with help from heat resulting from burning HC fuel, NOx is formed and remains until it is exhausted through the exhaust valve. Fuel-borne nitrogen being negligibly small is not a major contributor to the chemical reaction process. The formation of NO is well understood. It is accepted that NO is formed by the extended (or modified) Zeldovich mechanism: (1)O2 + N2 NO + N (2)N + O2 NO + O (3)N + OH NO + H Essentially, when a molecule of O2 is exposed to high temperature in an N2 environment, NO is formed and an atom of nitrogen is left in an energetic and unstable state, Equation (1). The nitrogen atom tries to reach a stable state by combining with oxygen present in the cylinder, while enough energy is available in the form of heat from the combustion process. This reaction, once again forms more nitric oxide and leaves an atom of oxygen in an unstable state, as shown in Equation (2). In the modified Zeldovich mechanism, scientists suggested that radicals, such as OH, are formed and react with the
nitrogen atoms to form more NO and an atom of hydrogen as given by Equation (3). It follows that all three equations show mechanisms by which NO can be formed and that the longer the residence time in this high NO formation regime, the greater the NOx concentration. According to this mechanism, atomic nitrogen does not start the chain reaction because its equilibrium concentration during the combustion process is relatively low compared to the equilibrium concentration of atomic oxygen [Henein 1972]. Therefore, in diesel combustion the local NO formation in the spray is related to the local oxygen atom concentration and the local temperature. NO2 forms from NO by reaction with excess oxygen and quenching by excess air in the cylinder can freeze NO levels at well above equilibrium concentrations. As the temperature decreases during the expansion stroke, the NO concentration does not decrease to the equilibrium concentration, because it is stable under these conditions. It is believed that in reciprocating engines the NO removal processes during the expansion stroke are very slow, and thus NO concentration remains nearly constant during expansion [Lavoie 1970][Starkman 1967]. This is particularly true in fuel-lean combustible mixtures [Komiyama 1973]. The premixed portion of the fuel (mixed during the ignition delay), which burns before the time of peak cylinder pressure, is particularly important for NO formation. After it has burned, it is compressed to a higher pressure and temperature and so reaches the highest temperature of any portion of the cylinder charge. For this reason, techniques to control NOx focus on this early phase of combustion. Unfortunately, most of these techniques resort to reducing combustion temperatures. In so doing, they lead to penalties in hydrocarbon emissions, particulate emissions, and fuel consumption. It is common to refer to the NOx/PM trade-off or the NOx/fuel consumption trade-off in diesel engines. These expressions point in part to the admission that means to reduce NOx emissions would invariably lead to increases in particulate emissions as well as fuel consumption, and vice versa. Most factors affecting the initial rate of heat release will affect the NOx formation rate in the same direction [Challen 1999]. Many control schemes attempt to reduce the amount of fuel burned in the premixed burning phase. These schemes include rate-shaping using a lower injection rate early in the injection period followed by a considerable injection rate increase after the start of combustion. They also include pilot injection, which has a separate small injection to initiate combustion with a minimum of fuel followed by a main injection after combustion initiation. Having reviewed NOx formation, it is perhaps time to study the effects of some engine variables and other parameters on NOx emissions.
Fuel-air ratio
Increasing load in naturally-aspirated diesel engines implies an increase in fuel for the same mass of air inducted at a constant speed. As more fuel is burned, more heat is generated and an increase in combustion temperature is experienced. The availability of high combustion temperature provides adequate energy to help the chemical reactions described by the Zeldovich and modified Zeldovich
mechanisms, thus causing more NOx formation as long as N2 and O2 are present. It was suggested by Henein and Patterson that a reduction in F/A ratio to below 0.02 would actually reduce NOx formation due to the drop in combustion temperature by air dilution [Henein 1972]. Figure 10 shows the increase in maximum combustion pressure (Pmax), exhaust temperature (Texh), brake mean effective pressure (BMEP), and observed NO as a function of F/A ratio. It is worth noting that smoke also increases as F/A ratio increases, but NO, corrected to an equivalence ratio of 1, decreased as a function of F/A ratio within the test range. The increase in observed NO emission did not appear to be proportional to F/A ratio, indicating that there are other factors affecting NO formation.
temperature upon combustion early in the cycle, and more NO is formed in the LFR.
Effect of Swirl
Air motion in the cylinder affects fuel and air mixing rates. While high swirl, or a high degree of air motion is generally desirable, over-swirling can be experienced. A good indication of over-swirling is a deteriorating fuel economy and an increase in HC, CO, and particulate matter emissions. Generally, an increase in air swirl improves mixing and promotes efficient combustion and more NO formation. The mechanism responsible for the increased NO formation is the higher initial heat release rate [Challen 1999].
particulate sampling filter. The presence of sulfur in the fuel and lube oil contributes to the formation of sulfate particulates. An added problem associated with sulfates is their retention of humidity which may more than double their mass. Finally, high boiling hydrocarbons and their derivatives are also included in the PM. This material, referred to as the soluble organic fraction (SOF), is composed mainly of lube oil derived hydrocarbons. Loss of oil control resulting from improper cylinder bore honing or piston ring wear can be a major source of oil consumption and contribution to unburned oil content in particulate matter [Khair 2001]. Other soluble organic constituents include unburned fuel, in spite of the high combustion efficiency displayed by diesel engines.
reduced. Providing more time for the combustion and oxidation process can be achieved through reduced engine speed.
Diesel Engine Variables Affecting Soot Particle Formation and Oxidation Other Sources of Particulate Matter
Loss of oil control, combustion quality, cold starting emission of white smoke, unburned fuel, and general fuel quality problems are among common sources of particulate matter. In general, the sources of particulate matter in diesel engines can be categorized as follows (the sources are listed randomly and not necessarily in order of contribution to the total particulate matter problem): 1. 2. Loss of oil control Black smoke from excessive richness
* sulfur content * aromatic content * cetane number Loss of oil control can result from many areas within the internal combustion engine. Improper cylinder liner honing, lack of piston ring pack sealing, lube oil seeping through excessive valve guide and stem clearances, turbocharger lubrication and bearing malfunction, extended diesel engine idling, and excessive piston-to-liner clearances are all contributors to high oil consumption. Lube oil jets are usually an integral part of heavy-duty diesel engine applications. These jets are aimed at the underside of the combustion bowl to cool the entire piston crown area. Excessive flow through these jets has been shown to cause high oil consumption. In addition, sudden accelerations or changes from low to high loads are prone to generate more unburned lube oil, since ring pack sealing may be less than desirable. At low load, combustion pressure is low and causes a decrease in the sealing force applied to the back of the piston ring. The lower the sealing force, the lower the sealing and the higher the oil consumption.
A classification of the sources of diesel smoke is shown in Figure 14. For the sake of clarity of presentation, the chart has been split into two parts, which describe (a) "cold smoke", both liquid and solid, and (b) "hot smoke".