A Quasi-Dimensional Model of Pre-Chamber Spark-Ignition Engines

Fabio Bozza; Vincenzo De Bellis; Daniela Tufano; Enrica Malfi; Christoph Müller; Knut Habermann

doi:10.4271/2019-01-0470

Increasingly stringent pollutant and CO₂ emission standards require the car manufacturers to investigate innovative solutions to further improve the fuel economy of their fleets. Among these techniques, an extremely lean combustion has a large potential to simultaneously reduce the NOx raw emissions and the fuel consumption of spark-ignition engines. Application of pre-chamber ignition systems is a promising solution to realize a favorable air/fuel mixture ignitability and an adequate combustion speed, even with very lean mixtures.

In this work, the combustion characteristics of an active pre-chamber system are experimentally investigated using a single-cylinder research engine. Conventional gasoline fuel is injected into the main chamber, while the pre-chamber is fed with compressed natural gas. In a first stage, an experimental campaign was carried out at various speeds, spark timings and air-fuel ratios. Global engine operating parameters as well as cylinder pressure traces, inside main combustion chamber and pre-chamber, were recorded and analyzed.

Based on the available experimental data, a phenomenological model of this unconventional combustion system with divided combustion chambers was developed and validated. The model was then implemented in a 1D code. The proposed numerical approach shows the ability to simulate the experimental data with good accuracy, using a fixed tuning constant set. The model demonstrates to correctly describe the behavior of a pre-chamber combustion system under different operating conditions and to capture the physics behind such an innovative combustion system concept.

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A Quasi-Dimensional Model of Pre-Chamber Spark-Ignition Engines 2019-01-0470

SAE MOBILUS