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This paper describes two topics. One is a study of the effects of refining process of biodiesel fuel on fuel properties, diesel engine performance and exhaust emissions. The second topic is a study to clarify the influences of plant oil sources for biodiesel production on combustion and emission characteristics. Plant oils or used cooking oils are reacted with methanol and a lye catalyst: KOH, to produce fatty acid methyl ester: unwashed-biodiesel. Washing the unwashed-biodiesel by water and dying processes are necessary in order to improve its fuel properties. Experiments were carried out on a single-cylinder, 4-stroke-cycle, DI diesel engine and various unwashed-, washed- and refined-biodiesel fuels derived from new or used cooking oil. From the result, it was found that the unwashed-biodiesel occurred unstable engine operation. And there was few difference in engine performance and emissions between biodiesel fuel from new and used cooking oil at same plant oil source.

Multidimensional simulation has been carried out to be clear the role of initial combustion in D.I. diesel engines on reduction of NO and soot emissions by reduction of initial injection rate or pilot injection. The multidimensional engine simulation code, FREC-3D(CI), which was developed by IKEGAMI group in Kyoto Univ. at 1988, was modified and was used in this study. The combustion submodel in this code was updated including ignition submodel that was formulated by a one-step global chemical mechanism to simulate measured ignition delay and initial combustion, sufficiently. In-cylinder NO and soot formation models were introduced by present authors. NO and soot were predicted by Zeldovich mechanism and Morel's soot formation and oxidation formulations, respectively.

A practical method has been developed for numerically predicting pressure losses and acoustic characteristics in silencers simultaneously under the quasi-operating conditions of internal combustion engines. In the present method, three-dimensional gas flow and pressure dynamics in silencers have been numerically simulated by means of a new three-dimensional non-linear fluid-dynamic model, where the gas exchange process in entire intake and exhaust systems has been calculated by a one-dimensional non-linear fluid-dynamic model for saying the computing time. In this three-dimensional fluid-dynamic model, an accurate numerical scheme with less numerical diffusion has been applied to the Reynolds average Navier-Stokes equations using an eddy-viscosity hypothesis. Pressure losses and insertion losses in silencers have been examined using the three-dimensional model. It has been shown that the present method can predict the pressure losses and acoustic characteristics simultaneously.

Increasing the air charge of crankcase scavenged two-stroke cycle engines is essential for improved performance. Accordingly, the crankcase volume and dimensions of the inlet system were experimentally investigated in order to fully utilize the dynamic effect of both the exhaust and inlet systems with a view towards increasing the delivery ratio. To achieve full utilization of the effect of the inlet system, it was found that the time-area of the inlet port should be far larger than that considered for the usual engine. The drop in delivery ratio caused by increasing the crankcase volume can be fairly well compensated for by tuning the exhaust and inlet systems.