Cylinder-to-cylinder high-pressure exhaust gas recirculation dispersion effect on opacity and NO x emissions in a diesel automotive engine

Abstract

The objective of the study is to determine the effect of the high-pressure exhaust gas recirculation dispersion in automotive diesel engines in NO _x and smoke emissions in steady engine operation. The investigation quantifies the NO _x and smoke emissions as a function of the dispersion of the high-pressure exhaust gas recirculation among cylinders. The experiments are performed on a test bench with a 1.6-L automotive diesel engine. In order to track the high-pressure exhaust gas recirculation dispersion in the intake pipes, a valves system to measure CO₂, that is, exhaust gas recirculation rate, was installed pipe to pipe. In addition, a valves device to measure NO _x emissions cylinder to cylinder in the exhaust was installed. Moreover, a smoke meter device was installed downstream the turbine, to measure the effect of the high-pressure exhaust gas recirculation dispersion on smoke emissions. Five different engine speeds were studied with different torque levels; thus, the engine map was widely studied, from 1250 to 3000 r/min and between 6 and 20 bar of brake mean effective pressure. The exhaust gas recirculation rate varies between 4% and 25% depending on the operating point. The methodology focused on experimental tools combining traditional measuring devices with a specific valves system, which offers accurate information about species concentration in both the intake and the exhaust manifolds. The study was performed at constant raw NO _x emissions to observe the effect of the exhaust gas recirculation dispersion in the opacity and fuel consumption. The study concludes that when the exhaust gas recirculation dispersion is low, the opacity presents reduced values in all operating points. However, above a certain level of exhaust gas recirculation dispersion, the opacity increases dramatically with different slopes depending on the engine running condition. This study allows quantifying the exhaust gas recirculation dispersion threshold. In addition, the exhaust gas recirculation dispersion could contribute to increase the fuel consumption up to 3.5%.