A new concept for high efficiency and clean diesel combustion by controlling mixture distribution with dual zone combustion chamber

Abstract

While various measures are being promoted globally toward carbon-neutrality, internal combustion engines are required to achieve a further improvement in thermal efficiency in order to generate less CO₂. For diesel engines, premixed charge compression ignition (PCI) combustion has been proposed as a combustion method that can achieve high thermal efficiency and clean emissions simultaneously. However, the application of PCI combustion remains limited to the light load range of certain mass-produced engines as it is difficult to control ignition timing and combustion noise. In this study, we developed a new combustion concept, Distribution Controlled partially Premixed Compression Ignition (DCPCI), which enables partially premixed combustion in medium load ranges by spatially controlling fuel mixture distribution. With this DCPCI combustion, we aim for highly efficient and clean combustion by suppressing the interference between the burned gas produced by the earlier stage injection and the subsequent spray with the use of a dual-zone combustion chamber and multi-stage injection. The effectiveness of the new combustion concept was validated by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses, and the improvement in thermal efficiency was confirmed by engine experiments.