Proceedings of ICEE 2009 3rd International Conference on Energy and Environment,
7-8 December 2009, Malacca, Malaysia
An experimental investigation of unmodified DI
diesel engine with hydrogen addition
R. Adnan
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Universiti Tenaga Nasional
43009 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
E-mail address: adnanr@uniten.edu.my
Abstract— The consumption of fossil fuels spawns environmental
considerations in addition to issues of energy demand, national
security and resource availability. At global level, scientists warn
that the combustion of fossil fuels is significantly changing the
world's climate system. Local or regional concerns include smog,
acid rain, and health implications of urban air pollution. Due to
stringent emission norms and depletion of petroleum resources
there has been a continuous effort to use alternative fuels such as
hydrogen. It has its own benefits and limitations if it is used in
conjunction with conventional fuel in diesel engine. The purpose
of this article was to investigate the effect of hydrogen addition
on performance and exhaust gas emission of stationary diesel
engine. In this study, hydrogen was used as secondary fuel in a
single cylinder 406 c.c. diesel engine. The hydrogen was injected
through intake manifold and diesel was injected directly inside
the combustion chamber. Series of experiments were conducted
and it can be seen the effect of hydrogen addition in the increase
of peak pressure from 5 bar to a maximum 21 bar, IMEP from
1.0 to 1.7 bar , indicated power from 4%-16%. There were also
increases in NOx and CO emissions from 48-197 ppm and 423-758
ppm, respectively. Hydrogen addition causes increase in exhaust
gas temperature from 3.1% to 10.2% particularly at 2500 rpm
and reduction in O2 emissions from 3.9% to 7.6% (by volume)
throughout all engine speeds.
Keywords- Exhaust Gas Emissions, Performance Analysis,
Gaseous Hydrogen, Diesel Engine, Alternative Fuel.
I. INTRODUCTION
Hydrogen, as an energy medium, has some distinct benefits
for its high efficiency and convenience in storage,
transportation and conversion. Hydrogen has found vast
applications in fields such as electricity generation, vehicle
engines and aerospace. Hydrogen engine has both the
advantages of the high thermal efficiency of diesel engine and
an excellent operation performance of a petrol engine [1]. The
working process of hydrogen-fueled diesel engine (H2DE) is
basically the same as other conventional diesel engine. The
most important advantage of hydrogen engine is that it emits
fewer pollutants than other engine [2]. Generally, in the gas
fueled dual fuel diesel engine most of energy release comes
from the combustion of the gaseous fuel while a small amount
of diesel liquid fuel provides pilot ignition through timed
978-1-4244-5145-6/09/$26.00 ©2009 IEEE
H.H.Masjuki, T.M.I. Mahlia
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
cylinder injection. Such operation, with optimum conversion
methods, has the potential to provide operational characteristics
that are comparable of superior to those of the conventional
diesel engine. This may be achieved while displaying enhanced
emission characteristics, quieter and smoother operation,
improved low ambient temperature operation, and reduced
thermal loading. This superior performance may be achieved
only if sufficiently effective measures can be ensured both for
the avoidance of knock, usually at high loads and incomplete
gaseous fuel utilization at relatively light loads. Usually, one of
the main aims is to maximize the replacement of the diesel fuel
by the gaseous fuel while maintaining acceptable levels of
emissions and engine performance [3].
Many researchers have used hydrogen as a fuel in spark
ignition (SI) engine. Caton describes a significant reduction in
power output was observed while using hydrogen in SI engine
and in addition pre-ignition, backfire, and knocking problems
were observed at high load. These problems have resulted in
using hydrogen in SI engine within a limited operation range
[4]. In the latest series of papers by Saravanan et al. [5,6],
experimental investigation of H2DE was conducted using timed
port hydrogen injection and exhaust gas recirculation. They
concluded that hydrogen increases brake power, thermal
efficiency, exhaust gas temperature and NOx emissions. Study
on H2DE with intake manifold fuel injection system is rare but
it gives a reliable result since both hydrogen and air are
premixed in the intake manifold. This motivated the study of
the use of hydrogen in diesel engine peculiar on its
performance and emission analyses. The objective of this
article is to present the experimental results of H2DE. In the
present investigation, intake manifold fuel injection technique
of hydrogen gas was used with hydrogen flow rate of 30±5
mg/s injected continuously to intake airstreams before it is
induced into the combustion chamber.
II. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
The main engine specifications are summarized in Table 1.
The engine was installed with hydrogen injector at the intake
manifold (near to intake port). In addition to the operation of
the test engine, an efficient safety measure for operating the
engine need to be developed. A flash back arrestor is a safety
45
device that shuts off gas flow in event of flash back. Flashback
is the combustion of a flame mixture that can occur within gas
management system and travel back through the line of the
gas management system to the gas source. Hydrogen flash
back arrestor is a safety device that shuts off hydrogen flow
and extinguishes the flame before it reach hydrogen storage
tank. Installation of a single-flow valve and water-flame trap
in the hydrogen fuel management system prevents the backfire
from entering hydrogen tank that causes massive explosion.
The engine used for the investigation is a 4-stroke, air-
cooled, single cylinder, direct-injection vertical diesel engine.
Hydrogen is filled into hydrogen storage tank from hydrogen
cell until it reaches 2 bars. Hydrogen is then passes through
single-flow valve before it enter water-flame trap. Then it
passes through flash back arrestor and hydrogen mass flow
meter. Experimental works were conducted at the speeds of
1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 and 3000 rpm. Data Acquisition
System (DAS) interprets the conditioned input signals
pressure transducer and crank angle encoder. DAS sends data
to the computer for real-time visualization of P-θ diagram.
Table 1: Test Engine Specifications
4-stroke, Air-cooled,
Single Cylinder Compression
Engine Type
Ignition,
Di I j i
Make and Model YANMAR L100-AE
Bore x Stroke, mm 86 x 70
3
Displacement, cm 406
Compression ratio 19.3:1
Combustion System Direct Injection
Diesel Injection Timing 13°BTDC
Max. power output, kW 7.4 @ 3600rpm
III. RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS
In this study, the performance and emission analyses of
H2DE was carried out experimentally. The rapid compression
of an initially uniform and homogeneous charge of a hydrogen
enriched air soon develops change in the instantaneous values
of various properties such as pressure and temperature. These
changes continue with time as piston moves upwards to TDC.
Fig.1 shows an example of measured in-cylinder pressure
curves at 1500 rpm. It can be seen that all curves moves
upwards with the same pattern before 10° before top dead
center (BTDC) which indicates normal combustion of pilot
46
fuel without pre-ignition, since high auto-ignition temperature
of hydrogen (858K) ignites after pilot ignition of diesel [7].
The peak pressure's appearance has the tendency to shift to the
right as hydrogen is added into the cylinder charge. This is due
to high flame speed of hydrogen (3.24-4.40 ms-1) causes fast
combustion propagation of the in-cylinder charge which was
only initiated from pilot ignition [8]. It can be observed that
combustion of H2DE occurs with higher peak pressure
because of higher heating value (142 MJ/kg) and diffusivity
(0.61cm2/s) of hydrogen [9]. The high diffusivity facilitates
the formation of a uniform mixture of hydrogen with other
cylinder charge since this contributes greatly to ensure an
equal supply of hydrogen to all regions in the cylinder [10].
Additionally, wide range flammability and minimum
ignition energy (0.02MJ) of hydrogen promotes complete
combustion of hydrogen throughout the cylinder even within
the lean mixture regions. With very lean cylinder charge the
bulk of the energy release comes from the ignition and
subsequent rapid combustion of the small pilot zone. It comes
also from the combustion of part of the charge entrained into
the burning pilot fuel and from the immediate surroundings of
such a zone where higher temperature and relatively richer
mixture regions are present [11]. The moment all the mixture
ignites at once, the heat release is much stronger resulting in a
steep pressure gradient at 20°CA. The strong heat release also
induces enhanced turbulent mixing due to thermal expansion
which contributes toward rapid increase in pressure [12].
65
60
Diesel Alone-Experiment
55
Diesel + H2-Experiment
50
45
40
P re s su re (b ar)
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
-180 -170 -160 -150 -140 -130 -120 -110 -100 -90 -80 -70 -60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180
Crank Angle(degree)
Figure 1: In-cylinder Pressure Variations with Crank Angle At 1500RPM
Fig. 2 shows the comparison between in-cylinder
peak pressure of diesel alone and diesel mixed with
hydrogen. Experimental results showed increase in peak
pressure from 5 bar to a maximum 21 bar and. At the
speed of 2500 rpm, the peak pressure was the highest and
this can be related to stronger heat release and more
 complete combustion as the effects from optimum more energy per unit oxygen consumed in the combustion
equivalent ratio of the charge. process. It means with ultra-lean hydrogen/air mixture of
combustion contains more energy as compared to lean
diesel/air mixture, hence the effect of increasing pressure on
90 combustion is stronger in the hydrogen/air flame [13]. In
85
additional, higher flame speed and rate of pressure rise during
combustion of hydrogen leads to rapid increase in in-cylinder
80
charge pressure, consequently contributes towards higher
75 IMEP.
70

7
P re s s u re (ba r)

65

60
6
55

50 5

I n d i c a te d P o w e r(k W )
45
Diesel Alone-Experiment 4
40
Diesel + H2-Experiment
35 3
30
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 2
Speed (RPM)

Figure 2: In-Cylinder Peak Pressure At All Speed 1 Diesel Alone-Experiment

Diesel + H2-Experiment

6.5 0
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
6.0 Speed(RPM)
Figure 4: Effects of Engine Speed on Indicated Power
5.5

5.0
The variation of indicated power with engine speed is
4.5 shown in Fig. 4. It shows that indicated power of H2DE
IM EP(b ar)

increases as engine speed increased in the range of 4%-16%.

4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1000 1500 2000
Speed(RPM)
Figure 3: Effects of Engine Speed on Indicated Mean Effective Pressure
The variation of indicated mean effective pressure
(IMEP) with engine speed is shown in Fig.3. IMEP increases
as engine speed increased until 2500 RPM, further increase in
speed drops the IMEP which indicates almost the same pattern
as maximum in-cylinder peak pressure. It can be seen the
effect of hydrogen injection in the increase of IMEP in the
range of 1.0 to 1.7 bar with respect to engine speeds. Higher
heating value of hydrogen increases the energy release in its
combustion which has a positive contribution to the increase
in-cylinder pressure and leads to the increase of mean
effective pressure in the cylinder. Although hydrogen contains
less energy per unit volume than those of diesel, it produces
The trend is explained as consequence of faster combustion
propagation and higher heating value of hydrogen that
produces higher energy release during its combustion leads to
improved engine performance. Basically, the addition of
Diesel Alone-Experiment hydrogen gaseous fuel with engine air gives a significant
Diesel + H2-Experiment
effect on the cylinder charge during compression and power
stokes. The combustion zone enveloping a jet diffusion flame
2500 3000 can extend significantly both radially and axially as the
concentration of the gaseous hydrogen fuel in the surrounding
air is increased until a concentration is reached that would
permit flame propagation to sweep through the entirety of the
jet surroundings. This phenomenon uses the typical properties
of hydrogen (such as wide flammability limit and high
diffusivity) to a point of advantage. Moreover, the ignition of
the droplets of the direct-injected pilot fuel will be affected
similarly by the presence of the hydrogen gaseous fuel and its
concentration. The reaction time of flame propagation and
associated energy release increases as more concentration of
gaseous hydrogen fuel in the pilot droplet's surroundings [14].
The variations of experimental NOx emissions and
exhaust gas temperature with engine speed are shown in Fig.5.
It shows that NOx concentration and temperature increases as

47
speed increased until 2500 rpm, further increase in speed
drops the temperature and consequently NOx emissions. It can Fig. 6 shows the variations of emissions of O2 and CO
be seen that the effect of combustion temperature on the with engine speed. It can be observed that hydrogen fuel in
increase of NOx emissions (from 48 to 197 ppm) with intake unmodified diesel engine causes increase in CO (from 423 to
manifold injection hydrogen system. 758 ppm) and reduction of O2 emissions (3.9% to 7.6% by
volume) as comparable with that of diesel alone operation.
This might be due to the fact that higher compression pressure
500 100
of H2DE during compression stroke pushes cylinder charge
450 90 (containing hydrogen) into the crevices which will return to
the cylinder later in the expansion stroke. The moment exhaust
400 80
port is opened, blowdown of exhaust gases provides less time
350 70 for the newly released fuel (from crevice) to oxide and causes
fuel rich region and overmixing. Additional formation of local
300 60
rich regions in the cylinder at the end of expansion stroke
NOx(ppm)

Texh(°C)
250 50 causes increase of CO emissions due to hydrocarbon
oxidation. Another effect of high in-cylinder pressure is
200 40
NOx-Diesel Alone
dribbling of liquid diesel fuel on the tip of injector nozzle.
150
NOx-Diesel + H2
30 This small amount of liquid diesel evaporates very slowly
100 20
because it is surrounded by a fuel-rich region, and once the
T exhaust-Diesel Alone
injector nozzle closes, there is no pressure pushing it to the
T exhaust- Diesel + H2
50 10 adjacent combustion region which leads to enlargement of
0 0
fuel-rich region nearby the injector [16].
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Speed (RPM)

Figure 5: Variation of NOx emissions and exhaust gas temperature with IV. CONCLUSIONS
engine speed

A single cylinder unmodified compression ignition

Hydrogen increases the energy release, which has a
positive contribution to enhance charge temperature to form
NOx (thermal NOx) in both the flame front and the post flame
of the charge. This can be associated with very high local
combustion temperature was achieved in the pilot ignition
zone which lengthen the reaction time of nitrogen and oxygen
in the cylinder. Hydrogen addition causes increase in exhaust
gas temperature from 3.1% to 10.2% particularly at 2500 rpm
due to faster combustion and high combustion temperature in
the cylinder [15].
23
21
19
17
O2(%vol)
engine was researched to study its performance. In the
experimental works, the engine was installed with hydrogen
injection system in order to supply constant amount of
hydrogen gas into the combustion chamber. From the above
analysis and discussion, the conclusions and recommendations
were provided as following:
• In-cylinder pressure curves moves upward with the same
pattern before 10°BTDC which indicates normal
combustion of pilot fuel without pre-ignition.
• The peak pressure's appearance has the tendency to shift
to the right as hydrogen is added into the cylinder charge
2600 and increases the peak pressure from 5 to 21 bar while the
highest peak pressure occurs at 2500 rpm.
2400
• Hydrogen increases the energy release, which has a
positive contribution to increase the IMEP in the range of
2200
1.0 to 1.7 bar with respect to engine speeds.
• Indicated power of H2DE increases as engine speed

CO(ppm)

15
2000
increased in the range of 4%-16%.
13 • NOx and CO emissions increases from 48-197 ppm and
1800
423-758 ppm, respectively.
11
1600
• Hydrogen addition causes increase in exhaust gas
O2-Diesel Alone
9
O2-Diesel + H2
temperature from 3.1% to 10.2% and reduction in O2
CO-Diesel Alone 1400
emissions from 3.9% to 7.6% (by volume).
7
CO-Diesel + H2
5 1200
The above results suggest that intake manifold
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 injection of hydrogen increases the performance of
Speed (RPM) unmodified diesel engine. The most significant penalty will
Figure 6: Variation of O2 and CO emissions with engine speed be a slight increase of NOx and CO emissions which requires

48
timed manifold hydrogen injection in order to modify the
combustion behavior. After all, there is room for continuous
improvement to optimize the performance, efficiency and
emissions through better understanding of combustion
processes in diesel running on gaseous hydrogen fuel.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This study was financially supported by Ministry of
Science, Technology and Environment of Malaysia. The
author is grateful to University of Malaya and acknowledges
the technical assistance and advice from both co-authors.
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