An alternative to alternative fuel

What

is HCCI ? History Operation of the HCCI Prototypes Conclusion References

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition, or HCCI, is a form of internal combustion in which well-mixed fuel and oxidizer are compressed to the point of auto-ignition. A hybrid of the traditional spark ignition (SI) and the compression ignition process (such as a Diesel engine). Ignition occurs at several places at a time which makes the fuel/air mixture burn nearly simultaneously. Low emission and high efficiency power generation. Process inherently challenging to control but can be controlled to achieve gasoline engine like emissions along with diesel engine like efficiency.

Originally known as active thermo-atmosphere combustion, HCCI was first discovered in 1979 by engineers at the Nippon Clean Engine Research Institute in Japan trying to perfect a cleaner, more efficient two-stroke engine It is essentially an Otto combustion cycle . In fact, HCCI was popular before the electronic spark ignition Examples are hot-bulb engine and "diesel" model aircraft engine.

(1)Intake of a premixed charge

(2) The charge is compressed

(4) Infinitesimaly later

(3) The charge is compressed further

Most promising green technologies number six Combines the efficiency and versatility of diesel engines with the cleanliness of spark-ignition engines. HCCI engine uses 15% less fuel than gas engines and emit only 30% of the NOx of a typical diesel engine. No expensive aftertreatment systems. Possibility of light load operation without throttling Power density comparable to a gasoline engine. Clean, efficient(4o%), and can run on almost anything including a variety of biofuels, diesel, or gasoline-like mixtures HCCI technology could be scaled to virtually every size and class of transportation engines, from small motorcycles to large ships. It will take years to get lithium production up to a level for wide spread use for electric vehicles.

A mixture of fuel and air will ignite when the concentration and temperature of reactants is sufficiently high which can be achieved by: High compression ratio Pre-heating of induction gases Forced induction Retained or re-inducted exhaust gases HCCI is typically operated at lean overall fuel mixtures.

Ion Sensors in glow plug holes

Intake

Pressure Transducers in Fuel Injector holes

Exhaust

6 10

5 10
Model Exptl.

4.5 10

Model Exptl.

5 10

4 10

4 10

3.5 10

p [Pa]

p [Pa]
6 6

3 10

3 10

2.5 10

2 10

2 10

1.5 10
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30

-30

-20

-10

10

20

30

CAD

CAD

With

EGR: reduction in peak pressure, Ignition time delays

No charge heating effect: EGR cooled and recycled

No well-defined combustion initiator that can be directly controlled The control system must change the conditions that induce combustion The engine must control either the compression ratio, inducted gas temperature, inducted gas pressure, fuel-air ratio, or quantity of retained or re-inducted exhaust

6.4 10

N=500 N=250

5.6 10

N=125 N=1000

4.8 10

p [Pa]

4 10

3.2 10

2.4 10

1.6 10

-30

-20

-10

10

20

30

CAD

There are several methods of modulating both the geometric and effective compression ratio The geometric compression ratio can be changed with a movable plunger at the top of the cylinder head as in "diesel" model aircraft engines The effective compression ratio by closing the intake valve either very late or very early with some form of variable valve actuation Variable compression ratio variable through interchangeable pistons (compression ratios from 12:1 to 21:1 are currently available)

Autoignition event is highly sensitive to temperature so control methods are: Resistance heaters to vary the inlet temperature(220C) Fast thermal management (FTM)which is accomplished by rapidly mixing hot and cold air streams

Electrical Trim Heaters

individual cylinder control by exhaust throttling

Cold Air

Flap Valves Hot Air

7
Flap Valve: + 90 deg (No Cold Air) Flap Valve: + 82 deg

Pressure Signal (1Volt=1MPa)

6
Flap Valve: -10 deg

Cylinder Block

3 -20

-15

-10

-5

CA (Degrees)

10

15

20

Exhaust Gas

70 0 Watts 15 Watts 30 Watts 50 Watts 65 Watts

70 EGR=5% EGR=9% EGR=12%

60

60
Pressure (bar)

Pressure (bar)

50

50

40

40

30

30

20 -10 0 10 20 30 Crank Angle (degrees)

20 -10 0 10 20 30 Crank Angle (degrees)

Timing Control via Intake Air Electrical Heater

Timing Control via Exhaust Throttle EGR

55 50 Cylinder 1 Cylinder 2 Cylinder 3 Cylinder 4

65 60 55 Cylinder 1 (+75 Watts) Cylinder 2 (+35 Watts) Cylinder 3 (+15 Watts) Cylinder 4 (+ 0 Watts)

Pressure (bar)

Pressure (bar)

45 40 35 30 25 20 -10 0 10

50 45 40 35 30 25 20

20

30

-10

10

20

30

Crank Angle (degrees)

Crank Angle (degrees)

Unbalanced

Balanced

Exhaust gas can be very hot if retained or reinducted from the previous combustion cycle or cool if recirculated through the intake as in conventional EGR systems. If hot dilutes the fresh charge, delaying ignition and reducing the chemical energy and engine work. Hot combustion products conversely will increase the temperature of the gases in the cylinder and advance ignition. Both intake and exhaust temperatures can also be controlled by VVA(variable valve actuation method) Synthesize a controller to stabilize HCCI and track desired load trajectories using the VVA system, a model of the system with special attention paid to combustion phasing and cycle to cycle interactions

The entire fuel/air mixture ignites and burns nearly simultaneously resulting in high peak pressures (6 atmp)and high energy release rates. Strategies to control: Different fuels, with different autoignition properties, can be used to lower the combustion speed. Dilution (i.e. with exhaust gases) to reduce the pressure and combustion rates at the cost of work production

480 470

Intake Temperature (K)

460 450 440 430 420 410 400 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 Intake Pressure (bar) 4 4.5

Increasing the power in HCCI engines is challenging Increasing the fuel/air ratio will result in even higher peak pressures and heat release rates. HCCI require thermal preheating of the charge which reduces the density and hence the mass of the air/fuel charge in the combustion chamber, reducing power. Solutions could be: fuels with different autoignition properties thermally stratify the charge so that different points will have different temperatures and will burn at different times run the engine in HCCI mode only at part load conditions

The low peak temperatures prevent the formation of Nox However, the low peak temperatures also lead to incomplete burning of fuel, especially near the walls of the combustion chamber leads to high CO & HC emissions. An oxidizing catalyst would be effective at removing the regulated species because the exhaust is still oxygen rich.

0.0014 0.0012
Model (0%EGR) Exptl.(0%EGR) Model(38%EGR) Exptl.(38%EGR) Model(47%EGR) Exptl.(47%EGR)

CO (mole fraction)

0.001 0.0008 0.0006 0.0004 0.0002 0

0 %

38 %

47 %

EGR amount

0.002
Model(0%EGR) Exptl.(0%EGR) Model(38%EGR) Exptl.(38%EGR) Model(47%EGR) Exptl.(47%EGR)

0.0015

HCs (mole fraction)

0.001

0.0005

0 0 % 38 % 47 %

EGR amount

The entire reactant mixture ignites (nearly) simultaneously. Very little or no pressure differences between the different regions of the gas, there is no shock wave propagation and hence no knocking. However at high loads (i.e. high fuel/air ratios), knocking is a possibility even in HCCI

Pros
Fuel economy

Cons
High pressures

Diesel-like compression

High heat release & pressure rise rates

cleaner combustion

autoignition

Any fuel

low loads

throttle losses

CO & HC emissions

General Motors has demonstrated Opel Vectra and Saturn Aura with modified HCCI engines. Mercedes-Benz has developed a prototype engine called DiesOtto, with controlled auto ignition. Volkswagen are developing two types of engine for HCCI operation , CCS &GCI ready for production by 2015 In May 2008, General Motors launched Vauxhall Insignia prototype with fuel economy is expected to be in the region of 43mpg with carbon dioxide emissions of about 150 grams per kilometre

Merits

Challenges

High thermal efficiency

Low NOx emissions Low PM emissions

Difficulty in starting and control of engine

High CO and HC emissions

High loads

www.wikipedia.org
http://www.autobloggreen.com http://www.germancarblog.com http://www.sciencedirect.com