CRC Study on Octane Number and

Engine Efficiency Literature Review

February 25, 2014
Baltimore, MD
Prepared by K.G. Duleep, H
H-D
D Systems
Delivered by James Simnick, Co-Chair CRC Performance
Committee

Outline

Basis for the study

Study objectives
Study methodology by H-D
H D Systems
Selected Results
Fi di
Findings
ffor naturally
t ll aspirated
i t d engines
i
Findings for turbocharged/boosted
engines
gaps
p and R&D recommendations
Data g
2

Basis for the CRC Studyy

CRC Performance Committee has an Octane Group
Octane
O t
groups
focus
f
is
i on SI Combustion
C b ti
Combustion R&D, especially SI octane, now has much
greater interest than 5+
5 years ago
Octane Group wanted to know what is current published
technology & data gaps?
Prepared a RFP and solicited bidders, Phases1 - 5
Contracted to H-D Systems, Dr. K.G. Duleep
Study
St d available
il bl via
i www.crcao.org website,
b it P
Publications
bli ti
of Performance Committee

Studyy Objectives
j
Define relationship between octane and engine
efficiency
ffi i
Start with comprehensive literature search for
technical papers
Phase 1 : gathered 250 papers based on title
and abstract, distill to 45 relevant papers.
10 papers directly examined the relationship
between efficiency and octane number.
Then interviews with OEMs
4

Analysis
y issues
No simple relationship linking compression ratio (CR) and
engine
e
g ee
efficiency
c e cy
Engine octane requirement is also affected by:

engine design
operating conditions
engine calibration (AF ratio and spark timing)
fuel composition.

In turbocharged/boosted engines:

octane may benefit torque and power more than engine thermal
efficiency

Vehicle efficiency improvements introduce other

complicating parameters

E.g. downsize the engine!

5

Analysis
y Findings
g
Literature review suggested engine OR differed by:
Fuel management (Injection system PFI or DI), and
Air management (aspirated or turbocharged/boosted).

For knock resistance,

resistance key are:
Fuel Research Octane Number (RON),
Sensitivity (ROM MON)
Latent heat of evaporation (LHE)

OEMs recommended:
Focus on the engine studies,
Too many uncontrolled parameters in vehicle studies.
No
N confidential
fid ti l d
data
t was used
d iin th
the analysis.
l i
6

Studyy methodology
gy
H-D Systems utilized a 2 stage model
First,
Fi t link
li k CR to
t engine
i thermal
th
l efficiency,
ffi i
Second, link CR and other variables to fuel octane, sensitivity
and LHE.

Focus on WOT/low RPM (<2000) conditions at =1 for

highest engine OR condition.
The division by engine type/fuel properties/ operating
conditions resulted in very few data points at the detail
level; hence, no statistical analysis is possible.
Next slides show (some) selected results
7

Indicated Efficiency vs. CR at 1500 RPM

41.00%

40.00%

Indicated Efficiency

39.00%

38.00%

37.00%
86mm bore
68.25 mm bore

36.00%

35.00%

34.00%
7

10

11

12
13
Compression Ratio

14

15

16

17

EFFECT OF CR ON TORQUE
120

NORMA
ALIZED TORQUE AT KLSA

115

110

DI 114RON
105
PFI 114RON

DI 90RON

100

PFI 90RON
95

90
10

11

12

13
COMPRESSION RATIO

14

15

16

OCTANE NUMBER vs. KLSA

110

105

OI

OCTANE NUMBER

100

RON
MON
95

Linear (OI)
Linear (RON)

90

85

80
-4

-2

4
6
KLSA at 1200 RPM, DEGREES

10

12

10

NIMEP vs. Spark Timing

Normalized
d NIMEP

0.9

0.8

0.7
0

10

15
Spark Retard from MBT, deg

20

25

30

11

TORQUE vs. RPM WITH DIFFERENT FUEL

TURBOCHARGED PFI ENGINE CR = 9.5
325

300

275

TORQUE N-m
m

92.5 RON
94 6 RON
94.6

250

98.3 RON
106.5 RON

225

200

175

150
0

1000

2000

3000
RPM

4000

5000

6000

12

SEPARATION OF CHARGE COOLING AND OCTANE

EFFECTS ON KNOCK LIMIT
45

40

35

NET IMEP, BAR

30

Ch
Charge
Cooling

25

E0
E50,
UFI
E50,PFI

20

E50,
D!
E50,DI

15

Octane
Improvement

10

0
0

10

15
20
CRANK ANGLE AT 50% MASS BURN, ATDC

25

30

35

13

Findings
g for Naturallyy Aspirated
p
Engines
g
Benefits from increased octane apparent
4 to 5 octane increase allows

a one point increase in CR,

or a spark advance increment of 5 to 8 degrees.

The benefits from increased CR or spark advance are

non-linear and depend on the (CR) starting point.
The benefits are:

Lowest for small bore engines relative to medium or large bore

For a medium bore engine at 10 CR, a 4 to 5 octane point can
allow a 2% improvement in thermal efficiency.
Vehicle efficiency improvement can be larger since engine
output increases with increased CR.

14

Findings
g for Turbocharged/Boosted
g
Engines
g
Turbocharged engines have:
Multiple limitations on boost and efficiency
So octane number response is dependent upon the operating
condition.

At mid
mid-range
range RPM
RPM,::
Octane increase can improve torque and efficiency (approx.
1%).
3 5 octane can increase IMEP by 2 bar

Ethanol blending can provide large benefits:

In turbo/boosted DI engines
Cooling power associated with ethanols high LHE
Ethanols combustion properties
p
y
But need to address compatibility.
15

Data Gaps
p and Research Suggestions
gg
Available public data on the influence of fuel octane number
on engine performance and efficiency is limited and does not
allow a robust numerical estimate of the benefits for all
engine types and operating conditions.
Data
D t is
i particularly
ti l l lilimited
it d on modern
d
DI -Turbocharged
T b h
d
engines and on new emerging designs like sequential turbo
DI engines that can offer high torque even at low RPM, as
wellll as on smallll b
bore size
i turbo-engines.
b
i
A large amount of data is available at manufacturers that is
p
domain. The development
p
of a data
currentlyy not in the public
base with manufacturer co-operation can allow more detailed
and specific analysis of all parameters affecting the octane to
efficiencyy relationship.
p
16

Research Suggestions
gg
((contd.))
Controlled testing of modern DI-Turbo engines of
different bore sizes and of sequential turbo designs
emerging in the market can provide a forward look of the
effects of octane number in the coming decades.
The effects of high volumetric content ethanol blends like
E30 or E50 on optimized turbo-DI engine performance
appear to be highly beneficial and worthy of more study
study.
Data from European auto-manufacturer studies that are
unpublished may provide some early insight into
structuring such public studies.

17