Energy Conversion and Management 98 (2015) 199–207

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Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

An experimental investigation into combustion and performance

characteristics of an HCCI gasoline engine fueled with n-heptane,
isopropanol and n-butanol fuel blends at different inlet air temperatures
Ahmet Uyumaz
Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, High Vocational School of Technical Sciences, Department of Automotive Technology, 15100 Burdur, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: An experimental study was conducted in a single cylinder, four stroke port injection Ricardo Hydra test
Received 7 December 2014 engine in order to determine the effects of pure n-heptane, the blends of n-heptane and n-butanol fuels
Accepted 11 March 2015 B20, B30, B40 (including 20%, 30%, 40% n-butanol and 80%, 70%, 60% n-heptane by vol. respectively) and
Available online 10 April 2015
the blends of n-heptane and isopropanol fuels P20, P30, P40 (including 20%, 30%, 40% isopropanol and
80%, 70%, 60% n-heptane by vol. respectively) on HCCI combustion. Combustion and performance char-
Keywords: acteristics of n-heptane, n-butanol and isopropanol were investigated at constant engine speed of
HCCI
1500 rpm and k = 2 in a HCCI engine. The effects of inlet air temperature were also examined on HCCI
Isopropanol
n-Butanol
combustion. The test results showed that the start of combustion was advanced with the increasing of
Alcohol inlet air temperature for all test fuels. Start of combustion delayed with increasing percentage of
Performance n-butanol and isopropanol in the test fuels. Knocking combustion was seen with B20 and n-heptane test
Combustion fuels. Minimum combustion duration was observed in case of using B40. Almost zero NO emissions were
measured with test fuels apart from n-heptane and B20. The test results also showed that CO and HC
emissions decreased with the increase of inlet air temperature for all test fuels. Isopropanol showed
stronger resistance for knocking compared to n-butanol in HCCI combustion due to its higher octane
number. It was determined that n-butanol was more advantageous according to isopropanol as thermal
efficiency. As a result it was found that the HCCI operation range can be extended using high octane num-
ber alcohols away from knocking combustion and autoignition can be controlled.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction the temperature before the auto-ignition [9,10]. However, there

Exhaust emissions caused from motor vehicles and decreasing
petroleum reserves are main challenges for engine researchers
and producers. Exhaust emissions produced by motor vehicles
are harmful to people and environment [1–6]. Using alternative
fuels and different exhaust gas aftertreatment systems are the
most common methods in order to meet exhaust emissions reg-
ulations. Furthermore, emissions can be reduced with the increase
of thermal efficiency due to increasing the compression ratio in the
internal combustion engines. However, the compression ratio of SI
engines cannot be increased due to detonation. Although the ther-
mal efficiency of CI engines is higher than SI engines, they emit
high NOx and PM. At this point, HCCI combustion has a big poten-
tial due to reducing NOx and PM emissions simultaneously with a
higher thermal efficiency [7–13]. HCCI combustion is highly
dependent on the chemical kinetics, mixture composition and
E-mail address: auyumaz@mehmetakif.edu.tr
are still some difficulties on HCCI combustion in order to be used
in the internal combustion engines. First, autoignition occurs
simultaneously and spontaneously across the combustion cham-
ber. This spontaneous and sudden combustion causes a rapid heat
release rate resulting in knocking. In contrast, misfiring problem is
seen at lower engine loads. Secondly, CO and HC emissions
increase due to leaner mixture and lower combustion temperature
in HCCI engines, because CO emissions are strongly affected by
combustion temperature Third one is to control the combustion
phasing [10–16]. To eliminate these problems possible solutions
such as EGR, variable valve timing and variable compression ratio
and high octane number fuels are proposed in order to slow down
rapid heat release and control the combustion phasing in HCCI
combustion. Thus, considerable attention should be directed in
HCCI combustion. Fuel composition effect, which determines the
operating range of HCCI, should be understood well. At this point,
the chemical properties and the molecule structure of the fuel
affect the HCCI combustion substantially [17–19]. So, one common

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2015.03.043
0196-8904/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
200 A. Uyumaz / Energy Conversion and Management 98 (2015) 199–207

Nomenclature

ATDC after top dead center OH hydroxyl radical

BTDC before top dead center p cylinder pressure (bar)
CI compression ignition PM particulate matter
CO carbon monoxide (%) RCCI reactivity controlled compression ignition
dp the variation of cylinder pressure (bar) SI spark ignition
dV the variation of cylinder volume (m3) SOC start of combustion
dh the variation of crank angle (°) TDC top dead center
EGR exhaust gas recirculation UEGO universal exhaust gas oxygen
HC hydrocarbon (ppm) V cylinder volume (m3)
HCCI homogeneous charged compression ignition Vd swept volume (m3)
imep indicated mean effective pressure (bar) W net net work (J)
k the ratio of specific heat values dQ heat release rate (J)
mfuel consumed fuel per cycle (kg/cycle) dQ heat heat transfer to cylinder walls (J)
MTBE methyl tert-butyl ether gT thermal efficiency
NOx nitrogen oxides (ppm) Q LHV the heating value of the fuel (kJ/kg)

way to achieve stable autoignition and extend the HCCI operating
range is to use the high octane number alcohol fuels based on
renewable energy source. The temperature and the production of
the radicals can also be increased when high octane number
fuels are used as suppression additive fuel in HCCI combustion
[17,19–22]. Furthermore, alcohols contain more oxygen resulting
improved combustion and less pollution [23,24]. Cooling effect is
also observed on charge mixture as the vaporization heat of alco-
hols is higher than that of gasoline. In this way, higher pressure rise
rate may be also prevented when alcohols are used in HCCI
engines. In this regard, n-butanol and isopropanol have a big
attractiveness on the usage in HCCI engines due to knocking resis-
tance, controlling rapid heat release rate [25–31]. But there is not
enough study regarding two fuels on HCCI combustion. A few stud-
ies have been applied and discussed on the effects of alcohols in
HCCI combustion in recent publications [10,17,26–28]. Lü et al.
[22] investigated the effectiveness of inhibition of HCCI combus-
tion using additive fuels (MTBE, isopropanol, ethanol and metha-
nol). They determined that methanol has shown the most
suppression effect among the other test fuels (isopropanol, ethanol
and methanol). Minimum suppression effect was obtained with
MTBE. However, they determined that ethanol was the best addi-
tive when the operating range, thermal efficiency and emissions
were considered. Saisirirat et al. [17] evaluated the effects of 1-bu-
tanol and compared to pure n-heptane and n-heptane/ethanol
mixture fuels on HCCI combustion. They performed the modeling
of constant volume combustion in order to discuss engine results.
Yao et al. [10] studied the effects of the blends of n-butanol and
diesel with EGR on combustion, efficiency and exhaust emissions
in a direct injection diesel engine. They showed that peak cylinder
pressure and heat release rate increased with the increase of
amount of butanol at low EGR rates. He et al. [32] conducted an
experimental study in order to determine the effects of n-butanol
in HCCI engine equipped with variable valve timing and lift mecha-
nisms. The test results showed that the start of autoignition was
advanced with engine speed. He et al. [33] presented an another
study in order to investigate the effects of gasoline, 30% n-butanol
and 70% gasoline by vol., and pure n-butanol in HCCI combustion
using negative overlap and variable valve timing. Numerical stud-
ies were also conducted in order to observe HCCI combustion.
Neshat and Saray [34] developed a new chemical kinetic mecha-
nism for HCCI combustion using multi zone model in order to pre-
dict cylinder pressure and emissions. In [35], numerical study was
performed in order to examine the role of fuel reactivity gradient
in RCCI using Kiva4-Chemkin code. It was shown that fuel reactiv-
ity gradient retarded the ignition timing and reduced the heat
release rate. Vuilleumier et al. [36] aimed to examine the inter-
mediate temperature heat release in HCCI engines using ethanol/
n-heptane mixtures. They also modeled the combustion process
using single zone HCCI model. They used the simulation results
in order to identify the dominant reaction pathways contributing
to intermediate temperature heat release. They found good agree-
ment with pre-ignition pressure rise and heat release rate between
experimental and modeling results. They also found that H-atom
abstraction contributed reaction pathways to intermediate tem-
perature heat release.
In this study, the effects of pure n-heptane, and isopropanol/n-
heptane mixtures and n-butanol/n-heptane mixtures were investi-
gated on HCCI combustion, performance and emissions of a single
cylinder, four stroke, port injection Ricardo Hydra gasoline HCCI
engine. N-heptane percentages used in the isopropanol and n-bu-
tanol mixtures were chosen 60%, 70% and 80% by volume.
Experimental study was performed at 1500 rpm engine speed
and constant lambda k = 2 at different inlet air temperatures of
313 K, 333 K, 353 K, 373 K and 393 K in order to observe the con-
trolling of HCCI combustion. The variation of cylinder pressures,
heat release rates, the starts of combustion and combustion dura-
tions was investigated in case of HCCI combustion with iso-
propanol/n-heptane mixtures, n-butanol/n-heptane mixtures and
pure n-heptane.
2. Experimental setup and procedures
A single cylinder, four stroke, port injection gasoline HCCI
engine was used in the experiments. The technical specifications
of the test engine are seen in Table 1. The test engine was coupled
Table 1
The technical specifications of the test engine.
Model Ricardo-Hydra
Cylinder number 1
Cylinder bore (mm) 80.26
Stroke (mm) 88.90
Swept volume (cc) 540
Compression ratio 13:1
Maximum power 15
output (kW)
Maximum engine 5400
speed (rpm)
Valve timing IVO/EVC 12° before top dead center/56° After
bottom dead center
Valve lift Intake/exhaust 5.5/3.5
 A. Uyumaz / Energy Conversion and Management 98 (2015) 199–207 201

Fig. 1. The schematic view of the experimental setup.

with McClure DC dynamometer which was rated 30 kW/6500 rpm Table 2

engine speed. The schematic view of the experimental setup is The technical specifications of the exhaust gas analyzer.
given in Fig. 1. The injection pulse, engine speed, engine coolant, Operating range Accuracy
oil temperatures and inlet air temperature can be controlled and CO (%) 0–15 0.001
measured from the dynamometer control panel. The test fuel HC (ppm) 0–9999 1 ppm
was injected into the intake port at constant crank angle degree. NO (ppm) 0–5000 1 ppm
The injection duration was changed using potentiometer on the CO2 (%) 0–20 0.1
O2 (%) 0–25 0.01%
dynamometer control panel in order to adjust k = 2. Air heating
Lambda 0.6–4 0.001
system was mounted in the entrance of the intake manifold.
Inlet air temperature was also measured using K-type thermocou-
ple placed in the intake manifold and was held constant by closed-
engine was first operated on SI mode and engine was warmed
loop controller. In the experiments, inlet air temperature was
up, and then HCCI combustion was achieved by switching off the
changed between 313 K and 393 K with step of 20 K. The coolant
spark ignition.
and engine oil temperatures were fixed at 358 K and 348 K respec-
The experiments were performed with pure n-heptane, iso-
tively in order to prevent incomparability and measurement fail-
propanol/n-heptane mixtures and n-butanol/n-heptane mixtures
ures. So, the tests were conducted at steady state operation
at different inlet air temperatures on HCCI combustion. N-heptane
conditions.
was used as the base fuel in the experiments and compared with
In-cylinder pressure was measured using Kistler model 6121
the other blends of fuels in order to see the effects of alcohols on
piezoelectric pressure transducer. Pressure data were amplified
HCCI combustion. The abbreviations and the chemical properties
using Cussons P4110 combustion analysis device and then con-
of the test fuels are given in Tables 3 and 4 respectively.
verted to digital signals using National Instruments USB 6259 data
Raw cylinder pressure data were processed using an algorithm
acquisition card with a timing resolution of 0.36 crank angle
prepared in Matlab. Heat transfer occurs from cylinder to the cylin-
degrees. Digital cylinder pressure data were recorded in the com-
der walls. It was considered and calculated in the algorithm.
puter. The cylinder pressure signals were obtained by averaging
Cylinder charge mixture was also assumed to be constant. In addi-
the sampled pressure data of 50 consecutive cycles for a specific
tion, in-cylinder mass was considered to be ideal gas [7]. Imep was
condition in order to eliminate the cyclic variations.
During the experiments fueling ratio and engine speed were
kept constant at k = 2 and 1500 rpm respectively. The compression
ratio of the test engine can be varied from 5:1 to 13:1. The com- Table 3
pression ratio of the engine was fixed at 13:1 for achieving stable Percentage of fuels and abbreviations.

HCCI combustion and occurring autoignition easier. Besides, CO, Abbreviation Percentage of fuels
HC and NO emissions were measured using exhaust gas analyzer. B20 20% n-butanol 80% n-heptane
The technical specifications of the exhaust gas analyzer are given B30 30% n-butanol 70% n-heptane
in Table 2. UEGO sensor was placed in the exhaust line in order B40 40% n-butanol 60% n-heptane
to measure air/fuel ratio. UEGO sensor detects the amount of oxy- P20 20% isopropanol 80% n-heptane
P30 30% isopropanol 70% n-heptane
gen contained in the exhaust gases. Air/fuel ratio was also mea-
P40 40% isopropanol 60% n-heptane
sured and controlled from the exhaust gas analyzer. The test
202 A. Uyumaz / Energy Conversion and Management 98 (2015) 199–207

Table 4 reactions. Besides, the chemical reactions were improved between

The chemical properties of the test fuels [17,31]. fuel and oxygen molecules at higher inlet air temperatures. So,
n-Heptane Isopropanol n-Butanol autoignition occured easily. Maximum cylinder pressure was
Chemical formula C7H16 (CH3)2CHOH C4H10O obtained with P20 and P30. Heat release rate increases with the
Density (kg/m3) 679.5 809 808 increase of inlet air temperature like the cylinder pressure. It was
Octane number – 107 92 observed that the most significant effect of inlet air temperature
Lower heating value (MJ/kg) 44.56 30.447 35.1 on HCCI combustion was autoignition timing. One of the most
Boiling point (°C) 98 82 117.7
Molar mass (g/mol) 100.16 60.10 74.12
important finding was that knocking tendency disappeared when
the amount of alcohols increased in the fuel mixtures. So, more
stable HCCI combustion occured. Although the SOC was affected
by the inlet air temperature, there was a slight differences on cylin-
calculated using Eq. (1). In Eq. (1). W net and V d refer the net work
der pressure for all test fuels.
and cylinder swept volume. Net work was calculated by Eq. (2).
Fig. 3 shows the variation of the cylinder pressures and heat
W net release rates with pure n-heptane at different inlet air tempera-
imep ¼ ð1Þ
Vd tures. It can be concluded from Fig. 3 that the autoignition timing
Z was advanced with the increase of inlet air temperature.
Furthermore, it can also be clearly seen from Fig. 3 that rapid heat
W net ¼ pdV ð2Þ
release rate occurs due to higher pressure rise rate. Thus, HCCI
combustion deteriorated due to knocking and cylinder pressure
In Eq. (2), p and dV are the cylinder pressure and the variation of
decreased with the increase of inlet air temperature. The knocking
cylinder volume. Heat release rate was calculated using cylinder
resistance of n-heptane is already zero. In addition this, higher inlet
pressure and cylinder volume by Eq. (3).
air temperatures cause to knocking combustion with n-heptane.
dQ k dV 1 dP dQ heat The lower heating value of n-heptane is higher than isopropanol
¼ P þ V þ ð3Þ
dh k  1 dh k  1 dh dh and n-butanol. As a result, undesirable knocking combustion
dQ is the heat release dependent on the variation of crank angle dh. occured. As mentioned above ideal HCCI fuel should have knocking
dQ heat resistance.
is the heat transfer to the cylinder walls. k is the ratio of speci-
dh At high inlet air temperatures autoignition can occur easily in
fic heat values. Thermal efficiency can be defined as the ratio HCCI combustion. Fig. 4 shows the results of cylinder pressure
between the net work and released energy from fuel. It is also and heat release rate variation with test fuels at 373 K and 393 K
dimensionless performance parameter in the internal combustion inlet air temperatures. As can be seen in Fig. 5 the start of combus-
engines [7,37]. Thermal efficiency ðgT Þwas calculated by tion was delayed with the increase of the amount of the n-butanol
W net in the test fuels. N-heptane was autoignited earlier than all the
gT ¼ ð4Þ other test fuels due to zero octane number and higher heating
mfuel1 :Q LHV1 þ mfuel2 :Q LHV2
value. It is clear that maximum cylinder pressure decreased as
mfuel represents the consumed fuel per cycle. QLHV is the heating the amount of n-butanol increased in the test fuels, because the
value of the test fuel. heating value of the n-butanol is lower than n-heptane. Stable
autoignition occured. Similar effect was observed with isopropanol
3. Results and discussion at 373 K and 393 K inlet air temperatures. But maximum cylinder
pressure and heat release rate increased with P40 comparing to
The experiments were performed at 1500 rpm engine speed P30. At 393 K maximum cylinder pressure and heat release were
with different inlet air temperatures (313 K, 333 K, 353 K, 373 K obtained with P20. Maximum cylinder pressure decreased with
and 393 K). Lambda (k = 2) was selected for stable HCCI combus- n-heptane due to knocking and earlier autoignition. In-cylinder
tion without knocking. Engine speed was kept constant at temperature and pressure should be adequately high at the end
1500 rpm in order to avoid misfiring on HCCI combustion mode. of compression stroke in order to start the chemical reactions in
Inlet air temperature plays an important role on HCCI combustion, HCCI combustion. The in-cylinder temperature at the end of com-
because HCCI combustion depends on the chemical kinetics. pression stroke increases with the increase of inlet air temperature.
Charge mixture is compressed until autoignition temperature However, inlet air temperature is limited because of the higher
reaches [7,12]. In addition, suitable fuel should be selected avoid- pressure rise rate and knocking on HCCI combustion. It also causes
ing misfire and knocking. In this way, alcohols resist to not only the cyclic variations which are the indication of durability and sta-
knocking combustion but also reducing the harmful exhaust emis- bility of the internal combustion engines [2]. It can be also con-
sions in HCCI combustion. As an alternative fuel, alcohol seems to cluded from Fig. 4 that lower cylinder pressure and heat release
be the most promising choices among other fuels in order to con- rate were obtained with B40 and P30. But the test engine operated
trol HCCI combustion. Fig. 2 illustrates the effects of isopropanol more stable away from the knocking operation limit.
and n-butanol fuel mixtures on cylinder pressure and heat release The effects of inlet air temperature with different test fuels on
rate dependent on the crank angle with different inlet air tempera- SOC are seen in Fig. 5. SOC is strongly controlled by chemical and
tures. N-heptane was used as base fuel in the experiments and the physical properties of fuel, temperature and pressure at the end
test results were compared with alcohols/n-heptane mixtures. The of compression stroke in HCCI combustion. Among them, inlet air
pressure rise rate increased too much and knocking combustion temperature is one of the most dominant factor affecting the start
occured with B20 and P20 fuels. The octane number of n-butanol of autoignition. In this study, SOC was determined with the heat
is lower than isopropanol. It is clearly seen from Fig. 1 that knock- release rate which rises from zero to positive value. It was found
ing tendency with B20 is higher than P20 because of higher octane that increased inlet air temperature caused combustion to advance
number of isopropanol than n-butanol. It could be also mentioned for each test fuel. Experimental values showed that earliest
that SOC was delayed as the amount of alcohols increased in the autoignition was obtained with n-heptane. Minimum SOC was
test fuels for isopropanol and n-butanol. It is possible to say that obtained with B40 test fuel. It could be also implied that the SOC
autoignition was increased with the increase of inlet air tempera- was delayed as the amount of isopropanol and n-butanol increased
ture for all test fuels. More molecules participated to the chemical in the test fuels, because higher octane number alcohol tends to
 A. Uyumaz / Energy Conversion and Management 98 (2015) 199–207
Fig. 2. The variation of cylinder pressure and heat release rate of HCCI combustion at constant lambda k = 2 and 1500 rpm engine speed with different inlet air temperatures
and test fuels.
Fig. 3. Cylinder pressures and heat release rates of n-heptane at different inlet air
temperatures (n = 1500 rpm, k = 2).
retard the autoignition. Earlier autoignition results in knocking
combustion which damages the engine parts. As a result, high
octane number alcohol fuel seems to be the most promising alter-
native fuel in HCCI combustion in order to prevent knocking com-
bustion and to extend operating range.
Combustion duration is usually defined as CA10–90 in combus-
tion process. CA10, CA50 and CA90 are determined by the normal-
ization of the cumulative heat release between 0 and 1 depending
on the crank angle. The crank angle corresponding to 10% of charge
mixture burnt in the combustion chamber is called CA10. Similarly,
CA50 defines the crank angle that the half of the charge mixture
203
completed to combust. In this study, CA50 was determined
depending on the crank angle ATDC. The determination of the
end of combustion is a little bit difficult because of heat transfer
to the cylinder walls and incomplete combustion in the combus-
tion chamber. So, CA10–90 is generally used to determine the com-
bustion duration. CA10–90 is defined as the time interval between
the 10% of charge mixture completed to combust and 90% of charge
mixture completed to combust depending on the crank angle
[7,12,37]. Fig. 6 shows the combustion duration (CA50 and
CA10–90) of test fuels at different inlet air temperatures. Fig. 6a
shows the variation of CA50 with test fuels at different inlet air
temperatures. In Fig. 6a, negative crank angle degrees define the
points versus crank angle where the CA50 was obtained before
top dead center. CA50 should be obtained slightly ATDC for better
thermal efficiency [7,37]. It is possible to say that CA50 closes to
TDC as the inlet air temperature increases. It was concluded from
Fig. 6a that the half of the charge mixture completed to combust
BTDC with n-heptane due to knocking. Besides, CA50 was deter-
mined far away from TDC when the amount of n-butanol increased
in the test fuel. CA50 was also determined near TDC with P20 due
to faster combustion. It can be inferred from Fig. 6b that CA10–90
decreases as inlet air temperature increases. Minimum combustion
duration was obtained at 393 K for each test fuel. At high inlet air
temperatures, CA10–90 decreases due to improvement of chemical
reactions and increasing of the activated molecules during the
combustion reaction. It results shorter combustion duration.
Furthermore, combustion duration (CA10–90) decreased when
the mass fraction of n-butanol increased in the test fuel. It was seen
that the increase of octane number of test fuels caused the
decrease on combustion duration. The addition of isopropanol also
causes a decrease in combustion duration like n-butanol. But there
204 A. Uyumaz / Energy Conversion and Management 98 (2015) 199–207

Fig. 4. Cylinder pressure and heat release rate variation with test fuels at 373 K and 393 K air inlet temperatures (n = 1500 rpm, k = 2).

Imep is significant performance parameter which indicates the

Fig. 5. The variation of SOC with different test fuels at different inlet air
temperatures (n = 1500 rpm, k = 2).
was a small increase on CA10–90 when P40 is used in the experi-
ments compared to P30. The longest combustion duration was
obtained with n-heptane due to knocking.
averaged cylinder pressure exerted on piston during a cycle. It was
calculated by Eq. (1). The variation of imep with test fuels at differ-
ent inlet air temperatures on HCCI combustion is seen in Fig. 7. It is
possible to say that imep decreases with the increase of inlet air
temperature. It also causes the decrease of volumetric efficiency
at high inlet air temperatures. The test engine has already operated
with leaner mixture at constant excessive air coefficient k = 2 on
HCCI combustion. So, the energy driven to the cylinder decreases.
Thus, imep decreases especially at high inlet air temperatures as
seen in Fig. 7. It can be also concluded from Fig. 7 that imep
decreases with n-heptane due to knocking although it has higher
heating value compared to isopropanol and n-butanol. There was
no remarkable difference on imep when the isopropanol was used
as an additive fuel in the experiments. But imep of B30 and B40
was higher than B20. Maximum imep was obtained with B30 as
3.50 bar at 313 K inlet air temperature. Imep increased by about
25.71% when compared to pure n-heptane at 313 K inlet air tem-
perature. The reason of imep increase with B30 and B40 can be
explained due to higher calorific value compared to isopropanol.
In addition, the density of isopropanol and n-butanol is higher than
n-heptane. It may be mentioned that it causes to drive more energy
into the cylinder compared to n-heptane. Hence, the pressure at

Fig. 6. The variation of combustion duration (CA50 and CA10–90) on HCCI combustion (n = 1500 rpm, k = 2).
 A. Uyumaz / Energy Conversion and Management 98 (2015) 199–207
Fig. 7. The variation of indicated mean effective pressure on HCCI combustion
(n = 1500 rpm, k = 2).
the end of combustion increases due to more fuel molecules partic-
ipation into the chemical reactions.
Thermal efficiency is defined as the conversion performance of
the chemical energy of the fuel into mechanical energy in the inter-
nal combustion engines. The effects of test fuels and inlet air tem-
peratures on thermal efficiency are shown in Fig. 8. Thermal
efficiency increased with the increase of inlet air temperature with
n-heptane, B20, B30, B40, P20 and P40. It can be clearly noticed
that autoignition can occur easily at high inlet air temperatures
and autoignition conditions improve at each point of the combus-
tion chamber, because combustion occurs close to TDC with the
increase of inlet air temperature as seen in Fig. 6a. So, thermal effi-
ciency increases. But, small decrease was seen on thermal effi-
ciency with n-heptane, B40 and P30 at 393 K inlet temperature.
It can be said that CA50 was determined far away from TDC with
B40 and P30 compared to other test fuel at 393 K inlet air tempera-
ture as seen in Fig. 6a, because combustion occured away from
TDC. Maximum thermal efficiency was obtained as 49.31% with
B20 test fuel at 393 K inlet air temperature. Similarly, CA50 was
determined near TDC with B20 as seen in Fig. 6a. Chemical reac-
tions improve when the combustion occurs near TDC due to higher
cylinder pressure at smaller volume in the combustion chamber. In
contrast, minimum thermal efficiency was obtained as 22.2% with
P20 test fuel at 313 K inlet air temperature. Although combustion
occured close to the top dead center with P20 at each inlet air tem-
perature, knocking tendency was observed with P20 test fuel. Thus,
Fig. 8. The effects of test fuels and inlet air temperatures on thermal efficiency.
205
thermal efficiency decreased. At 393 K inlet air temperature, ther-
mal efficiency increased by about 28.8% with B20 compared to n-
heptane. Minimum thermal efficiency was calculated with P20 at
each inlet air temperature compared to other test fuels. It is also
clear that the addition of n-butanol improves the thermal effi-
ciency compared to isopropanol due to higher heating value of
n-butanol except for P30. The thermal efficiency of B30 and B40
test fuels was lower than to B20, because CA50 was also deter-
mined far away from TDC with B30 and B40 compared to B20.
NOx and PM emissions can be simultaneously reduced in HCCI
combustion, because HCCI engines operate with leaner homoge-
nous charge mixtures. As NOx emissions were produced at high
combustion temperatures, NO formation mechanisms could not
occur due to lower end of combustion temperature. This is one of
the most important advantage of HCCI combustion. In the present
study, NO emissions were measured almost zero with all test fuel
at each inlet air temperatures. However, NO emissions were only
measured as 1 and 2 ppm with n-heptane and B20 at high inlet
air temperatures due to knocking. Knocking results higher pressure
rise rate and faster combustion. It can also be mentioned that
higher inlet air temperatures increase the tendency of knocking.
In HCCI combustion, CO and HC emissions are unfortunately gener-
ated because of lower end of combustion temperature and incom-
plete combustion [7,37]. The variation of CO emissions is presented
in Fig. 9. As seen in Fig. 9, minimum CO emissions were produced
with n-heptane because of higher combustion temperature and
faster combustion due to knocking. It can be also concluded from
Fig. 9 that CO emissions decrease with the increase of inlet air tem-
perature, because CO could be oxidized due to higher inlet tem-
peratures. So, CO2 formation is improved and the amount of CO
emissions decreased. Maximum CO emissions were measured at
313 K inlet air temperature for all test fuels. It is also possible to
say that CO emissions increase with the increase of the amount
of n-butanol in the test fuel. CO emissions also increase with the
increase of the amount of isopropanol except for P40. There was
a reduction on CO emissions with P40 test fuel compared to P30
test fuel. B20 and P20 can be easily ignited due to lower octane
number such as n-heptane. The autoignition occurs more difficult
with other test fuels. It can be pointed that lower combustion tem-
perature was obtained B30, B40, P30, P40 according to n-heptane,
B20 and P20. Maximum CO emissions were measured as 0.144%
with B40, 0.138% with B30 at 313 K inlet air temperature.
The other important emission generated from the HCCI engines
is HC emissions. The flame goes out on cold cylinder surface in the
combustion chamber due to insufficient temperature during the
combustion [7,37]. This is the most common way of allowing to
Fig. 9. The variation of CO emissions.
206 A. Uyumaz / Energy Conversion and Management 98 (2015) 199–207
Fig. 10. The variation of HC emissions.
produce HC emissions. Besides, flame cannot progress through the
piston rings and any crevices in the combustion chamber. Hence,
autoignition deteriorates and incomplete combustion occurs. In
Fig. 10, the variation of HC emissions is seen. Fig. 10 shows that
HC emissions decrease with the increase of inlet air temperature.
The reason of this reduction is that chemical reactions improve
and rapid combustion occurs at high inlet air temperatures. The
productions of radicals accelerate with the increase of inlet air
temperature and combustion reactions. Moreover, warmer inlet
air temperature decreases the cooling effects of homogeneous lea-
ner charge mixture. It can be mentioned that minimum HC emis-
sions were measured with n-heptane and B20 compared to other
test fuels. When isopropanol was used as an additive fuel, higher
HC emissions were obtained especially at lower inlet air tempera-
tures. Apart from n-heptane minimum HC emissions were mea-
sured with B20. It is possible to say that autoignition properties
are deteriorated and HC emissions are generated when each test
fuel is obtained by blending with alcohols. Maximum HC emissions
were measured as 440 ppm and 438.88 ppm with P30 test fuel at
313 K and 333 K inlet air temperatures respectively.
4. Conclusions
Test results showed that combustion was delayed with the
increase of the amount of isopropanol and n-butanol in the test
fuels. It was also seen that HCCI combustion was advanced with
the increase of inlet air temperature. It can be also said that iso-
propanol is more suitable as fuel for controlling the HCCI combus-
tion phasing compared to n-butanol due to higher octane number.
When thermal efficiency is examined, n-butanol has advantage
according to isopropanol. Thermal efficiency increased by about
28.8% with B20 compared to n-heptane at 393 K inlet air tempera-
ture. Knocking combustion occured and imep decreased at all inlet
air temperatures with n-heptane. Almost zero NO emissions were
measured with test fuels. However, NO emissions were only mea-
sured as 1 and 2 ppm with B20 and n-heptane at high inlet air tem-
peratures due to knocking. It can be said that CO emissions
increased with the increase of n-butanol in the test fuels. Higher
HC emissions were obtained especially at lower inlet air tempera-
tures when isopropanol was used as an additive fuel in the experi-
ments. It is hoped that this experimental investigation contributes
to the determination of proper fuel mixture and inlet air tempera-
ture for the problems such as extending the HCCI operation range,
controlling the combustion, preventing knocking combustion and
reduction of CO and HC emissions in HCCI combustion.
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