1,720,984 research outputs found
An Effective Method to Model the Combustion Process in Spark Ignition Engines
Get PDFA numerical simulation is a fundamental tool in the design and optimization procedure of an Internal
Combustion (IC) engine; since combustion is the process that mostly influences the engine performance,
efficiency and emissions, an effective combustion submodel is fundamental. A simple,
nonpredictive way to simulate the combustion evolution is to implement a mathematical function
that reproduces the mass fraction burned (MFB) profile that is characterized by a sigmoidal trend;
the most used for this purpose is the Wiebe function. In this article the authors propose a different
mathematical model, a Dose-Response (DR) type function that shows some benefits when compared
to the Wiebe function, in particular, a better interpolation of experimental MFB profiles in which the
combustion extinction phase represents a large fraction of the whole combustion duration; this
happens, for example, in Spark Ignition (SI) engines with a noncentral location of the spark plug,
which produces an asymmetric combustion propagation and, in turn, an asymmetric derivative of
the experimental MFB profile. In this article both the traditional Wiebe and the proposed DR function
have been calibrated by means of experimental MFB profiles obtained from a supercharged SI engine
fueled with natural gas; the two calibrated functions have been implemented in a zero-dimensional
(0-D) SI engine model and compared in terms of Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP) prediction
reliability. The proposed DR function allowed both a better MFB profile interpolation and a
better IMEP prediction for all the operating conditions tested (different engine speed and supercharging
pressure), with a maximum prediction error of 2.1% compared with 2.9% of the Wiebe function
A Comprehensive Model for the Auto-Ignition Prediction in Spark Ignition Engines Fueled With Mixtures of Gasoline and Methane-Based Fuel
No full textThe introduction of natural gas (NG) in the road transport market is proceeding through bifuel vehicles, which, endowed of a double-injection system, can run either with gasoline or with NG. A third possibility is the simultaneous combustion of NG and gasoline, called double-fuel (DF) combustion: the addition of methane to gasoline allows to run the engine with stoichiometric air even at full load, without knocking phenomena, increasing engine efficiency of about 26% and cutting pollutant emissions by 90%. The introduction of DF combustion into series production vehicles requires, however, proper engine calibration (i.e., determination of DF injection and spark timing maps), a process which is drastically shortened by the use of computer simulations (with a 0D two zone approach for in-cylinder processes). An original knock onset prediction model is here proposed to be employed in zero-dimensional simulations for knock-safe performances optimization of engines fueled by gasoline-NG mixtures or gasoline-methane mixtures. The model takes into account the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) behavior of fuels and has been calibrated using a considerable amount of knocking in-cylinder pressure cycles acquired on a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine widely varying compression ratio (CR), inlet temperature, spark advance (SA), and fuel mixture composition, thus giving the model a general validity for the simulation of naturally aspirated or supercharged engines. As a result, the auto-ignition onset is predicted with maximum and mean error of 4.5 and 1.4 crank angle degrees (CAD), respectively, which is a negligible quantity from an engine control standpoint
Analysis of the Combustion Process in a Hydrogen-Fueled CFR Engine
Get PDFGreen hydrogen, produced using renewable energy, is nowadays one of the most promising alternatives to fossil fuels for reducing pollutant emissions and in turn global warming. In particular, the use of hydrogen as fuel for internal combustion engines has been widely analyzed over the past few years. In this paper, the authors show the results of some experimental tests performed on a hydrogen-fueled CFR (Cooperative Fuel Research) engine, with particular reference to the combustion. Both the air/fuel (A/F) ratio and the engine compression ratio (CR) were varied in order to evaluate the influence of the two parameters on the combustion process. The combustion duration was divided in two parts: the flame front development (characterized by laminar flame speed) and the rapid combustion phase (characterized by turbulent flame speed). The results of the hydrogen-fueled engine have been compared with results obtained with gasoline in a reference operating condition. The increase in engine CR reduces the combustion duration whereas the opposite effect is observed with an increase in the A/F ratio. It is interesting to observe how the two parameters, CR and A/F ratio, have a different influence on the laminar and turbulent combustion phases. The influence of both A/F ratio and engine CR on heat transfer to the combustion chamber wall was also evaluated and compared with the gasoline operation. The heat transfer resulting from hydrogen combustion was found to be higher than the heat transfer resulting from gasoline combustion, and this is probably due to the different quenching distance of the two fuels
A New Simple Function for Combustion and Cyclic Variation Modeling in Supercharged Spark Ignition Engines
Get PDFResearch in the field of Internal Combustion (IC) engines focuses on the drastic reduction of both pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions. A promising alternative to gasoline and diesel fuel is represented by the use of gaseous fuels, above all green hydrogen but also Natural Gas (NG). In previous works, the authors investigated the performance, efficiency, and emissions of a supercharged Spark Ignition (SI) engine fueled with mixtures of gasoline and natural gas; a detailed research involving the combustion process of this kind of fuel mixture has been previously performed and a lot of experimental data have been collected. Combustion modeling is a fundamental tool in the design and optimization process of an IC engine. A simple way to simulate the combustion evolution is to implement a mathematical function that reproduces the mass fraction burned (MFB) profile; the most used for this purpose is the Wiebe function. In a previous work, the authors proposed an innovative mathematical model, the Hill function, that allowed a better interpolation of experimental MFB profiles when compared to the Wiebe function. In the research work presented here, both the traditional Wiebe and the innovative Hill function have been calibrated using experimental MFB profiles obtained from a supercharged SI engine fueled with mixtures of gasoline and natural gas in different proportions; the two calibrated functions have been implemented in a zero-dimensional (0-D) SI engine model and compared in terms of both Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP) and cyclic pressure variation prediction reliability. It was found that the Hill function allows a better IMEP prediction for all the operating conditions tested (several engine speeds, supercharging pressures, and fuel mixtures), with a maximum prediction error of 2.7% compared to 4.3% of the Wiebe function. A further analysis was also performed regarding the cyclic pressure variation that affects all the IC engines during combustion and may lead to irregular engine operation; in this case, the Hill function proved to better predict the cyclic pressure variation with respect to the Wiebe function
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Realistic Steady State Performance of an Electric Turbo-Compound Engine for Hybrid Propulsion System
No full textThe efficiency of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) may be substantially increased if the unexpanded exhaust gas energy is efficiently recovered and employed for vehicle propulsion. This can be accomplished employing a properly designed exhaust gas turbine connected to a suitable generator whose output electric energy is stored in the vehicle storage system; a new hybrid propulsion system is hence delineated, where the power delivered by the main engine is combined to the power produced by the exhaust gas turbogenerator: previous studies, carried out under some simplifying assumptions, showed potential vehicle efficiency increments up to 15% with respect to a traditional turbocharged engine. Given the power target of the required exhaust gas turbo-generator, no commercial or reference product could be considered: on account of this, in the preliminary evaluations, the turbine efficiency was assumed constant. In this paper instead the authors present the result of new evaluations performed by adequately considering the real efficiency of the exhaust gas turbine, which was designed and calculated by means of simple yet effective 1D approach, and validated by means of 3D CFD analysis. The 1D design and evaluation methodology, characterized by short calculation time, revealed sufficiently accurate compared to the result obtained by the time-consuming CFD simulations; the exhaust gas turbine efficiency was hence calculated for each required operating condition and used to compute the expected real efficiency of the compound engine; as a final result, it was found that, compared to a traditional turbocharged engine of the same rated power (73.5 kW), the realistic compound engine exhibit efficiency increments between 5% and 15%, depending on the output power
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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