Homogeneous charge compression ignition engine: A simulation study on the effects of inhomogeneities

A stochastic model for the HCCI engine is presented The model is based on the PaSPFR-IEM model and accounts for inhomogeneities in the combustion chamber while including a detailed chemical model for natural gas combustion, consisting of 53 chemical species and 590 elementary chemical reactions. The model is able to take any type of inhomogeneities in the initial gas composition into account, such as inhomogeneities in the temperature field, in the air-fuel ratio or in the concentration of the recirculated exhaust gas. With this model the effect of temperature differences caused by the thermal boundary layer and crevices in the cylinder for a particular engine speed and fuel to air ratio is studied. The boundary layer is divided into a viscous sublayer and a turbulent buffer zone. There are also colder zones due to crevices. All zones are modeled by a characteristic temperature distribution. The simulation results are compared with experiments and a previous numerical study employing a PFR model. In all cases the PaSPFR-IEM model leads to a better agreement between simulations and experiment for temperature and pressure. In addition a sensitivity study on the effect of different intensities of turbulent mixing on the combustion is performed. This study reveals that the ignition delay is a Junction of turbulent mixing of the hot bulk and the colder boundary layer.