Development of a fast-virtual CFR engine model and its use on autoignition studies

Homogenous charge compression ignition engines have been studied as an alternative to the conventional diesel combustion to attain high efficiency with ultra-low NOx and soot emissions for a wide variety of fuels. However, its usage in real applications has been restricted due to the difficulties regarding combustion control and operating range extension. The modification of the fuel characteristics may be a pathway to solve the previous hurdles. Therefore, this research presents a relevant methodology to assess the fuel response to HCCI boundary conditions based on 0-D and 1-D modelling for detailed chemistry solution and state conditions definition, respectively. The results suggest that the methodology can predict the early stages of the fuel oxidation with good accuracy. For the objective of predicting the start of combustion, the best results are obtained using tabulated chemistry when investigating fuels that have pre reactions and a low temperature heat release. As the oxidation process progresses, the deviation of the pressure-temperature trajectory from non-reactive to reactive conditions after the low temperature heat release decreases the predictive capability to some extent. Nonetheless, the methodology outcomes are still valid as a qualitative metric for reactivity determination as well as the intermediate and high temperature ignition delay.