Evaluation of the near-wall gas composition in SI-engines using fast gas sampling

Future internal combustion engines using novel fuels and combustion systems have the potential to achieve ultra-high efficiency and lowest pollutant emissions to comply with future regulatory requirements. Realizing indicated efficiencies over 50% with ultra-lean low temperature combustion face new challenges. To meet this goal, hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions need to be reduced significantly further. To do this, knowledge must be gained about how the operation regime of the engine affects the HC and CO emissions. Since these emissions partly originate from areas where flame quenching occurs, an investigation of the gases near the wall is of interest. To this end a fast gas sampling method is being developed to extract and analyze the gas from the combustion chamber. The used fast gas sampling valve from Kistler enables sampling durations of less than 1 ms. Fourier-transform-infrared spectroscopy and a fast mass spectroscopy allow the determination of the sample composition. The valve is positioned inside the cylinder head of a single cylinder engine between intake and exhaust valves. In order to assess the effects of engine operating conditions on the formation of HC and CO at the cylinder walls, the measurement uncertainty of the setup must be evaluated. Since the combustion process is subject to cyclic variations, the evaluation of only a few individual measurements is not meaningful. Therefore, mean values are determined from the evaluation of several measurements not performed consecutively. By examining the mean and standard deviation of these measurements for each species, one can determine a measurement error. In comparison, lean operation with RON95E10 fuel at an IMEP = 12 bar and an engine speed of n = 2000 1/min shows a significant reduction in intermediate hydrocarbon species such as acetylene and a significant increase in fuel species such as ethanol compared to stoichiometric operation.