INVESTIGATION ON PERFORMANCE AND EMISSIONS OF A BIODIESEL ENGINE THROUGH OPTIMIZATION TECHNIQUES

The study is aimed at investigating the effects of engine parameters on the performance and emission characteristics of a single cylinder 5.2 kW diesel engine. The experiments were designed using a statistical tool known as design of experiments based on Taguchi. Five parameters, namely, power, static injection pressure, injection timing, fuel fraction, and compression ratio were varied at four levels and the responses brake power, fuel economy, and emissions were investigated. The optimum values of the response could be predicted using signal noise ratio and optimum combination of control parameters were specified. Results of confirmation tests showed good agreement with predicted quantities. A compression ratio of 17.7, blend of 20% karanja biodiesel, an injection pressure of 230 bar, injection timing of 27 before top dead centre and at 70% load were found to be optimal values for the karanja biodiesel blended diesel fuel operation in the test engine.