Comparative Analysis of the Combustion Stability of Diesel-Methanol and Diesel-Ethanol in a Dual Fuel Engine

The co-combustion of diesel with alcohol fuels in a compression ignition dual fuel engine is one of the ways of using alternative fuels to power combustion engines. Scientific explorations in this respect should not only concern the combustion process in one engine cycle, which is most often not representative for a longer engine life, but should also include an analysis of multiple cycles, which would allow for indicating reliable parameters of engine operation and its stability. This paper presents experimental examinations of a CI engine with a dual fuel system, in which co-combustion was performed for diesel and two alcohol fuels (methanol and ethanol) with energy contents of 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%. The research included the analysis of the combustion process and the analysis of cycle-by-cycle variation of the 200 subsequent engine operation cycles. It was shown that the presence and increase in the share of methanol and ethanol used for co-combustion with diesel fuel causes an increase in ignition delay and increases the heat release rate and maximum combustion pressure values. A larger ignition delay is observed for co-combustion with methanol. Based on changes in the coefficient of variation of the indicated mean effective pressure (COVIMEP) and the function of probability density of the indicated mean effective pressure (f(IMEP)), prepared for a series of engine operation cycles, it can be stated that the increase in the percentage of alcohol fuel used for co-combustion with diesel fuel does not impair combustion stability. For the highest percentage of alcohol fuel (50%), the co-combustion of diesel with methanol shows a better stability.