Simulation Research of the Influence of Compression Ratio on the Performance of an Aircraft Piston Diesel Engine

In recent years, the opposed-piston engines have become increasingly popular in the automotive and aerospace industries. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct the research on this type of drive. The paper presents the simulation research of a two-stroke opposed-piston diesel engine designed for propulsion of light aircrafts. The influence of the change of the compression ratio on the selected engine performance was investigated (indicated mean effective pressure, peak firing temperature and pressure, specific fuel consumption, power consumed by the compressor). The AVL BOOST software was used to perform the simulation tests. A zero-dimensional engine model equipped with a mechanical compressor was developed. On the basis of the created model, a series of calculations was performed for the assumed values of the compression ratio for four engine operating points: take-off power, maximum continuous power and cruising power at two different altitudes. The obtained results were subjected to a comparative analysis and the most important conclusions connected with the influence of the change in the compression ratio on the achieved performance were presented.