CFD Study and Experimental Validation of a Dual Fuel Engine: Effect of Engine Speed

Dual fuel engines induce benefits in terms of pollutant emissions of PM and NOx together with carbon dioxide reduction and being powered by natural gas (mainly methane) characterized by a low C/H ratio. Therefore, using natural gas (NG) in diesel engines can be a viable solution to reevaluate this type of engine and to prevent its disappearance from the automotive market, as it is a well-established technology in both energy and transportation fields. It is characterized by high performance and reliability. Nevertheless, further improvements are needed in terms of the optimization of combustion development, a more efficient oxidation, and a more efficient exploitation of gaseous fuel energy. To this aim, in this work, a CFD numerical methodology is described to simulate the processes that characterize combustion in a light-duty diesel engine in dual fuel mode by analyzing the effects of the changes in engine speed on the interaction between fluid-dynamics and chemistry as well as when the diesel/natural gas ratio changes at constant injected diesel amount. With the aid of experimental data obtained at the engine test bench on an optically accessible research engine, models of a 3D code, i.e., KIVA-3V, were validated. The ability to view images of OH distribution inside the cylinder allowed us to better model the complex combustion phenomenon of two fuels with very different burning characteristics. The numerical results also defined the importance of this free radical that characterizes the areas with the greatest combustion activity.