Analysis on the effect of pilot injection strategies on combustion and emission characteristics of palm-munja biodiesel/diesel blend on CRDI diesel engine

Multiple injection strategy is a vital strategy to reduce the soot and NOx emissions concurrently. The multiple injection strategy can enhance the air/fuel mixture, combustion and exhaust emission characteristics by providing a small amount of fuel before the main injection. Among all types of alternate fuels, biodiesel has emerged as an eco-friendly fuel for the diesel engines. This paper is focusing on the effect of pilot injection strategies on diesel engine say timing (-30 degrees bTDC to -50 degrees bTDC) and by varying the fuel quantity (5-15%). The performance, combustion and emission characteristics of Palm-munja biodiesel/diesel blend (B20) were investigated on CRDI diesel engine. The experimentations were carried out on a constant speed by varying loads from 0 to 100%. The experimental results show that as an increase in pilot injection timing there is a reduction in the in-cylinder pressure, whereas soot and NOx emissions decrease as the pilot injection timing increases. As the pilot injection fuel quantity increases, the in-cylinder pressure and NOx emission increase, whereas soot emission decreases.