Experimental investigation of the concomitant injection of gasoline and CNG in a turbocharged spark ignition engine

Concomitant injection of gasoline and CNG is a new concept to overcome problems of bi-fueled spark ignition engines, which operate in single fuel mode, either in gasoline or in CNG mode. This experimental study indicates how some problems of gasoline mode such as retarded ignition timings for knock prevention and rich air-fuel mixture for component protection can be resolved with the concomitant injection of gasoline and CNG. Results clearly show that the concomitant injection improves thermal efficiency compared to gasoline mode. On the other hand, simultaneous injection of gasoline and CNG reduces some problems of CNG mode such as high cylinder pressure and heat loss to the engine coolant. This decreases the stringent requirements for thermal and mechanical strength of the engine components in CNG mode. In addition, it is shown that by modifying the spark advance and air fuel ratio in CNG mode, the engine operation improves in terms of NOx emissions and maximum in-cylinder pressure as the concomitant injection does. Nevertheless, new requirements such as an intercooler with higher cooling capacity are implied to the engine configuration. Finally, the most important concerns in control strategies of the engine control unit for a vehicle with concomitant injection of gasoline and CNG are discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.