Analyzing the Combustion Behavior of different Ceramic Porous Media in the Piston Bowl of a Diesel Engine

In the presence of ceramic porous media (PMs), combustion gets enhanced. Among the different ceramic PMs, silicon carbide, alumina, and zirconia possess characteristics favorable for combustion. In this work, numerical investigation of the combustion behavior is performed by using different PMs on the piston bowl of a compression ignition engine at full load condition. In the study, the PMs of cylindrical shape are considered to be fitted on the piston bowl in the place of the hemispherical one of a conventional engine. The outcomes of the combustion analysis were found to be in the appreciable range. Among the different PMs considered, silicon carbide exhibited shorter ignition delay of 19°CA, as compared to 35°CA for alumina and zirconia and 21°CA for non-PM. The application of PMs was found to be effective in decreasing the emission gas like oxides of nitrogen. The average mean mixture fraction of the fuel species consumed (2.66 × 10–4) is also lowered with the use of PM (2.60 × 10–2), and there was significant drop of soot concentration for silicon carbide to that of non-PM. The phenomenon of regeneration influences the rate of heat release, which is lowered by ~62 J/° in PM. © 2022, The Institution of Engineers (India).