LAPSE:2023.20812
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.20812
Development and Validation of a CFD Combustion Model for Natural Gas Engines Operating with Different Piston Bowls
Giovanni Gaetano Gianetti, Tommaso Lucchini, Gianluca D’Errico, Angelo Onorati, Patrik Soltic
March 20, 2023
Nowadays, an accurate and precise description of the combustion phase is essential in spark-ignition (SI) engines to drastically reduce pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase thermal efficiency. To this end, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be used to study the different phenomena involved, such as the ignition of the charge, combustion development, and pollutant formation. In this work, a validation of a CFD methodology based on the flame area model (FAM) was carried out to model the combustion process in light-duty SI engines fueled with natural gas. A simplified spherical kernel approach was used to model the ignition phase, whereas turbulent flame propagation was described through two variables. A zero-dimensional evolution of the flame kernel radius was used in combination with the Herweg and Maly formulation to take the laminar-to-turbulent flame transition into account. To estimate the chemical composition of burnt gas, two different approaches were considered—one was based on tabulated kinetics, and the other was based on chemical equilibrium. Assessment of the combustion model was first performed by using different operating points of a light-duty SI engine fueled with natural gas and by using the original piston. The results were validated by using experimental data on the in-cylinder pressure, apparent heat release rate, and pollutant emissions. Afterward, two other different piston bowl geometries were investigated to study the main differences between one solution and the others. The results showed that no important improvements in terms of combustion efficiency were obtained by using the new piston bowl shapes, which was mainly due to the very low (+4%) or null increase in turbulent kinetic energy during the compression stroke and due to the higher heat losses (+20%) associated with the increased surface area of the new piston geometries.
Keywords
Computational Fluid Dynamics, FAM, light-duty engine, Natural Gas, premixed turbulent combustion, RANS
Suggested Citation
Gianetti GG, Lucchini T, D’Errico G, Onorati A, Soltic P. Development and Validation of a CFD Combustion Model for Natural Gas Engines Operating with Different Piston Bowls. (2023). LAPSE:2023.20812
Author Affiliations
Gianetti GG: ICE Group—Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy
Lucchini T: ICE Group—Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy [ORCID]
D’Errico G: ICE Group—Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy [ORCID]
Onorati A: ICE Group—Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy
Soltic P: Empa Automotive Powertrain Technologies, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland [ORCID]
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
16
Issue
2
First Page
971
Year
2023
Publication Date
2023-01-15
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
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Original Submission
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PII: en16020971, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2023.20812
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doi:10.3390/en16020971
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