Influence of a glow plug on the performances of a methane HCCI engine : a numerical study

Details

Supervisors

Contino, Francesco ; Jeanmart, Hervé

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain
Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil mécanicien, à finalité spécialisée
Master [120] : ingénieur civil électromécanicien, à finalité spécialisée: énergie

Abstract

In the framework of the ecological transition, a solution proposed to overcome the storage problems linked to the use of renewable energies is the power-to-gas. Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engines can be used to reconvert this gas back into electricity. To improve this last step, the present work proposes the installation of a glow plug in an HCCI engine. The use of a glow plug creates a thermal stratification inside the cylinder which lowers the pressure rise rate. This allows the use of a lower intake temperature and the increase of the engine power density. In this work, numerical simulations are used to simulate HCCI engine combustion based on an experimental bench. The results of this study show that, in terms of combustion efficiency, similar results are obtained with and without the glow plug but the effect on phasing results in a 5% increase in IMEP. By increasing the load, the rise in IMEP reaches 12% while staying under the ringing limit. The effects of thermal stratification were found to be strongly local, but the glow plug is able to generate an early burn of 1% of the methane, making the total combustion smoother. In terms of emissions, an increase in CO production is observed but remains marginal. Regarding parietal losses, the obtained results do not follow the used correlation. Therefore, it would be preferable to carry out an experimental campaign to confirm the values and the trend obtained with temperature variations.