Operation of a four-cylinder 1.9L propane fueled homogeneous charge compression ignition engine: Basic operating characteristics and cylinder-to-cylinder effects

A four-cylinder 1.9 Volkswagen TDI Engine has been converted to run in Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) mode. The stock configuration is a turbo-charged direct injection Diesel engine. The combustion chamber has been modified by discarding the in-cylinder Diesel fuel injectors and replacing them with blank inserts (which contain pressure transducers). The stock pistons contain a reentrant bowl and have been retained for the tests reported here. The intake and exhaust manifolds have also been retained, but the turbocharger has been removed. A heater has been installed upstream of the intake manifold and fuel is added just downstream of this heater. The performance of this engine in naturally aspirated HCCI operation, subject to variable intake temperature and fuel flow rate, has been studied. The engine has been run with propane fuel at a constant speed of 1800 rpm. This work is intended to characterize the HCCI operation of the engine in this configuration that has been minimally modified from the base Diesel engine. The performance (BMEP, IMEP, efficiency, etc) and emissions (THC, CO, NO_x) of the engine are presented, as are combustion process results based on heat release analysis of the pressure traces from each cylinder.