THE EFFECTS OP METHAHE/KEROSENE MIXTURES AS SPARK IGNITION ENGINE FUELS

The effects of methane/kerosene fuel mixtures on the performance and the exhaust emissions of spark ignition engines have been investigated experimentally and theoretically. A series of experimental investigations have been carried out on three different single cylinder spark ignition engines and the results are presented and discussed. These results indicated that:- i) Kerosene can be used as a fuel in spark ignition engines provided that some methane (or other gaseous fuel) is present in the inlet air; the quantity of methane required varies with engine design. ii) With the increase in the concentration of methane the engine can operate at peak output power at air-fuel mixture leaner than that obtained for kerosene. iii) A considerable reduction in the concentration of the major exhaust pollutants (except nitric oxide) can be achieved as methane levels increase in the fuel mixture. iv) Methane addition has a significant effect in reducing the intensity of knock of kerosene and increasing the knock limited compression ratio. The results indicated that similar improvements are expected for any engine operating on these fuels. A computer program has been developed to simulate the combustion of mixture of gaseous and liquid fuels. The model assumed that the poor vaporisation of kerosene droplets achieved before ignition is the main reason for the low rate of combustion and high levels of exhaust pollutants of kerosene. The results of testing the programme against the engine test results justified the accuracy of the model in the prediction of the thermodynamic behaviour of the cylinder gas. They also indicated that the programme is reliable in predicting the onset of knock and the concentration of major exhaust pollutants. The use of the programme to predict the trends of the effects of some engine operating parameters and the methane/kerosene mixtures on cylinder pressure and exhaust emissions is also investigated. The results suggested that the computer program can be used for the prediction of the degree of improvement which can be achieved for an engine operating on these fuels or any mixtures of two fuels.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

PhD

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

De Montfort University

Year dc:date.issued

1978

Author dc:creator

• Soliman, Hassan Aly

Licence

• https://dora.dmu.ac.uk/bitstreams/284b44b4-ab18-4a5d-aaed-7b3e044c3b3b/download