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Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The effect of spark timing on residual gas fraction

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Residual gas tests were done on a 2.4 liter commercial engine to find a correlation for the effect on spark timing on residual gas fraction. The tests were done by sampling the charge mass during a non-firing cycle through a small hole into cylinder 4. The residual gas fraction was determined by measuring the CO2 content of the sample. The experiments were conducted for a variety of different spark timing and valve timing settings. Since the data was taken over a limited range, a physical basis for a correlation was developed. Following the approach used in a previous modeling effort, the residual gas fraction was modeled as the sum of two contributing factors: backflow from the exhaust port to the cylinder during valve overlap and gas trapped inside the cylinder at the time of intake valve open. Additionally, the phenomenon of choked backflow was introduced in the model. Based on the data, a correlation was developed that estimates the residual gas fraction as a function of: intake to exhaust pressure ratio (Pi/Pe), valve profile, engine speed, compression ratio, and spark timing.

Degree

thesis:*
Department dc:contributor.department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
Grantor dc:publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Year dc:date.issued
2000

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Waero, Rolf Rikard, 1974-
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Wai K. Cheng.

Subjects

dc:subject × 1

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
Language dc:language.iso
eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9056
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/9056

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
MIT
Base URL
dspace.mit.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Waero, Rolf Rikard, 1974-. The effect of spark timing on residual gas fraction. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9056