OPTIMIZATION OF A REDUCED CHEMICAL KINETIC MODEL FOR HCCI ENGINE SIMULATIONS BY MICRO-GENETIC ALGORITHM

A reduced chemical kinetic model （44 species and 72 reactions） for the homogeneous charge compression ignition （HCCI） combustion of n-heptane was optimized to improve its autoignition predictions under different engine operating conditions. The seven kinetic parameters of the optimized model were determined by using the combination of a micro-genetic algorithm optimization methodology and the SENKIN program of CHEMKIN chemical kinetics software package. The optimization was performed within the range of equivalence ratios 0.2-1.2, initial temperature 310- 375 K and initial pressure 0, 1-0.3 MPa, The engine simulations show that the optimized model agrees better with the detailed chemical kinetic model （544 species and 2 446 reactions） than the original model does.

Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulation on Thermal Decomposition of n-Heptane

The thermal decomposition of n-heptane is an important process in petroleum industry. The theoretical investigations show that the main products are C2H4, H2, CH4, and C3H6, which agree well with the experimental results. The products populations depend strongly on the temperature. The quantity of ethylene increases quickly as the temperature goes up. The conversion of n-heptane and the mole fraction of primary products from reactive molecular dynamic and chemical kinetic modeling are compared with each other. We also investigated the pre-exponential factor and activation energy for thermal decomposition of n-heptane by kinetic analysis from the reactive force field simulations, which were extracted to be 1.78×10^14 s^-1 and 47.32 kcal/mol respectively.

Effect of inlet temperature and equivalence ratio on HCCI engine performance fuelled with ethanol:Numerical investigation

A numerical model is presented to investigate the performance of homogeneous charge compression ignition(HCCI) engines fueled with ethanol. Two approaches are studied. On one hand, two-step reaction mechanisms with Arrhenius reaction rates are implemented in combustion chemistry modeling. On the other hand, a reduced mechanism containing important reactions of ethanol involving heat release rate and reaction rates compatible with experimental data is employed. Since controls of combustion phenomenon and ignition timing are the main issues of these engines, the effects of inlet temperature and equivalence ratio as the controlling factors on the operating parameters such as ignition timing, burn duration, in-cylinder temperature and pressure of HCCI engines are explored. The results show that the maximum predicted pressures for thermodynamic model are about 71.3×10~5 Pa and 79.79×10~5 Pa, and for chemical kinetic model, they are about 71.48×10~5 Pa and 78.123×10~5 Pa, fairly comparable with corresponding experimental values of 72×10~5 Pa and 78.7×10~5 Pa. It is observed that increasing the initial temperature advances the ignition timing, decreases the burn duration and increases the peak temperature and pressure. Moreover, the maximum temperature and pressure are associated with richer mixtures.

Influences of Catalytic Combustion on the Ignition Timing and Emissions of HCCI Engines

The combustion processes of homogeneous charge compression ignition （HCCI） engines whose piston surfaces have been coated with catalyst （rhodium or platinum） were numerically investigated. A singlezone model and a multi-zone model were developed. The effects of catalytic combustion on the ignition timing of the HCCI engine were analyzed through the single-zone model. The results showed that the ignition timing of the HCCI engine was advanced by the catalysis. The effects of catalytic combustion on HC, CO and NOx emissions of the HCCI engine were analyzed through the multi-zone model. The results showed that the emissions of HC and CO （using platinum （Pt） as catalyst） were decreased, while the emissions of NOx were elevated by catalytic combustion. Compared with catalyst Pt, the HC emissions were lower with catalyst rhodium （Rh） on the piston surface, but the emissions of NOx and CO were higher.