The Effect of Ignition Parameters on the Combustion Characteristics of an Aviation Piston Engine

A cylinder combustion simulation model was established for a two-stroke aviation piston engine used in a small unmanned aerial vehicle. The influence of different ignition system parameters on the combustion process of aviation kerosene was studied using this model. The research results showed that under the working conditions of 5500 r/min and 50% throttle opening, as the ignition energy increased, the peak values of average cylinder pressure and average temperature increased, and the combustion duration shortened, The advance of the combustion center of gravity increases the tendency of the engine to knock. Under the same operating conditions, as the ignition timing advances, the peak values of average pressure and average temperature in the cylinder increase, gradually approaching the top dead center, and the tendency of engine detonation increases more significantly.

Effect of Nozzle Inclination Angle on Fuel-Air Mixing and Combustion in a Heavy Fuel Engine

Heavy-fuel engines are widely used in UAVs(Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles)because of their reliability and high-power density.In this study,a combustion model for an in-cylinder direct injection engine has been imple-mented using the AVL FIRE software.The effects of the angle of nozzle inclination on fuel evaporation,mixture distribution,and combustion in the engine cylinder have been systematically studied at 5500 r/min and consider-ing full load cruise conditions.According to the results,as the angle of nozzle inclination increases,the maximum combustion explosion pressure in the cylinderfirst increases and then it decreases.When the angle of nozzle incli-nation is less than 45°,the quality of the mixture in the cylinder and the combustion performance can be improved by increasing the angle.When the angle of nozzle inclination is greater than 45°,however,the mixture unevenness increases slightly with the angle,leading to a deterioration of the combustion performances.When the angle of nozzle inclination is between 35°and 55°,the overall combustion performance of the engine is rela-tively good.When the angle of nozzle inclination is 45°,the combustion chamber’s geometry and the cylinder’s airflow are well matched with the fuel spray,and the mixture quality is the best.Compared with 25°,the peak heat release rate increases by 20%,and the maximum combustion burst pressure increases by 5.5%.

Optimizing the Exhaust System of Marine Diesel Engines to Improve Low-speed Performances and Cylinder Working Conditions

Proper design of exhaust systems in marine high-power turbocharged diesel engines can contribute to improve the low-speed performance of these engines and make the working conditions of the cylinders more uniform.Here a high-power marine 16-cylinder V-type turbocharged diesel engine is simulated using the GT-Power software.The results reveal the differences induced by different exhaust system structures,such as an 8-cylinder-inpipe exhaust system with single/double superchargers and a 4-cylinder-in-pipe exhaust system with a single supercharger.After a comparative analysis,the 8-cylinder type with double superchargers is determined to be the optimal solution,and the structure of the exhaust system is further optimized.The simulations show that the optimized maximum exhaust temperature difference among cylinders is reduced by 66%.Finally,the simulation results and the optimized performance of the designed exhaust system are verified through experiments.

Comparison of two types of twin-rotor piston engine mechanisms

A novel twin-rotor piston engine （TRPE） mechanism with high volumetric output and power density was introduced. This new engine comprises an energy conversion system and a differential velocity drive mechanism （DVDM）. Two special geared four-bar mechanisms, DVDM-1 and DVDM-2, were utilized and compared. Based on the closed loop vector method, a mathematical model for position, velocity, and acceleration of the two mechanisms was established. Numerical examples illustrate that the kinematic characteristics were presented. Expression of the displacement and compression ratio of the two engine mechanisms were derived and compared. It is concluded that both DVDM-1 and DVDM-2 adopted in the proposed TRPE with six vane pistons create thirty-six power strokes per revolution of the output shaft, and the summation of two angles covered by each rocker is always 2x/N as the output shaft rotates an angle of x/N. In DVDM-1, the span angle of a vane piston should be designed to be 10.2°, and the compression ratio should be equal to 10; in DVDM-2, the span angle of a vane piston should be designed to be 10.6°, and the compression ratio should be equal to 4.3.

Asymmetric vibration characteristics of two-cylinder four-stroke single-piston hydraulic free piston engine

The structure and working principle of a two-cylinder four-stroke single-piston hydraulic free piston engine(HFPE) were introduced. The basic vibration equation of free piston assembly(FPA) was established based upon the energy conversion between the injected fuel and the friction together with the load. Both the theoretical and numerical results show that the vibration system of FPA is a nonlinear conservative autonomous system in one cycle. The FPA vibration is symmetric with constant amplitude when FPA is only driven by the compression pressure in the compression accumulator and that in the combustion chamber. When considering the friction and load, FPA could still achieve a stable vibration after a few cycles' adjustment whether the input energy is equal to the consumed energy or not. The vibration characteristics are different when FPA vibrates in the compression stroke and the expansion stroke, which is the unique feature of the single-piston HFPE.

Analysis of Oil Consumption in Cylinder of Diesel Engine for Optimization of Piston Rings

The performance and particulate emission of a diesel engine are affected by the consumption of lubricating oil. Most studies on oil consumption mechanism of the cylinder have been done by using the experimental method, however they are very costly. Therefore, it is very necessary to study oil consumption mechanism of the cylinder and obtain the accurate results by the calculation method. Firstly, four main modes of lubricating oil consumption in cylinder are analyzed and then the oil consumption rate under common working conditions are calculated for the four modes based on an engine. Then, the factors that affect the lubricating oil consumption such as working conditions, the second ring closed gap, the elastic force of the piston rings are also investigated for the four modes. The calculation results show that most of the lubricating oil is consumed by evaporation on the liner surface. Besides, there are three other findings： （1） The oil evaporation from the liner is determined by the working condition of an engine; （2） The increase of the ring closed gap reduces the oil blow through the top ring end gap but increases blow-by; （3） With the increase of the elastic force of the ring, both the left oil film thickness and the oil throw-off at the top ring decrease. The oil scraping of the piston top edge is consequently reduced while the friction loss between the rings and the liner increases. A neural network prediction model of the lubricating oil consumption in cylinder is established based on the BP neural network theory, and then the model is trained and validated. The main piston rings parameters which affect the oil consumption are optimized by using the BP neural network prediction model and the prediction accuracy of this BP neural network is within 8%, which is acceptable for normal engineering applications. The oil consumption is also measured experimentally. The relative errors of the calculated and experimental values are less than 10%, verifying the validity of the simulation results. Applying the established simulation model and the validated BP network model is able to generate numerical results with sufficient accuracy, which significantly reduces experimental work and provides guidance for the optimal design of the piston rings diesel engines.

Combustion simulation and key parameter optimization for opposite axial piston engine in small-scale

As potential alternative power sources used in portable electric generators, opposite axial piston engines in small-scale were investigated to show their advantages in power density. A novel cylinder charge system was introduced, based on which a quasi-dimension model and a CFD(computational fluid dynamics) model were established. Comparison of those two models was carried out to validate the quasi-dimension model. Furthermore, optimal diameter of charge cylinder and speed were determined after evaluating the quasi-dimension model based on different parameters. High agreement between the quasi-dimension model and the CFD model validates the quasi-dimension model. Further studies show that the power of engine increases with the diameter of charge cylinder. However, a too big charge cylinder lowers the fuel efficiency instead. Taking economic influence into consideration the charge cylinder should be 1.4 times power cylinder, which could ensure the power density, volumetric efficiency and fuel economic at the same time. Axial piston engine running at 1.0×104 r/min could achieve a better overall performance. The maximal power of engine with optimal parameters is 0.82 k W, which fits the power need of the portable electric generators completely.

Multi-body dynamic simulation research on the influence of piston engine crankshaft thrust bearings abrasion

Fault diagnosis studying on piston engine,crankshaft and gearbox is focused in this paper. The thrust bearing abrasion caused by axial movement of the crankshaft will affect the force of timing gears and oil pump gears,which will result in the fracture of gears,abnormal ignition,connecting rod cracking and collision of cylinder. Simulation based on CREO software is done to build three-dimensional models of crankshaft and gears of a WP10 diesel engine. The models are imported into ADAMS to complete multi-body dynamics simulations. The force analysis of gears in different kinds of axial movements is finished and variations rules of gear dynamic load is obtained. The presented results show that the crankshaft axial movement can cause overload and vibration on gears. Combined with the realistic case data,the fault feature through simulation research is validated and early warming parameters of gear fault are proposed.

Sensitivity and effect of key operational parameters on performance of a dual-cylinder free-piston engine generator

The free-piston engine generator(FPEG)is regarded as the next generation of energy conversion system which may replace traditional engines in the future.The effect of key operational parameters like excess air ratio of input mixture and ignition position on the engine performance of a dual-cylinder FPEG was investigated,and their sensitivity was analyzed in this paper.The operating compression ratio of the system is susceptible to changes in excess air ratio and ignition position.At the same time,it decreases from 15.8 to 6.6 when excess air ratio increases from 0.85 to 1.15,but it increases from 6.1 to 13.3 as ignition position increases from 15 mm to 20 mm.The operating frequency and indicated power are more sensitive to changes in excess air ratio than ignition position.But it is the opposite for the indicated thermal efficiency and friction loss.Excess air ratio and ignition position have a quite similar influence on heat transfer.Therefore,from the perspective of system operation and performance,it is preferable to keep excess air coefficient slightly below 1.0.In contrast,when selecting ignition position,it is of great importance to comprehensively consider the risk of structural damage caused by the increase in the compression ratio and in-cylinder gas pressure.

Numerical Simulation of a Spark Ignited Two-Stroke Free-Piston Engine Generator

A numerical program is built to simulate the performance of a spark ignited two-stroke free-piston engine coupled with a linear generator. The computational model combines a series of dynamic and thermodynamic equations that are solved simultaneously to predict the performances of the engines. The dynamic analysis performed consists of an evaluation of the frictional force and load force introduced by the generator. The thermodynamic analysis used a single zone model to describe the engine＇ s working cycle which includes intake, scavenging, compression, combustion and expansion, and to evaluate the effect of heat transfer based on the first law of thermodynamics and the ideal gas state equation. Because there is no crankshaft, a time based Wiebe equation was used to express the fraction of fuel burned in the combustion. The calculated results were validated by using the experimental data from another research group. The results indicate that the free-piston generator has some advantages over conventional engines.

Mathematical modeling and analysis of thermodynamic processes in a twin-rotor piston engine

In order to study the major performance indicators of the twin-rotor piston engine(TRPE), Matlab/simulink was used to simulate the mathematical models of its thermodynamic processes. With consideration of the characteristics of the working processes in the TRPE, corresponding differential equations were established and then simplified by period features of the TRPE. Finally, the major boundary conditions were figured out. The changing trends of mass, pressure and temperature of working fuel in the working chamber during a complete engine cycle were presented. The simulation results are consistent with the trends of an actual working cycle in the TRPE, which indicates that the method of simulation is feasible. As the pressure in the working chamber is calculated, all the performance parameters of the TRPE can be obtained. The major performance indicators, such as the indicated mean effective pressure, power to weight ratio and the volume power, are also acquired. Compared with three different types of conventional engines, the TRPE has a bigger utilization ratio of cylinder volume, a higher power to weight ratio and a more compact structure. This indicates that TRPE is superior to conventional engines.

Performance analysis of a 2-stroke micro free-piston swing engine

The micro free-piston swing engine （MFPSE） is a new structure, free-piston internal combustion engine. The dynamic model integrated MFPSE with a power generator and thermodynamic models in compression, power and scavenge processes based on the open thermodynamic systems were presented. A simulation was executed at given geometric parameters and initial conditions. The results manifest that the working principle of MFPSE is feasible.

Characteristics of Particulate Matter Emissions for Low-Sulfur Heavy Oil Used in Low-Speed Two-Stroke Diesel Engines of Ocean-Going Ships

In this work,particulate matter(PM) emissions from a large two-stroke,low-speed marine diesel engine were investigated when the engine was operated with low-sulfur heavy fuel oil(HFO) at various loads.Particle samples were collected in situ from the engine exhaust to determine the detailed physical and chemical properties.The nanostructure and morphology of the nanoparticles were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy images(TEM).The results show that volatile organic carbon(OC) accounts for more than 80% in the HFO particles and leads to an increase in particle size.The thermodynamic conditions of a low-speed engine favor the behavior of capturing the soluble organic components.A large number of spherical char HFO particles with aerodynamic diameters of 0.2 μm-0.5 μm and a suspected inner metal core were detected.The two peak aerodynamic diameters of the HFO nanoparticles are 15 nm and 86 nm.The morphological differences among the HFO nanoparticles in varied engine conditions represent the formation process from primary nascent particles to mature graphitized particles caused by thermodynamics.The above study will be valuable for understanding the characteristics of PM emissions from low-sulfur HFO to achieve the ship PM emissions reduction target.

Design and dynamic characteristic prediction of air-powered twin-rotor piston engine

A novel air-powered twin-rotor piston engine(ATPE) utilizing a differential velocity driving mechanism to achieve a high output torque was proposed.The ATPE had eight separated rotary cylinders which can dynamically enlarge the engine displacement as a result of the special driving mechanism,which was named dynamic volume expansion.The mathematical model of ATPE comprising a dynamic model and a thermodynamic model was established under the assumption of no mechanical friction.The model was numerically simulated in Matlab.The results show that shortage of low output torque confusing traditional air-powered engines can be overcome.The average output torque sharply increases to 100 N·m,which is about three times that of traditional air-powered engines with equal cylinder displacement under the pressure of 0.6 MPa at 480 r/min.ATPE can be used to drive vehicles directly without transmission box,therefore the energy transfer efficiency of ATPE can be increased.Furthermore,benefitting from the novel gas distribution system,the engine shows an ability in self-adjusting under different loads.The arrangements of air ports automatically adjust the open interval of air ports according to the load,which may simplify the speed control system.

Recent Progress in Heavy Fuel Aviation Piston Engine

Heavy fuel aviation piston engines(HF-APEs)refer to the engine using fuels with high flash point,such as kerosene or light diesel.Here technique specifications of some classical foreign HF-APEs(Hirth3503,Zanzottera 498)are introduced.Recent progress and trend of fuel injection,fuel ignition,working cycle,intake charging,thermal management and electronic control of HF-APE are compared and summarized.Emphases are put on the technological difficulties,solutions and development tendency in the design,retrofitting and manufacturing of HF-APE aiming to provide references for the research of related area and the development of prototype HF-APE in China.

Influence of Oil Film Inertia on Piston Skirt Lubrication in High Speed Engine

By an iteration method, the influence of oil film inertia on piston skirt lubrication in a high speed engine is investigated. By alternately solving the Navier-Stocks equations and the Reynolds equation, the new iteration method can trace the variations of velocity field and pressure field with time. Based on this, the mixed-lubrication model suitable for the piston skirt of high engines is proposed. By introducing the inertia coefficient, the new lubrication model includes the inertia term in oil film. The model can be also used to solve for the lubrication performances of a piston skirt in low or medium speed engines and for lubrication problem in general excluding the inertia term of oil film , when the inertia coefficient is put equal to zero. The calculation results show that the influence of oil film inertia on the friction force increases with the ratio of the piston skirt's length to its diameter, the inertia coefficient and the eccentricities of the lower and the upper piston skirt, with other conditions kept constant, while the influence of it on the load capacity of oil film is small.

Mathematical modeling and analysis of gas torque in twin-rotor piston engine

The gas torque in a twin-rotor piston engine(TRPE) was modeled using adiabatic approximation with instantaneous combustion. The first prototype of TRPE was manufactured. This prototype is intended for high power density engines and can produce 36 power strokes per shaft revolution. Compared with the conventional engines, the vector sum of combustion gas forces acting on each rotor piston in TRPE is a pure torque, and the combustion gas rotates the rotors while compresses the gas in the compression chamber at the same time. Mathematical modeling of gas force transmission was built. Expression for gas torque on each rotor was derived. Different variation patterns of the volume change of working chamber were introduced. The analytical and numerical results is presented to demonstrate the main characteristics of gas torque. The results show that the value of gas torque in TRPE falls to be less than zero before the combustion phase is finished; the time for one stroke is 30° in terms of the rotating angle of the output shaft; gas torque in one complete revolution of the output shaft has a period which is equal to 60° and it is necessary to put off the moment when gas torque becomes zero in order to export the maximum energy.

Influence of Internal Combustion Engine Parameters on Gas Leakage through the Piston Rings Area

In this work, the influence of internal combustion engine parameters (cylinder-piston clearance, piston head height, the first segment position, gap of the first piston ring and gap of the second piston ring, piston rings’ axial clearance, intake valve debit coefficient) gas leakage from the combustion chamber through the piston rings’ area was investigated. This influence was studied by making an initial forming operation over gas leakage in the analyzed area.

Experimental study on compression stroke characteristics of free- piston engine generator

The compression stroke characteristics of free-piston engine generator were studied. The numerical model of the compression stroke was established based on thermodynamics and dynamics equation,and the leak loss,heat loss and friction loss were considered. Through solving numerical equations,the in-cylinder pressure of compression stroke under different compression ratios was calculated,energy transfer and conversion process was analyzed,and the calculated results were experimentally verified. The results showed that the actual effective output of electronic energy and the compression energy stored in the com-pressed gas accounted for about 70%. The compression energy gradually increased with the increasing com-pression ratio. When the compression ratio was more than 7. 5,the actual compression energy increased slowly and the energy error between simulation and test decreased.

Technology Research on Aviation Piston Engine Camshaft Repair

Based on the analysis of the piston engine camshatt common failure mode, combining the mechanical analysis and risk management means, the feasibility of its repair was much discussed, the repair technique are studied, and proved its correctness and effectiveness.