Multi-Stage Fuel Injection Spray Analysis: A computational Approach for Enhancing the Engine Efficiency and Environmental Sustainability

Diesel engines are widely utilized around the world, particularly in Iran, for electricity generation and ship propulsion, owing to their popularity and extensive applications in various marine vessels. This study evaluates the performance of a Caterpillar 3401 diesel engine by analyzing four different fuel injection rate models. The modeling was conducted using AVL Fire software, and the results indicated that the triangular injection rate provided the most optimal performance. In this scenario, brake-specific fuel consumption improved by 5.5%, and the peak combustion chamber temperature was higher than that observed with the other injection rates tested.The investigation into the impact of nozzle diameter revealed that reducing the nozzle diameter from 330 to 190 microns could enhance combustion efficiency and reduce carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by 15%. Additionally, decreasing the injection duration to 2 milliseconds resulted in a 3.3% improvement in specific fuel consumption, indicating enhanced combustion performance of the engine. Furthermore, the analysis of spray angle effects demonstrated that an injection angle of 147.5 degrees was optimal for minimizing CO emissions, as it facilitated more complete combustion and improved fuel-air mixing, thereby extracting more heat from the fuel. Lastly, a 7.5% exhaust gas recirculation rate was identified as the optimal point for simultaneously reducing soot and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions.

Multi-Stage Fuel Injection Spray Analysis: A computational Approach for Enhancing the Engine Efficiency and Environmental Sustainability Keywords:

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) , Diesel Engines , Emission Reduction , Injection analysis , Performance enhancement