3-D Modeling of Combustion in a Natural Gas Fueled HCCI Engine

In the present work, a chemistry based Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model is developed which uses chemical kinetics to simulate the combustion process in a Natural Gas (NG) fueled HCCI engine. The gas phase kinetics library of CHEMKIN is integrated within the multi-dimensional KIVA 3V code so that the chemistry solutions are performed in the context of CFD framework. The DRM detailed chemical kinetics mechanism is used for simulation of methane combustion which is assumed as surrogate fuel to NG. The model results are validated using experimental data from a CFR engine operating under HCCI mode. It is shown that the model is able to provide accurate predictions for combustion characteristics such as ignition delay, peak pressure and onset of heat release comparable to experiments. The model captures different trends in species concentration histories which agree well with corresponding data in the literature. The effect of applying different EGR levels on combustion phasing and performance of the engine is also discussed.

Keywords:

HCCI , CFD , Chemical kinetics , combustion , EGR