Compression ratio influence on maximum load of a natural gas fueled HCCI engine

This paper discusses the compression ratio influence on maximum load of a Natural Gas HCCI engine. A modified Volvo TD100 truck engine is controlled in a closed-loop fashion by enriching the Natural Gas mixture with Hydrogen. The first section of the paper illustrates and discusses the potential of using hydrogen enrichment of natural gas to control combustion timing. Cylinder pressure is used as the feedback and the 50 percent burn angle is the controlled parameter. Full-cycle simulation is compared to some of the experimental data and then used to enhance some of the experimental observations dealing with ignition timing, thermal boundary conditions, emissions and how they affect engine stability and performance. High load issues common to HCCI are discussed in light of the inherent performance and emissions tradeoff and the disappearance of feasible operating space at high engine loads. The problems of tighter limits for combustion timing, unstable operational points and physical constraints at high loads are discussed and illustrated by experimental results. Finally, the influence on operational limits, i.e. emissions peak pressure rise and peak cylinder pressure, from compression ratio at high load are discussed.