天然气发动机掺氢燃烧的探讨

根据氢气、天然气和天然气掺氢燃烧的一些特性，结合世界各国对天然气掺氢燃烧在发动机上应用的研究状况。探讨天然气发动机掺氢燃烧应用的前途和可行性。     

不同掺氢比的HCNG燃料对天然气发动机怠速性能影响研究

为了研究在天然气中掺入不同体积比氢气对发动机怠速性能的影响,针对一台6缸天然气发动机开展了不同体积掺氢比的氢气/天然气混合燃料(HCNG)的怠速性能试验研究.试验证实掺氢后热效率提高,要达到相同的怠速转速可减少怠速旁通阀开度;在怠速情况下,掺氢使CH4、CO、NMHC排放下降,Nox排放上升,可通过点火提前角推迟来有效降低怠速Nox排放;在天然气中掺入适量氢气后有利于改善发动机怠速燃烧,从而增加怠速稳定性.在怠速条件下,掺氢后CO、CH4排放随转速升高先减小后增加;怠速转速升高,怠速稳定性变好.在天然气中掺入适量氢气后,发动机热效率提高,经济性改善.     

稀燃天然气掺氢发动机的热效率与排放特性

为了分析在天然气中掺入不同体积比的氢气对发动机经济性和排放性的影响,在一台6缸火花点火天然气发动机上开展了体积掺氢比在不同工况下对热效率和排放特性影响的试验研究.结果显示掺氢可以拓宽发动机的稀燃极限,提高燃烧速度,使得最佳转矩点火提前角(MBT)相对推迟;在点火提前角不变的情况下掺氢对热效率没有明显优势,而且会使NOx排放升高.而在MBT时,掺氢可以一定程度上提高发动机的指示热效率,降低未燃CH4和CO的排放,改善NOx与未燃碳氢(主要为CH4)的trade-off关系.掺氢的优势还体现在可以让发动机高效的工作在更稀的情况下,从而有利于降低NOx的排放和传热损失.     

预燃室式天然气掺氢发动机燃烧及排放模拟

为探索掺氢对预燃室式大功率中速天然气发动机燃烧和排放的影响,采用计算流体动力学耦合化学动力学方法,在一台6ACD320型天然气发动机上,对氢气体积分数为0～ 30％的天然气-氢气混合燃料的燃烧过程进行了数值模拟.结果表明:在天然气中掺氢促使缸内产生了更多的0、OH等活性自由基,从而加速了缸内火焰传播,发动机的指示燃气消...     

掺氢天然气充量均质压燃发动机燃烧和排放特性的数值模拟研究

为研究掺氢对天然气充量均质压燃（homogeneous charge compression ignition, HCCI）发动机的燃烧及排放特性的影响,基于化学反应动力学软件包CHEMKIN中的零维模型模拟天然气HCCI发动机在掺氢比为0%~40%时的燃烧过程及排放,并对其进行数值分析。结果表明：掺入氢气后缸内温度和放热率先略下降后上升而缸内压力变化不明显,着火时刻随掺氢比增加不断提前,CO和CO₂的生成浓度降低而NO的生成浓度上升。掺入氢气为体系提供大量H,使链分支和链传递反应加快,HO₂和OH生成速度加快,造成着火时刻提前。NO的总生成速率随掺氢比增加而加快。     

掺混氢气对甲烷/空气一维层流火焰的影响

当前社会对燃气的需求量巨大,通过可再生能源产生的氢气可以作为供给终端用户的燃料,但由于修建纯氢气的输运管道存在投资成本较高的问题,因此,通常选择将氢气掺入天然气管道进行输送应用。使用Chemkin-Pro软件对甲烷掺氢层流预混燃烧进行模拟,从化学动力学的角度探究掺混氢气对火焰的影响。结果表明：随着氢气比例的提高,火焰温度提高,但幅度不大,而当量比对燃烧温度的影响相对更大。掺氢后CO浓度的减少是因为甲烷的含量减少,掺混氢气后火焰燃烧速度增加。研究成果可为氢气掺混天然气的应用提供一定参考。     

天然气发动机掺氢20%时瞬态排放性能研究

对天然气发动机掺氢20%(体积比)的瞬态性能进行了研究.主要研究包括不同催化器ETC循环排放的对比、不同加速加浓因子的排放对比以及20%天然气掺氢发动机(HCNG)与纯天然气发动机的排放对比.试验结果表明:三种催化器都能使天然气掺氢发动机排放达到环境友好型汽车标准.随着加速加浓因子的增大,发动机扭矩跟随性越好,但会造成各种排放同时上升,特别是Nox上升幅度很大.三种氧化型催化转化器转化效率大小排序为:ECOCATⅡ型>国产催化器>ECOCATⅠ型.对于这三种催化器来说,随着催化效率的提高,排气阻力加大,发动机动力性下降,燃料消耗率上升.掺入20%氢气后,在不带催化器的情况下,Nox、CO、NMHC、CH4排放和燃料消耗率相对于原天然气发动机分别下降51%、36%、60%、47%和7%.     

考虑输气功率的掺氢天然气管道运行优化研究

将氢气掺混入天然气并利用现有天然气管道基础设施输送是实现氢气长距离、大规模、低成本输送的有效方式,但氢气的掺入会对原有天然气管道基础设施的运行产生影响。为此,文章建立了掺氢天然气管道运行能耗优化模型,以压气站最小能耗为目标函数,压缩机开机台数和压缩机转速为决策变量,在掺氢比不同的工况下,分别对保持掺氢天然气的体积输量恒定和输气功率恒定的两种情况进行优化求解分析,对不同掺氢比下管道系统优化后的工况进行分析讨论。研究结果表明：在保证天然气掺氢输送的热值供应的基础上,当掺氢比超过15%时,现有天然气管道设施已无法满足最优工况的平稳运行,可以通过增设压缩机站的方式提高管段压力,以保证现有天然气管道输气功率的稳定,或在下游建设储气调峰设施,以平衡管存气体能量下降的影响。     

多气源天然气管网掺氢位置研究

利用相对完善的天然气管网输送氢气,是现阶段实现氢气低成本运输的有效途径之一。为了确定多气源天然气管网的最优掺氢位置,文章采用沃泊热值指数、A.G.A指数、韦弗指数3种判定方法分析了氢气和天然气的互换性,确定了满足天然气互换性要求的最大掺氢比例。为了满足天然气管网掺氢后的水力工况,采用Pipeline Studio软件对掺氢后的天然气管道和某20节点天然气管网系统的运行工况进行仿真,从天然气管网节点压力和节点气质两个方面分析了掺氢比例对管网输送工况的影响,从而确定了天然气管网中的最优掺氢位置。研究结果表明：不同判定方法对掺氢比例的要求不同,需要综合考虑多种判定方法允许的掺氢比例;某20节点多气源天然气管网系统的最优掺氢位置为节点N14。     

燃料重整制氢及其应用方式的比较

燃料重整制氢是一种通过催化剂使得燃料经过化学反应产生氢气的制氢方法,所制取的氢气可以作为质子交换膜燃料电池(PEMFC)的原料,也可以直接参与发动机燃烧。本文主要介绍了几种不同燃料重整制氢机理,以及氢气在车用发动机上的应用方式。分析表明,发动机掺氢燃烧可以加速火焰燃烧,缩短燃烧期,改善发动机的性能。同时,还可以起到减少尾气排放的作用。因此,发动机掺氢燃烧是燃料重整的最有效应用方法。     

Engine characteristics of emissions and performance using mixtures of natural gas and hydrogen

An evaluation was performed on the efficiency and emissions from an engine fuelled with compressed natural gas (CNG) and a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen, respectively. The mixtures of CNG and hydrogen were named HCNG.     

Combustion analysis of a spark ignition i. c. engine fuelled alternatively with natural gas and hydrogen-natural gas blends

This paper describes an experimental activity performed on a passenger car powered by a spark ignition engine fuelled alternatively with natural gas (CNG) and hydrogen-natural gas blends, with 15% (HCNG15) and 30% (HCNG30) of hydrogen by volume. The vehicle was tested on a chassis dynamometer over different driving cycles, allowing the investigation of more realistic operating conditions than those examined on an engine test bed at steady state conditions. Fuel consumption was estimated using the carbon balance methodology, allowing the comparison of engine average efficiency over the driving cycles for the tested fuels. Furthermore, cylinder pressure was measured and, by processing the pressure signal, a combustion analysis was performed allowing to estimate the burning rate and combustion phasing. Ignition timing was the same for all the tested fuels, in order to assess their interchangeability on in-use vehicles. Results showed CO₂ emission reduction between 3% and 6% for HCNG15 and between 13% and 16% for HCNG30 respect to natural gas. Fuel consumption in MJ/km did not show significant differences between CNG and HCNG15, while reductions between 3% and 7% have been observed with HCNG30. The heat release rate increased with hydrogen content in the blends, reaching values higher than those attained using CNG. The combustion duration, calculated as the angle between 10% and 90% of heat released, has been shortened, with 16% reduction for HCNG15 and 21% for HCNG30 respect to CNG at 2.5 bar imep and 2400 rpm. As a consequence, hydrogen addition resulted in a combustion phasing advance respect to CNG. Cycle-by-cycle variability decreased, particularly at low loads, due to the positive effect of hydrogen on combustion stability.     

Particulate characteristics of laser ignited hydrogen enriched compressed natural gas engine

Laser ignition (LI) is emerging as a strong technology to control the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from spark ignition (SI) engines without the need for any significant exhaust gas after-treatment and is an appropriate technology for meeting future emission norms in the automotive sector. In this study, particulate characteristics of LI engine fuelled with different compressed natural gas (CNG) and hydrogen mixtures [100% CNG, 10HCNG (10% v/v hydrogen with 90% v/v CNG), 30HCNG (30% v/v hydrogen with 70% v/v CNG), 50HCNG (50% v/v hydrogen with 50% v/v CNG) and 100% hydrogen] were investigated. Experiments were performed in a suitably modified single cylinder engine, which operated in LI mode at constant engine speed (1500 rpm) at five different engine loads (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 Nm). Particulate characteristics were determined using an engine exhaust particle sizer (EEPS). Results showed that particle number concentration increased with increasing engine load. Number-size, surface area-size and mass-size distributions of particulates reflected that addition of hydrogen in the CNG improved particulate emission characteristics especially in nucleation mode particle (NMP) size range (10 nm < Dp < 50 nm). Among the test fuels, hydrogen-fuelled engine emitted the lowest number of particles. It was observed that the difference between particulate characteristics emitted by different test fuels reduced at higher engine loads. Significant contribution of lubricating oil in particulate emissions from both hydrogen as well as HCNG fuelled LI engine was an important finding of this study. Dominant contribution of larger particles (Dp > 50 nm) in total particle mass (TPM) was an important observation of this study. The qualitative correlation between total particle number (TPN) and TPM indicated that suitable fuel composition at different engine loads yielded cleaner exhaust from the LI engine. Overall, this study demonstrated that addition of hydrogen in CNG is advantageous from particulate reduction point of view, however, optimum fuel composition should be adjusted according to engine operating condition in order to reduce particulate emissions.     

Experimental based comparative exergy analysis of a multi-cylinder spark ignition engine fuelled with different gaseous (CNG,HCNG, and hydrogen) fuels

The experimental investigation was carried out on a multi-cylinder spark ignition (SI) engine fuelled with compressed natural gas (CNG), hydrogen blended CNG (HCNG) and hydrogen with varying load at 1500 rpm in order to perform comparative exergy analysis. The exergy analysis indicates that work exergy, heat transfer exergy and exhaust exergy were the highest with hydrogen at all loads due to its high flame temperature, low quenching distance, and high flame speed. The engine's exergy efficiency was the highest with hydrogen (34.23%), and it was about 24.23% and 24.08% with CNG and HCNG respectively at high load (20.25 kW). This indicates a higher potential of hydrogen to convert chemical energy input of fuel into heat and then power output. The exergy destruction was observed minimum with hydrogen at all loads, and it was drastically reduced at high loads. The combustion irreversibility which was calculated using species present during combustion, was the main contributor to exergy destruction, and it decreased with hydrogen. The minimum combustion irreversibility was 11.75% with hydrogen, followed by HCNG and CNG with 16.46% and 18.88% respectively at high load. The high quality of heat due to high in-cylinder temperature and low entropy generation during combustion caused by less number of chemical species in hydrogen combustion are the main reasons for lower combustion irreversibility with hydrogen.     

The effect of hydrogen on the performance and emissions of an SI engine having a high compression ratio fuelled by compressed natural gas

The aim of this paper is investigation of the effect of hydrogen on engine performance and emissions characteristics of an SI engine, having a high compression ratio, fuelled by HCNG (hydrogen enriched compressed natural gas) blend. The experiments were carried out at 1500, 2000 and 2500 rpm under full load conditions of a modified Isuzu 3.9 L engine, having a compression ratio of 12.5. The engine brake power, brake thermal efficiency, combustion analysis and emissions parameters were realized at 5, 10 15 and 20 deg. CA BTDC (crank angle before top dead center) ignition timings and in excess air ratios of 0.9–1.3 fuelled by hydrogen enriched compressed natural gas (100/0, 95/5, 90/10 and 80/20 of % natural gas/hydrogen).The experimental results showed that the maximum power values were generally obtained with HCNG5 (5% hydrogen in natural gas) fuel. The optimum ignition timing that was obtained according to the maximum brake torque was retarded by the addition of hydrogen to CNG (compressed natural gas), while it was advanced by increasing the engine speed. Furthermore, it was observed that the BTE (brake thermal efficiency) generally declined with the hydrogen addition to compressed natural gas and increasing the engine speed. Additionally, the curves of cylinder pressure and ROHR (rate of heat release values) generally closed to top dead center with the increasing of the hydrogen fraction in the blend and a decreasing engine speed. The hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions generally obtained were lower than the Euro-5 and Euro-6 standards.     

Emissions and fuel consumption characteristics of an HCNG-fueled heavy-duty engine at idle

The idle performance of an 11-L, 6-cylinder engine equipped with a turbocharger and an intercooler was investigated for both compressed natural gas (CNG) and hydrogen-blended CNG (HCNG) fuels. HCNG, composed of 70% CNG and 30% hydrogen in volume, was used not only because it ensured a sufficient travel distance for each fueling, but also because it was the optimal blending rate to satisfy EURO-6 emission regulation according to the authors' previous studies. The engine test results demonstrate that the use of HCNG enhanced idle combustion stability and extended the lean operational limit from excess air ratio (λ) = 1.5 (CNG) to 1.6. A decrease of more than 25% in the fuel consumption rate was achieved in HCNG idle operations compared to CNG. Total hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions decreased when fueled with HCNG at idle because of the low carbon content and enhanced combustion characteristics. In particular, despite hydrogen enrichment, less nitrogen oxides (NO_x) were emitted with HCNG operations because the amount of fuel supplied for a stable idle was lower than with CNG operations, which eventually induced lower peak in-cylinder combustion temperature. This low HCNG fuel quantity in idle condition also induced a continuous decrease in NO_x emissions with an increase in λ. The idle engine test results also indicate that cold-start performance can deteriorate owing to low exhaust gas temperature, when fueled with HCNG. Therefore, potential solutions were discussed, including combustion strategies such as retardation of spark ignition timing combined with leaner air/fuel ratios.     

Performance and emission assessment of a multi-cylinder S.I engine using CNG & HCNG as fuels

The present study was carried out to assess the possibility of using the HCNG in the commercially available CNG vehicles, as the available literature indicated the benefits of adding hydrogen to CNG in small percentages by volume, leading to improved combustion characteristics of CNG and yielding sizeable benefits, regarding improved engine performance and reduced engine emissions in automotive applications. In the present study, a commercially available CNG manifold carburation kit, commonly known as “sequential injection” in the market, is evaluated for its operation characteristics, on a Spark Ignited (SI), MPFI automotive engine, of a mass-produced passenger vehicle, converted for gas operation, using, gasoline, CNG, HCNG 10% and HCNG 18% as fuels. In the study, the following performance parameters, torque, power, thermal efficiency, brake specific energy consumption (BSEC), lambda, engine oil temperature, exhaust gas species were measured. After exhaustive engine testing, a comparison of engine performance emission characteristics for gasoline, CNG and HCNG 10% and HCNG 18% is presented. The engine performance using the optimized MAP tables demonstrated torque and power improvements for HCNG 10% and HCNG 18% in comparison to CNG. The torque benefits up-to 6% and power benefits up-to 4% were observed. The fuel energy consumption was measured to be reduced, and improvement in fuel conversion efficiency was also observed. Hydrogen substitution in CNG helped in reducing CO, HC, CO₂ emissions for HCNG in comparison to CNG. Increase in NO_x emission was observed for HCNG in comparison with CNG. Superior engine emission characteristics in comparison to gasoline and CNG is also demonstrated. The commercially available sequential gas manifold carburation was found to be suitable for HCNG 10% and HCNG 18%.     

Effects of compression ratio on performance and emission characteristics of heavy-duty SI engine fuelled with HCNG

The wide range of hydrogen's flammable limits enables ultra-lean combustion. A lean burn reduces the combustion temperature, increases thermal efficiency, and reduces knock, which is a serious problem in a spark ignition (SI) engine. The anti-knock improvement from hydrogen addition makes it feasible to increase the compression ratio (CR) and further improve the thermal efficiency. Herein, the effects of the CR on performance and emission characteristics were investigated using an 11-L heavy-duty SI engine fuelled with HCNG30 (CNG 70 vol%, hydrogen 30 vol%) and CNG. These fuels were used to operate an engine with CRs of 10.5 and 11.5. The results showed that thermal efficiency improved with an increased CR, which significantly decreased CO₂ emission. On the other hand, the NO_x emission was largely increased. Nevertheless, for HCNG30, a CR of 11.5 improved thermal efficiency by 6.5% and decreased NO_x emission by over 75%, as compared to a conventional CNG engine.     

Experimental investigation of varying composition of HCNG on performance and combustion characteristics of a SI engine

With rapid depletion of petroleum resources, researchers are investigating alternate fuels to meet global transportation energy demand. Gaseous fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG) and hydrogen are of special interest because of their cleaner combustion characteristics compared to liquid petroleum based fossil fuels. However both these gaseous fuels have some technical issues when they are used as stand-alone alternate fuel in conventional spark ignition (SI) engines. CNG suffers from lower energy density and narrow flammability range whereas backfiring tendency is highly pronounced in hydrogen fueled engines. Hydrogen enriched compressed natural gas (HCNG) mixtures are observed to be good alternative to these individual fuels since these mixtures do not pose the issues experienced by the constituent fuels i.e. CNG and hydrogen. In this study, experiments were conducted in a spark ignited gas engine using various compositions of HCNG mixtures having 0, 10, 20, 30, 50, 70 and 100% (v/v) hydrogen fraction. The performance and combustion characteristics of these test fuels were compared with that of baseline CNG, in order to find an optimum HCNG mixture composition for a single cylinder gas engine. Results obtained showed that 30HCNG mixture delivered superior engine performance compared to other HCNG mixtures and baseline CNG, which is in sharp contrast to 15HCNG being advocated globally.     

Research and development of hydrogen fuelled engines in China

The present paper introduces the role of vehicles in the context of Chinese economy, Chinese energy security, Chinese environment and the sustainable development of China; expounds that hydrogen is the promising alternative fuel for vehicles in China; and points that developing hydrogen fuelled engine vehicle is inevitable for the further development of Chinese vehicle industry. Then, the paper reviews the research and development of hydrogen fuelled engines in China, and reports the most achievements obtained by Chinese researchers in the field of the hydrogen fuelled engines which involve hydrogen-enriched gasoline engine, hydrogen-enriched diesel engine, hydrogen-(compressed) natural gas dual (HNG/HCNG) fuel engine, and pure hydrogen internal combustion engine (H₂ICE).