Investigating the impact of copper leaching on combustion characteristics and particulate emissions in HPCR diesel engines

La Rocca, Antonino; Ferrante, Annalisa; Haffner-Staton, Ephraim; Cairns, Alasdair; Weilhard, Andreas.; Sans, Victor; Carlucci, Antonio Paolo; Laforgia, Domenico

Abstract

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Copper leaching in diesel fuel and its impact on combustion and emission characteristics of a Direct Injection High Pressure Common Rail (DI HPCR) diesel engine was investigated. This work was performed using a single cylinder Ricardo Hydra research engine fitted with a cylinder head, piston assembly, and crankshaft from a production 2.2 L DI diesel engine. A fuel conditioning device consisting of a helicoidally shaped copper duct and electromagnetic coils powered from the battery was installed along the fuel line just before the high pressure pump. A diesel fuel with a copper content of less than 0.2 ppm was used. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis showed an increase of copper content to 1 ppm when fuel flowed through the conditioning device prior to the injection and returned from the engine back to the fuel tank. Copper leaching from the conditioning device was confirmed using a bespoke test rig. Combustion characteristics were analysed via post-processing pressure measurements, while an AVL Smoke Meter was used to monitor particulate emissions. A pilot plus main strategy was used to achieve a target Brake Mean Effect Pressure (BMEP) typical of medium load. Soot reduction in the range of 7–14% was measured when the device was connected to the fuel line, compared to the baseline. The initiation and early development of combustion was also investigated using an unstirred, quiescent combustion chamber with optical access. High-speed photography showed that ignition probability was enhanced in presence of the fuel conditioning device.

Citation

La Rocca, A., Ferrante, A., Haffner-Staton, E., Cairns, A., Weilhard, A., Sans, V., Carlucci, A. P., & Laforgia, D. (2020). Investigating the impact of copper leaching on combustion characteristics and particulate emissions in HPCR diesel engines. Fuel, 263, Article 116719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2019.116719

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 20, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Nov 30, 2019
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jan 16, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 1, 2020
• Journal: Fuel
• Print ISSN: 0016-2361
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-7153
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 263
• Article Number: 116719
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2019.116719
• Keywords: Fuel Technology; Organic Chemistry; Energy Engineering and Power Technology; General Chemical Engineering
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3730706
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016236119320733?via%3Dihub