2021 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
SI Engines for Alternative Fuels - Combustion Phase and the Tradeoff Between Ignitability and Spark Plug Wear
Authors : J. Ängeby, A. Johnsson, M. Richter, R. Bi
Published in: Heavy-Duty-, On- und Off-Highway-Motoren 2020
Publisher: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
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Electrification of vehicles is important to reduce greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions and stop global warming, but electrification will not be enough. Use of alternative and renewable fuels in SI-ICE will be an important complement to electrification in the heavy-duty segment, motivated by their ability to efficiently use the large potential of renewable fuels with low cetane numbers which are not suitable for diesel-like combustion. However, the property of alternative and renewable fuels may vary considerably, with a significant decrease in engine performance and total cost of ownership (TCO) as result. There is a need to compensate for a varying combustion phase and assure robust ignition while keeping the spark plug wear to a minimum, despite such variations.The peak pressure location (PPL) can accurately be estimated using ion sense and the ignition timing adapted in a closed loop to compensate for variations in the fuel combustion property. The spark design and requirements are discussed when using different and/or varying fuel. Preliminary results on ignitability and electrode wear indicate that the electrode wear can be reduced considerably. The TCO can be reduced by approximately $1100 per year for fuel and spark plugs alone, hereby making SI-ICE fueled by alternative and renewable fuels an even more attractive solution to reduce the GHG-emissions.