Modern diesel engines are seeing increasing system and after-treatment complexity which can lead to significant increases in the exhaust back pressure (EBP). This increases the amount of trapped residuals, raising the charge temperature but reducing the oxygen concentration. In this work, these effects of the EBP on diesel engine performance and emissions under conventional and low-temperature diesel combustion (LTC) regimes were investigated. Increasing the EBP resulted in higher pumping work for both combustion modes. While for conventional diesel combustion the effect of the EBP on combustion and emissions were not significant, for LTC the higher back pressures influenced the combustion and emissions formation processes. At low-load conditions, the increase in the charge temperature advanced combustion; at intermediate-load conditions, the reduction in the oxygen concentration delayed it. Smoke emissions were significantly reduced by a higher back pressure at intermediate-load conditions.
This work elucidated which engine operating parameters have the greatest influence on Low temperature diesel combustion (LTC) and emissions. Key parameters were selected and evaluated at low and intermediate speed and load conditions using fractional factorial and Taguchi orthogonal experimental designs. The variations investigated were: about ± 5% in EGR rate, fuel injection quantity and engine speed respectively; and ± we in intake charge temperature. The half-fractional factorial results showed that the interactions among these parameters were negligible for a specific load/speed point. The Taguchi orthogonal method could be used as an efficient DoE tool for studying the multi-parameter 'small-scale transients' that a diesel engine would be likely to encounter when operating in LTC modes. LTC showed the most significant sensitivity to EGR rate variations, where an increase from 60% to 63% in EGR rate doubted THC and CO emissions and reduced combustion stability. LTC was also sensitive to the fuel injection quantity with an increase in injected mass lowering the overall oxygen-fuel ratio and thereby increasing THC and CO emissions. These two parameters influenced the oxygen concentration in the intake charge; which was identified to be a decisive parameter for the LTC combustion and emissions. Intake charge temperature affected the total charge quantity trapped in the cylinder and showed noticeable influence on CO emissions for the low speed intermediate load condition. Variations in engine speed showed a negligible influence on the LTC combustion processes and emissions.
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