Effect of In-Cylinder Low-Pressure Direct Injection Strategy on the Atomization and Combustion Process of a Small-Scaled Gasoline Wankel Rotary Engine

Abstract

To solve the problem of poor atomization and combustion in a small-scaled gasoline Wankel rotary engine (WRE) with low-pressure port injection mode, the numerical simulation was used to optimize the injection strategy. Firstly, the effects of in-cylinder temperature and pressure on gasoline atomization characteristics were studied, and the optimal injection timing was determined. Based on this, the influence of injection position, injection angle, and installation direction on the atomization, fuel-air mixing, and combustion processes of low-pressure direct injection (DI) small-scaled gasoline WRE was investigated. The results show that the injection angle is a key factor in determining the gasoline atomization characteristics. Injecting along the direction of rotor rotation causes the impingement between fuel bundle and combustion chamber pocket, resulting in the smaller Sauter mean diameter (SMD) and liquid penetration length (LPL). The installation direction of nozzle plays an important role in the airflow movement. When the nozzle is vertical-installed, the airflow repeatedly crosses to form multiple eddies, making the fuel to move more easily towards the front of combustion chamber. When the nozzle is parallel-installed at the lower edge of the installing zone and injecting along the direction of rotor rotation, the peak in-cylinder pressure is the largest and increased by 21% compared to the original port injection. By this injection strategy, the problem of incomplete combustion for the studied small-scaled gasoline WRE could be almost completely solved.