Extending Lean Operating Limit and Reducing Emissions of Methane Spark-Ignited Engines Using a Microwave-Assisted Spark Plug
A microwave-assisted spark plug was used to extend the lean operating limit (lean limit) and reduce emissions of an engine burning methane-air. In-cylinder pressure data were collected at normalized air-fuel ratios of λ=1.46, λ=1.51, λ=1.57, λ=1.68, and λ=1.75. For each λ, microwave energy (power su...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2012-01-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Combustion |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/927081 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832561599319113728 |
|---|---|
| author | Vi H. Rapp Anthony DeFilippo Samveg Saxena Jyh-Yuan Chen Robert W. Dibble Atsushi Nishiyama Ahsa Moon Yuji Ikeda |
| author_facet | Vi H. Rapp Anthony DeFilippo Samveg Saxena Jyh-Yuan Chen Robert W. Dibble Atsushi Nishiyama Ahsa Moon Yuji Ikeda |
| author_sort | Vi H. Rapp |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A microwave-assisted spark plug was used to extend the lean operating limit (lean limit) and reduce emissions of an engine burning methane-air. In-cylinder pressure data were collected at normalized air-fuel ratios of λ=1.46, λ=1.51, λ=1.57, λ=1.68, and λ=1.75. For each λ, microwave energy (power supplied to the magnetron per engine cycle) was varied from 0 mJ (spark discharge alone) to 1600 mJ. At lean conditions, the results showed adding microwave energy to a standard spark plug discharge increased the number of complete combustion cycles, improving engine stability as compared to spark-only operation. Addition of microwave energy also increased the indicated thermal efficiency by 4% at λ=1.68. At λ=1.75, the spark discharge alone was unable to consistently ignite the air-fuel mixture, resulting in frequent misfires. Although microwave energy produced more consistent ignition than spark discharge alone at λ=1.75, 59% of the cycles only partially burned. Overall, the microwave-assisted spark plug increased engine performance under lean operating conditions (λ=1.68) but did not affect operation at conditions closer to stoichiometric. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e4a6170bf20c42fb8daecf02d37a7724 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-1968 2090-1976 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Combustion |
| spelling | doaj-art-e4a6170bf20c42fb8daecf02d37a77242025-02-03T01:24:40ZengWileyJournal of Combustion2090-19682090-19762012-01-01201210.1155/2012/927081927081Extending Lean Operating Limit and Reducing Emissions of Methane Spark-Ignited Engines Using a Microwave-Assisted Spark PlugVi H. Rapp0Anthony DeFilippo1Samveg Saxena2Jyh-Yuan Chen3Robert W. Dibble4Atsushi Nishiyama5Ahsa Moon6Yuji Ikeda7Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 50B Hesse Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1740, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 50B Hesse Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1740, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 50B Hesse Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1740, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 50B Hesse Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1740, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 50B Hesse Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-1740, USAImagineering Inc., Room 351, Welv Rokko 2nd Building, 4-1-1 Fukada, Nada, Kobe 657-0038, JapanImagineering Inc., Room 351, Welv Rokko 2nd Building, 4-1-1 Fukada, Nada, Kobe 657-0038, JapanImagineering Inc., Room 351, Welv Rokko 2nd Building, 4-1-1 Fukada, Nada, Kobe 657-0038, JapanA microwave-assisted spark plug was used to extend the lean operating limit (lean limit) and reduce emissions of an engine burning methane-air. In-cylinder pressure data were collected at normalized air-fuel ratios of λ=1.46, λ=1.51, λ=1.57, λ=1.68, and λ=1.75. For each λ, microwave energy (power supplied to the magnetron per engine cycle) was varied from 0 mJ (spark discharge alone) to 1600 mJ. At lean conditions, the results showed adding microwave energy to a standard spark plug discharge increased the number of complete combustion cycles, improving engine stability as compared to spark-only operation. Addition of microwave energy also increased the indicated thermal efficiency by 4% at λ=1.68. At λ=1.75, the spark discharge alone was unable to consistently ignite the air-fuel mixture, resulting in frequent misfires. Although microwave energy produced more consistent ignition than spark discharge alone at λ=1.75, 59% of the cycles only partially burned. Overall, the microwave-assisted spark plug increased engine performance under lean operating conditions (λ=1.68) but did not affect operation at conditions closer to stoichiometric.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/927081 |
| spellingShingle | Vi H. Rapp Anthony DeFilippo Samveg Saxena Jyh-Yuan Chen Robert W. Dibble Atsushi Nishiyama Ahsa Moon Yuji Ikeda Extending Lean Operating Limit and Reducing Emissions of Methane Spark-Ignited Engines Using a Microwave-Assisted Spark Plug Journal of Combustion |
| title | Extending Lean Operating Limit and Reducing Emissions of Methane Spark-Ignited Engines Using a Microwave-Assisted Spark Plug |
| title_full | Extending Lean Operating Limit and Reducing Emissions of Methane Spark-Ignited Engines Using a Microwave-Assisted Spark Plug |
| title_fullStr | Extending Lean Operating Limit and Reducing Emissions of Methane Spark-Ignited Engines Using a Microwave-Assisted Spark Plug |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extending Lean Operating Limit and Reducing Emissions of Methane Spark-Ignited Engines Using a Microwave-Assisted Spark Plug |
| title_short | Extending Lean Operating Limit and Reducing Emissions of Methane Spark-Ignited Engines Using a Microwave-Assisted Spark Plug |
| title_sort | extending lean operating limit and reducing emissions of methane spark ignited engines using a microwave assisted spark plug |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/927081 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vihrapp extendingleanoperatinglimitandreducingemissionsofmethanesparkignitedenginesusingamicrowaveassistedsparkplug AT anthonydefilippo extendingleanoperatinglimitandreducingemissionsofmethanesparkignitedenginesusingamicrowaveassistedsparkplug AT samvegsaxena extendingleanoperatinglimitandreducingemissionsofmethanesparkignitedenginesusingamicrowaveassistedsparkplug AT jyhyuanchen extendingleanoperatinglimitandreducingemissionsofmethanesparkignitedenginesusingamicrowaveassistedsparkplug AT robertwdibble extendingleanoperatinglimitandreducingemissionsofmethanesparkignitedenginesusingamicrowaveassistedsparkplug AT atsushinishiyama extendingleanoperatinglimitandreducingemissionsofmethanesparkignitedenginesusingamicrowaveassistedsparkplug AT ahsamoon extendingleanoperatinglimitandreducingemissionsofmethanesparkignitedenginesusingamicrowaveassistedsparkplug AT yujiikeda extendingleanoperatinglimitandreducingemissionsofmethanesparkignitedenginesusingamicrowaveassistedsparkplug |