Simulation study on implementation of oxy-fuel combustion for a practical GDI engine

As the impacts of global warming have become increasingly severe, Oxy-Fuel Combustion (OFC) has been widely considered as a promising solution to reduce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) for achieving net-zero emissions. In this study, a one-dimensional simulation was carried out to study the implementation of OFC technology on a practical turbocharged 4-cylinder Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engine with economical oxygen-fuel ratios and commercial gasoline. When the engine is converted from Conventional Air-fuel Combustion (CAC) mode to OFC mode, and the throttle opening, oxygen mass fraction, stoichiometric air-fuel ratio (lambda = 1) are kept constant, it was demonstrated that compared to CAC mode, θF gets a remarkable extension whereas θC is hardly affected. θF and θC are very sensitive to the ignition timing, and Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC) would benefit significantly from applying Maximum Brake Torque (MBT) ignition timing. However, the power still does not reach the target at low load. With oxygen fraction increasing from 23.3% to 32%, it was found that θF and θC remain largely steady at low load and would extend a few degrees at m-h load. BSFC respectively gets a reduction of 33 g/kWh and 8.9 g/kWh. Meanwhile, Brake Specific Oxygen Consumption (BSOC) increases 677.9 g/kWh and 363.9 g/kWh, leading to a considerable cost that should be weighed under OFC mode of practical applications.