Laboratory of Combustion, Propulsion and Energy – ITA
Principal Researcher: Prof. Dr. Pedro Teixeira Lacava
Objective
The objective of this sub-theme is an experimental investigation of hydrated ethanol spray combustion in spark ignition engines. This investigation is related to the development of higher performance engines with multi-point fuel injection in the admission duct, and the focus is the atomization process and the spray combustion dynamics into the combustion chamber of a mono-cylinder engine with optical assess.
The study is integrated with the fundamental experiments and simulations about atomization and spray combustion that will be done in LETE/USP; in fact, it is the natural sequence of combustion studies in spark ignition engine. In addition, this sub-theme is also integrated with the test that will be performed by IMT in dynamometric test-bed, because the spray combustion for hydrated ethanol in the mono-cylinder engine can help to better understand the results.
In general, the burning of liquid fuels takes place in the following successive stages:
1) atomization, where fuel is disaggregated by mechanical means into small
droplets;
2) vaporization, where the atomized fuel passes into the gas phase, due to the effect of heat transfer from flame or from the hot gases to the droplets;
3) mixture, where the fuel in the gaseous phase is mixed with the oxidant, forming the ignitable mixture;
4) combustion, in which the combustible mixture burns to produce exothermic reactions. In these stages, the most critical and important is the atomization, which aims to increase the specific surface facilitating vaporization of fuel, a prerequisite for its intimate mixture with the air;
Expected Results
a) Results for: atomization, mixture formation and combustion for hydrated ethanol in different conditions of atomization (injector with different geometries and operation condition and water present in the fuel) in mono-cylinder engine;
b) Results that can be used to validated the computational model (integration with LETE/USP);
c) Results that can be used to help to better understand the studies performed in dynamometric test bed related to engine performance and emissions using hydrated ethanol as fuel (integration with IMT);
d) The involvement of graduate students for the development of master dissertation and doctorate thesis related to the sub-theme;
e) Generation of appropriated methodologies for a combustion investigation in mono-cylinder engines with optical assessment;
f) Make suggestions for modifications in commercial engines based on combustion results;