ANALYSIS OF COMBUSTION PROCESS OF A CHARGE OF NATURAL GAS IN LABORATORY COMBUSTION CHAMBER
The article contains an analysis of investigation results of the combustion process of a charge of natural gas mixture with air. Investigations were carried for charges of stoichiometric composition and lean ones for various initial pressures in the combustion chamber. Ignition of the mixture was indicated by an ignition plug supplied from a direct ignition device. Measurements comprise a digital record of the pressure course in the chamber. Values of pressure increment in the chamber during the combustion process were analyzed. A diagram of pressure increment values dependent on charge composition and initial pressure in the combustion chamber was elaborated. Evaluation of particular results permits to determine potential possibilities of gas - air charge combustion.
A Refined Two-Zone Heat Release Model for Combustion Analysis in SI Engines
A refined two-zone heat release model for combustion diagnostics in spark-ignition (SI) engines was developed and assessed. The novelty of the model includes the following improvements. A more general complex-variable formulation of Newton's convection law was applied for modeling the instantaneous surface-averaged heat flux so as to take the unsteadiness of gas-wall temperature difference into account. A CAD procedure was introduced to estimate the heat-transfer wall areas of the burned- and unburned-zone for assigned geometric features of the flame front. The energy conservation law was applied to the unburned-gas zone instead of the isentropic law that is commonly used to evaluate the temperature of the unburned gas. The calibration of the cumulative mass-fraction burned at the end of the flame propagation process was carried out through an overall energy balance of the whole cylinder charge during combustion. The unreleased energy predicted at the end of the flame propagation was related to the combustion efficiency stemming from the exhaust-gas composition. The new heat release model was shown to be an accurate means of combustion diagnostics for SI engines through its application to the analysis of combustion in a multivalve engine fueled by either natural gas or gasoline under a significant sample of operating conditions.
Effects of reservoir volume on performance of pulse tube cooler.
A pulse tube cooler has the advantages of long-life and low-vibration over conventional cryocoolers such as G-M and Stirling coolers because of the absence of moving parts at low temperature. On the other hand, the combination of a reservoir and orifice is indispensable to optimize the performance of pulse tube coolers. In order to make the pulse tube cooler compact for practical applications, the volume of reservoir should be minimized. This paper analyzes the effects of the reservoir volume on the thermodynamic performance of various components in a simple orifice and a double-inlet pulse tube cooler by combining a linearized model with a thermodynamic analysis. Expressions of entropy production for those components are presented. The results show that the reservoir volume has a significant influence on the entropy production in the various components when the reservoir to pulse tube volume ratio is smaller than about 5. The ratio is important to determine the minimum reservoir volume for a pulse tube cooler. Optimum settings for a double-inlet pulse tube cooler are also discussed.