preheating of fuel
Pre-heating Fuel for Charge Homogeneity to Improve Combustion
Abstract – The idea of the automobile engine that people have is of one that is bygone. The automobile engine today is the pinnacle of engineering expertise, implementing the best of technologies and undergoing the best of manufacturing processes to make the closest possible achievement to perfection, from design to combustion. The art of perfection though starts much before the process itself. In case of the automobile engine, the process is the 4-Stroke cycle that most engines go through and the art we are referring to is attaining homogeneity in charge. Homogeneous charge in an Internal Combustion Engine refers to the complete mixture of fuel (Petrol) and air, entering the cylinder. Ideally this would mean the complete dispersion of the atomised fuel in air. This as a result reduces the overall efficiency of the engine. To help achieve the required atomisation, reducing the Surface Tension of the fuel is a potential solution. On reduction of Surface Tension the atomisation is enhanced, possibly reaching the ideal value. This can be achieved by heating the fuel to an operating temperature for which heat can be extracted from a potential source, namely the Exhaust
Manifold.
A. By-products are formed in the form of smog as a result of supplementary reactions such as NOx or the various oxides of nitrogen, the nature of these reactions is endothermic, higher the temperature, greater the emissions of NOx
N2 + O2 --> 2 NO (Δh = 175.728kJ)
½N2 + O2 --‐--‐> NO2 (Δh = 33.9kJ)
B. Incomplete combustion resulting in the formation of
CO or carbon monoxide a highly poisonous and good oxidizing agent. The formation of CO is favoured at lower temperatures contrary to NOx
H-C + ½O2 --> CO + ½H2O (Δh = -110.527kJ*)
C. Some hydrocarbons are not burnt due to lack of successive collisions between oxygen and fuel.
D. Based on our reading, observation and calculation, we have the
Abstract – The idea of the automobile engine that people have is of one that is bygone. The automobile engine today is the pinnacle of engineering expertise, implementing the best of technologies and undergoing the best of manufacturing processes to make the closest possible achievement to perfection, from design to combustion. The art of perfection though starts much before the process itself. In case of the automobile engine, the process is the 4-Stroke cycle that most engines go through and the art we are referring to is attaining homogeneity in charge. Homogeneous charge in an Internal Combustion Engine refers to the complete mixture of fuel (Petrol) and air, entering the cylinder. Ideally this would mean the complete dispersion of the atomised fuel in air. This as a result reduces the overall efficiency of the engine. To help achieve the required atomisation, reducing the Surface Tension of the fuel is a potential solution. On reduction of Surface Tension the atomisation is enhanced, possibly reaching the ideal value. This can be achieved by heating the fuel to an operating temperature for which heat can be extracted from a potential source, namely the Exhaust
Manifold.
A. By-products are formed in the form of smog as a result of supplementary reactions such as NOx or the various oxides of nitrogen, the nature of these reactions is endothermic, higher the temperature, greater the emissions of NOx
N2 + O2 --> 2 NO (Δh = 175.728kJ)
½N2 + O2 --‐--‐> NO2 (Δh = 33.9kJ)
B. Incomplete combustion resulting in the formation of
CO or carbon monoxide a highly poisonous and good oxidizing agent. The formation of CO is favoured at lower temperatures contrary to NOx
H-C + ½O2 --> CO + ½H2O (Δh = -110.527kJ*)
C. Some hydrocarbons are not burnt due to lack of successive collisions between oxygen and fuel.
D. Based on our reading, observation and calculation, we have the