energies-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Alternative Engines and Alternative Fuels

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A5: Hydrogen Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 May 2021) | Viewed by 20725

Special Issue Editors

Clean Combustion Research Center (CCRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Interests: spark-ignition combustion engines; alternative fuels; hybridization of engines and vehicles; alternative and novel engine concepts; synthetic carbon-neutral fuels; renewable energy into the transportation sector; alcohols
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Global Fuels and Lubricants Research and Innovation Group, BP Oil International Limited, London, UK
Interests: technology fore-sighting; techno-economic analysis of transport energy systems, technology and legislation; advanced powertrain technology development, engine and vehicle engineering for alternative fuels, engine/fuel/lubricant interaction; engine/vehicle performance simulation and analysis; engineering software development; electrified vehicle powertrain/battery and charging system technology; research strategy planning, management and relationship building; capability development

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

As the world moves towards net zero fossil carbon emissions, combustion engines will continue to play a key role in transport due to their affordability and adaptability and the fact that the fuels they operate on are capable of full decarbonisation, providing a mechanism for evolution towards this goal that is affordable for society. In order to achieve this goal, the study of new engine types will be important, especially those that support and complement hybridization, and similarly new fuels with reduced fossil carbon footprint will be crucial. The two will be linked even more if the characteristics of fuel and energy conversion devices mean that the overall well-to-wheels efficiency of the energy chain improves, provided that a life cycle assessment of the resulting solutions indicates that there is indeed a net improvement moving towards zero environmental impact.

This Special Issue therefore seeks to contribute to the renewable transport debate by inviting papers on advanced propulsion systems that offer improved vehicle-level energetic efficiency, and papers on fuels that can be decarbonized while still offering economic advantages in important transport modes and power generation. Papers on broader energy systems concepts advancing the mass use of renewable energy are also welcome.

Prof. Jamie W.G. Turner
Dr. Richard Pearson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • high-efficiency engines
  • hybridized powertrains
  • hybrid engine-fuel cell cycles
  • thermochemical recuperation
  • octane on demand
  • water injection
  • synthetic fuels
  • alcohol fuels
  • low-carbon fuel blending strategies

Published Papers (7 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review, Other

24 pages, 4087 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Pure Oxygenated Biofuels on Efficiency and Emissions in a Gasoline Optimised DISI Engine
by Tara Larsson, Senthil Krishnan Mahendar, Anders Christiansen-Erlandsson and Ulf Olofsson
Energies 2021, 14(13), 3908; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14133908 - 29 Jun 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 1801
Abstract
The negative impact of transport on climate has led to incentives to increase the amount of renewable fuels used in internal combustion engines (ICEs). Oxygenated, liquid biofuels are promising alternatives, as they exhibit similar combustion behaviour to gasoline. In this article, the effect [...] Read more.
The negative impact of transport on climate has led to incentives to increase the amount of renewable fuels used in internal combustion engines (ICEs). Oxygenated, liquid biofuels are promising alternatives, as they exhibit similar combustion behaviour to gasoline. In this article, the effect of the different biofuels on engine efficiency, combustion propagation and emissions of a gasoline-optimised direct injected spark ignited (DISI) engine were evaluated through engine experiments. The experiments were performed without any engine hardware modifications. The investigated fuels are gasoline, four alcohols (methanol, ethanol, n-butanol and iso-butanol) and one ether (MTBE). All fuels were tested at two speed sweeps at low and mid load conditions, and a spark timing sweep at low load conditions. The oxygenated biofuels exhibit increased efficiencies, even at non-knock-limited conditions. At lower loads, the oxygenated fuels decrease CO, HC and NOx emissions. However, at mid load conditions, decreased volatility of the alcohols leads to increased emissions due to fuel impingement effects. Methanol exhibited the highest efficiencies and significantly increased burn rates compared to the other fuels. Gasoline exhibited the lowest level of PN and PM emissions. N-butanol and iso-butanol show significantly increased levels of particle emissions compared to the other fuels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Engines and Alternative Fuels)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

19 pages, 7711 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Heat Exchange Fluid Composition on the Performance of a Liquid Nitrogen Engine System
by Vitaliy Sechenyh, Fanos Christodoulou, Huayong Zhao, Colin Garner and Daniel Fennell
Energies 2021, 14(5), 1474; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14051474 - 08 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1809
Abstract
It has been proven that performance gains in liquid nitrogen (LN2) engine systems, generating simultaneous cooling and auxiliary power, can be achieved through integration of a dedicated heat exchange fluid (HEF) circuit. The novel, HEF enhanced LN2 engine system can [...] Read more.
It has been proven that performance gains in liquid nitrogen (LN2) engine systems, generating simultaneous cooling and auxiliary power, can be achieved through integration of a dedicated heat exchange fluid (HEF) circuit. The novel, HEF enhanced LN2 engine system can be utilised as an optimised hybrid solution for commercial refrigeration trucks. Although the benefits arising from HEF addition have been researched, there are no articles investigating the effect of changing the HEF composition on engine performance. This article reports a detailed experimental investigation on the performance of a novel, HEF enhanced LN2 engine system. The key contribution of the current study is the knowledge generated from investigating the impact of different HEF compositions on the engine performance under different HEF temperatures, N2 inlet conditions and engine speeds. The HEF composition was varied through changing the water content in the mixture. A thermodynamic model based on an idealised cycle was used to assist interpretation of the experimental results and assess the potential of the proposed engine architecture. The experimental study demonstrated up to 42.5% brake thermal efficiency, up to 2.67 kW of brake power and up to 174 kJ/kg specific energy, which were higher than previously published figures for LN2 engine systems. A reduction in the HEF water content was found to generally increase the engine power output at a HEF temperature of 30 °C. However, at a HEF temperature of 60 °C, the impact of HEF composition was found to be minor and nonmonotonic. The thermodynamic model predicted the upper and lower limits of the measured indicated power and indicated thermal efficiency with acceptable accuracy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Engines and Alternative Fuels)
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 7532 KiB  
Article
Numerical Investigation of the Combined Influence of Three-Plug Arrangement and Slot Positioning on Wankel Engine Performance
by Shimon Pisnoy and Leonid Tartakovsky
Energies 2021, 14(4), 1130; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14041130 - 20 Feb 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2316
Abstract
A numerical methodology for three-dimensional fluid dynamics and chemical kinetics simulation of the combustion and gas-exchange processes in the Wankel engine was developed and validated. Two approaches of performance enhancement were studied—the addition of a slot in the rear side of the rotor [...] Read more.
A numerical methodology for three-dimensional fluid dynamics and chemical kinetics simulation of the combustion and gas-exchange processes in the Wankel engine was developed and validated. Two approaches of performance enhancement were studied—the addition of a slot in the rear side of the rotor recess, and installation of a third plug in the trailing side of the working chamber, in addition to the two available plugs mounted in the leading side of the baseline engine. The obtained results showed that the suggested three-plug arrangement significantly improves the engine performance. Furthermore, positioning the trailing plug further from the passage between the trailing and leading sides is of preference for higher mean in-chamber pressures. Nevertheless, for maximum performance, the distance should be brought to an optimum as during the intake stroke there is a loss of inducted charge due to backflow from the trailing plug hole. For the three-plug arrangement the presence of a slot is necessary for the prevention of early flame quenching in the trailing side, while keeping the added volume to a minimum. Moreover, positioning the slot and the trailing plug off-center, results in higher flow intensity towards the leading plugs, and accordingly, to a higher combustion efficiency. For dual-plug ignition system (two plugs in the leading side) it is preferable to maintain minimum clearance in the trailing side. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Engines and Alternative Fuels)
Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 30230 KiB  
Article
Octane Index Applicability over the Pressure-Temperature Domain
by Tommy R. Powell, James P. Szybist, Flavio Dal Forno Chuahy, Scott J. Curran, John Mengwasser, Allen Aradi and Roger Cracknell
Energies 2021, 14(3), 607; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14030607 - 25 Jan 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1839
Abstract
Modern boosted spark-ignition (SI) engines and emerging advanced compression ignition (ACI) engines operate under conditions that deviate substantially from the conditions of conventional autoignition metrics, namely the research and motor octane numbers (RON and MON). The octane index (OI) is an emerging autoignition [...] Read more.
Modern boosted spark-ignition (SI) engines and emerging advanced compression ignition (ACI) engines operate under conditions that deviate substantially from the conditions of conventional autoignition metrics, namely the research and motor octane numbers (RON and MON). The octane index (OI) is an emerging autoignition metric based on RON and MON which was developed to better describe fuel knock resistance over a broader range of engine conditions. Prior research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) identified that OI performs reasonably well under stoichiometric boosted conditions, but inconsistencies exist in the ability of OI to predict autoignition behavior under ACI strategies. Instead, the autoignition behavior under ACI operation was found to correlate more closely to fuel composition, suggesting fuel chemistry differences that are insensitive to the conditions of the RON and MON tests may become the dominant factor under these high efficiency operating conditions. This investigation builds on earlier work to study autoignition behavior over six pressure-temperature (PT) trajectories that correspond to a wide range of operating conditions, including boosted SI operation, partial fuel stratification (PFS), and spark-assisted compression ignition (SACI). A total of 12 different fuels were investigated, including the Co-Optima core fuels and five fuels that represent refinery-relevant blending streams. It was found that, for the ACI operating modes investigated here, the low temperature reactions dominate reactivity, similar to boosted SI operating conditions because their PT trajectories lay close to the RON trajectory. Additionally, the OI metric was found to adequately predict autoignition resistance over the PT domain, for the ACI conditions investigated here, and for fuels from different chemical families. This finding is in contrast with the prior study using a different type of ACI operation with different thermodynamic conditions, specifically a significantly higher temperature at the start of compression, illustrating that fuel response depends highly on the ACI strategy being used. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Engines and Alternative Fuels)
Show Figures

Figure 1

31 pages, 6105 KiB  
Article
Alcohol Fuels for Spark-Ignition Engines: Performance, Efficiency, and Emission Effects at Mid to High Blend Rates for Ternary Mixtures
by James W. G. Turner, Andrew G. J. Lewis, Sam Akehurst, Chris J. Brace, Sebastian Verhelst, Jeroen Vancoillie, Louis Sileghem, Felix C. P. Leach and Peter P. Edwards
Energies 2020, 13(23), 6390; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en13236390 - 03 Dec 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2897
Abstract
This paper follows on from an earlier publication on high-blend-rate binary gasoline-alcohol mixtures and reports results for some equivalent ternary fuels from several investigation streams. In the present work, new findings are presented for high-load operation in a dedicated boosted multi-cylinder engine test [...] Read more.
This paper follows on from an earlier publication on high-blend-rate binary gasoline-alcohol mixtures and reports results for some equivalent ternary fuels from several investigation streams. In the present work, new findings are presented for high-load operation in a dedicated boosted multi-cylinder engine test facility, for operation in modified production engines, for knock performance in a single-cylinder test engine, and for exhaust particulate emissions at part load using both the prototype multi-cylinder engine and a separate single-cylinder engine. The wide variety of test engines employed have several differences, including their fuel delivery strategies. This range of engine specifications is considered beneficial with regard to the “drop-in fuel” conjecture, since the results presented here bear out the contention, already established in the literature, that when specified according to the known ternary blending rules, such fuels fundamentally perform identically to their binary equivalents in terms of engine performance, and outperform standard gasolines in terms of efficiency. However, in the present work, some differences in particulate emissions performance in direct-injection engines have been found at light load for the tested fuels, with a slight increase in particulate number observed with higher methanol contents than lower. A hypothesis is developed to explain this result but in general it was found that these fuels do not significantly affect PN emissions from such engines. As a result, this investigation supplies further evidence that renewable fuels can be introduced simply into the existing vehicle fleet, with the inherent backwards compatibility that this brings too. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Engines and Alternative Fuels)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research, Other

21 pages, 10024 KiB  
Review
The Silent Path: The Development of the Single Sleeve Valve Two-Stroke Engine over the Last 110 Years
by Robert Head and James Turner
Energies 2021, 14(3), 616; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14030616 - 26 Jan 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5679
Abstract
At the beginning of the 20th century the operational issues of the Otto engine had not been fully resolved. The work presented here seeks to chronicle the development of one of the alternative design pathways, namely the replacement for the gas exchange mechanism [...] Read more.
At the beginning of the 20th century the operational issues of the Otto engine had not been fully resolved. The work presented here seeks to chronicle the development of one of the alternative design pathways, namely the replacement for the gas exchange mechanism of the more conventional poppet valve arrangement with that of a sleeve valve. There have been several successful engines built with these devices, which have a number of attractive features superior to poppet valves. This review moves from the initial work of Charles Knight, Peter Burt, and James McCollum, in the first decade of the 20th century, through the work of others to develop a two-stroke version of the sleeve-valve engine, which climaxed in the construction of one of the most powerful piston aeroengines ever built, the Rolls-Royce Crecy. After that period of high activity in the 1940s, there have been limited further developments. The patent efforts changed over time from design of two-stroke sleeve-drive mechanisms through to cylinder head cooling and improvements in the control of the thermal expansion of the relative components to improve durability. These documents provide a foundation for a design of an internal combustion engine with potentially high thermal efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Engines and Alternative Fuels)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research, Review

19 pages, 496 KiB  
Perspective
Rational Design and Testing of Anti-Knock Additives
by Andrew D. Ure, Manik K. Ghosh, Maria Rappo, Roland Dauphin and Stephen Dooley
Energies 2020, 13(18), 4923; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en13184923 - 19 Sep 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3452
Abstract
An innovative and informed methodology for the rational design and testing of anti-knock additives is reported. Interaction of the additives with OH and HO2 is identified as the key reaction pathway by which non-metallic anti-knock additives are proposed to operate. [...] Read more.
An innovative and informed methodology for the rational design and testing of anti-knock additives is reported. Interaction of the additives with OH and HO2 is identified as the key reaction pathway by which non-metallic anti-knock additives are proposed to operate. Based on this mechanism, a set of generic design criteria for anti-knock additives is outlined. It is suggested that these additives should contain a weak X-H bond and form stable radical species after hydrogen atom abstraction. A set of molecular structural, thermodynamic, and kinetic quantities that pertain to the propensity of the additive to inhibit knock by this mechanism are identified and determined for a set of 12 phenolic model compounds. The series of structural analogues was carefully selected such that the physical thermodynamic and kinetic quantities could be systematically varied. The efficacy of these molecules as anti-knock additives was demonstrated through the determination of the research octane number (RON) and the derived cetane number(DCN), measured using an ignition quality tester (IQT), of a RON 95 gasoline treated with 1 mole % of the additive. The use of the IQT allows the anti-knock properties of potential additives to be studied on one tenth of the scale, compared to the analogous RON measurement. Using multiple linear regression, the relationship between DCN/RON and the theoretically determined quantities is studied. The overall methodology reported is proposed as an informed alternative to the non-directed experimental screening approach typically adopted in the development of fuel additives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Engines and Alternative Fuels)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop