Assessment of the Operation of an SI Engine Fueled with Ammonia

Davide Lanni (), Enzo Galloni (), Gustavo Fontana and Gabriele D’Antuono
Additional contact information
Davide Lanni: Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Latium, 03043 Cassino, Italy
Enzo Galloni: Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Latium, 03043 Cassino, Italy
Gustavo Fontana: Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Latium, 03043 Cassino, Italy
Gabriele D’Antuono: Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Latium, 03043 Cassino, Italy

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 22, 1-17

Abstract: Recently, the research interest regarding ammonia applications in energy systems has been increasing. Ammonia is an important hydrogen carrier that can also be obtained starting from renewable energy sources. Furthermore, ammonia can be used as a carbon-free fuel in combustion systems. In particular, the behavior of internal combustion engines (ICEs), fueled by ammonia, needs to be further investigated. The main disadvantage of this kind of fuel is its low laminar flame speed when it is oxidized with air. On the other hand, considering a spark-ignition (SI) engine, the absence of knock phenomena could allow a performance improvement. In this work, a 1D numerical approach was used in order to assess the performance and the operating limits of a downsized PFI SI engine fueled with pure ammonia. Furthermore, the reliability of the 1D model was verified by means of a 3D approach. Both throttled and unthrottled engine operation was investigated. In particular, different boost levels were analyzed under WOT (wide-open throttle) conditions. The potential of the 1D approach was also exploited to evaluate the effect of different geometrical compression ratio on the ammonia engine behavior. The results show that the low laminar flame speed of ammonia–air mixtures leads to increased combustion durations and optimal spark timings more advanced than the typical ones of SI engines. On the other hand, knock phenomena are always avoided. Due to the engine operating limits, the maximum rotational speed guaranteeing proper engine operation is 3000 rpm, except for at the highest boost level. At this regime, the load regulation can be critical in terms of unburned fuel emissions. Considering increased compression ratios and no boost conditions, even the 4000 rpm operating point guarantees proper engine operation.

Keywords: ammonia; carbon-free fuels; e-fuels; spark-ignition engines; downsizing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/22/8583/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/22/8583/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:22:p:8583-:d:974655

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().