Infrared/Visible Optical Diagnostics of RCCI Combustion with Dieseline in a Compression Ignition Engine

Compression ignition engines are widely used for transport and energy generation due to their high efficiency and low fuel consumption. To minimize the environmental impact of this technology, the pollutant emissions levels at the exhaust are strictly regulated. To reduce the after-treatment needs, alternative strategies as the low temperature combustion (LTC) concepts are being investigated recently. The reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI) uses two fuels (direct- A nd port-injected) with different reactivity to control the in-cylinder mixture reactivity by adjusting the proportion of both fuels. In spite of the proportion of the port-injected fuel is typically higher than the direct-injected one, the characteristics of the latter play a main role on the combustion process. Use of gasoline for direct injection is attractive to retard the start of combustion and to improve the air-fuel mixing process. In this work, the influence of the direct-injected fuel properties on RCCI combustion mode is studied in an optical compression ignition engine. Gasoline fuel is injected in the intake manifold while a blend of gasoline and diesel (a.k.a. dieseline) is directly injected into the cylinder. Non-conventional optical diagnostics in the visible and infrared spectra are applied for the direct investigation of the in-cylinder phenomena during the injection and the combustion processes. A low-luminosity, mainly kinetically controlled combustion mode has been observed.