Isolating the effects of reactivity stratification in reactivity-controlled compression ignition with iso-octane and n-heptane on a light-duty multi-cylinder engine

Reactivity-controlled compression ignition (RCCI) is a dual-fuel variant of low-temperature combustion that uses in-cylinder fuel stratification to control the rate of reactions occurring during combustion. Using fuels of varying reactivity (autoignition propensity), gradients of reactivity can be established within the charge, allowing for control over combustion phasing and duration for high efficiency while achieving low NOx and soot emissions. In practice, this is typically accomplished by premixing a low-reactivity fuel, such as gasoline, with early port or direct injection, and by direct injecting a high-reactivity fuel, such as diesel, at an intermediate timing before top dead center. Both the relative quantity and the timing of the injection(s) of high-reactivity fuel can be used to tailor the combustion process and thereby the efficiency and emissions under RCCI. While many combinations of high- and low-reactivity fuels have been successfully demonstrated to enable RCCI, there is a lack of fundamental understanding of what properties, chemical or physical, are most important or desirable for extending operation to both lower and higher loads and reducing emissions of unreacted fuel and CO. This is partly due to the fact that important variables such as temperature, equivalence ratio, and reactivity change simultaneously in both a local and a global sense with changes in the injection of the high-reactivity fuel. This study uses primary reference fuels iso-octane and n-heptane, which have similar physical properties but much different autoignition properties, to create both external and in-cylinder fuel blends that allow for the effects of reactivity stratification to be isolated and quantified. This study is part of a collaborative effort with researchers at Sandia National Laboratories who are investigating the same fuels and conditions of interest in an optical engine. This collaboration aims to improve our fundamental understanding of what fuel properties are required to further develop advanced combustion modes.