Numerical and experimental analysis on the effects of turbocharged compressed bio-methane-fueled automotive spark-ignition engine

This work focuses on the numerical and experimental analysis of turbocharger selection and boost pressure effects on a CNG-fueled spark-ignition engine. Because of this, investigations are carried out on the influence of downsized compression ratio of 10.5:1 at different boost pressures and compared with a naturally aspirated compression ratio of 12.5:1. In order to perform the experimentation, a twin-cylinder, port fuel-injected, CNG engine with 15.5 kW at 3400 rpm is modified to utilize compressed bio-methane as fuel under 100% throttle condition. A simulation is performed to study the compressor impeller for T1 and T2 turbochargers using the ANSYS turbomachinery tool. Results indicate that the circumferential velocity of T1 is higher than of T2 at all boost pressures. Subsequently, experimentation is performed using T1 and T2 at three different boost pressure levels in a compression ratio of 10.5:1 at 1.1, 1.3, and 1.5 bar. T2 developed a maximum boost pressure of 1.1 bar compared to T1. T1 is chosen for further experimentations. At 1.3 bar of boost pressure, a rise in brake power was recorded by 19.3% compared to 12.5:1 under the naturally aspirated mode. Consequently, there is a reduction in fuel consumption by 10.1%, and hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide emission levels reduce by 25%, 8.2%, and 4.9%, respectively. Therefore, turbocharging at a lower compression ratio exhibits better performance and reduces emissions compared to a higher compression ratio under naturally aspirated mode. Graphic abstract