Week 10: Project 1 - FULL HYDRO case set up (PFI)
Aim :
To set up a combustion simulation with the details given in the challenge and to study different properties of combustion by post processing the results obtained by the calculation of the full hydrodynamic set up of the given geometry.
Objective :
1. What is the compression ratio of this engine?
2. Why do we need a wall heat transfer model? Why can't we predict the wall temperature from the CFD simulation?
3. Calculate the combustion efficiency of this engine
4. use the engine performance calculator, to determine the power and torque for this engine.
Theory :
Internal combustion engine (ICE) burn a mixture of fuel and air (oxygen), in an appropriate ratio, in order to produce mechanical power. In a four-stroke internal combustion engine the combustion process occurs after the mixture of fuel-air has been induced into the cylinder, properly compressed and a spark generated (in case of a gasoline/petrol fuel).
The start of combustion process is linked to the position of the piston in the cylinder and usually happens before the piston hits the Top Dead Centre (TDC). As a result of the combustion process, the pressure generated in the cylinder rises and its transmitted as a torque to the crankshaft through the piston and connecting rod.
Combustion can be defined as a rapid oxidation process of a fuel, which generates heat and light. With other words, combustion converts the energy stored in the chemical bonds of the fuel into heat. In an engine, combustion occurs as a flame that propagates in the cylinder. A flame (fire) occurs if three components are present: fuel, oxidizing agent (oxigen) and heat. Depending on the type of the fuel, the heat for the occurrence of the flame comes from: a spark (gasoline/petrol engines) or heated
(compressed) air (diesel engine).
The main product of an internal combustion engine is mechanical power, this is why we use them as propulsion systems. Together with mechanical power, as a by-product, we also get exhaust gases. Ideally, if the combustion process is complete, the exhaust gases should only be carbon dioxide and water vapour. In reality, mainly due to incomplete combustion, the exhaust gases also contain pollutant emissions: oxides of nitrogen, unburnt hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, soots/particles, polyaromatics, aldehydes ketones and nitro-olefins.
Description :
The geometry looks as below:
The next step involves in running diagnosis for the imported geometry. This procedure is followed to make sure that there is no error in the fluid domain (i.e., with a closed fluid geometry). The the diagnostic tools is runned, the following errors are observed:
From the above figure we can observe the list of error that are found in geometry:
- Intersections : 1574
- Nonmanifold Problems : 5
- Open Edges : 32
- Normal Orientation : 214
Intersections: CONVERGE cannot use a surface containing triangles that intersect because an intersection would violate the concept of a consistent inside/outside orientation of the surface. This type of problem can be difficult to detect in a surface.CONVERGE Studio graphically represents parallel triangles that have been moved too close together and thus are considered intersecting.
Nonmanifold Problems: With the exception of special conjugate heat transfer cases, every edge in the geometry needs to be shared by exactly two triangles. If more than two triangles share a common
edge, thus forming a T-junction, this edge is a nonmanifold edge. It is impossible to have distinct inside and outside directions when a surface contains nonmanifold edges.
Open Edges: In a closed triangulated surface, each triangle shares each of its three edges with exactly one other triangle (except in special Conjugate Heat Transfer simulations). If an edge is part of only one triangle, this creates what is called a open edge.
Normal Orientation: CONVERGE requires the surface to have a properly defined inside (solved fluid side) and outside (non-fluid side). The normal vectors of all triangles (as defined by the right-hand rule) must point toward the fluid. One extra normal orientation step is required when a surface consists of multiple independent surfaces, as in the case of an object completely immersed within a fluid domain, such as a sphere immersed in (but not connected to) a box. For the immersed sphere, the normal vectors of the triangles must point away from the center of the sphere, since the solved fluid portion of the domain is outside of the sphere. The normal vectors of the box triangles must point inward, toward the sphere.
These errors are cleared using basic geometric clean up tools. Once all these errors are cleared, we should get dialog box as shown below to make sure that the simulation run:
Once these errors are clarified the next step involved is to split the boundaries and grouped using different boundaries:
Once these steps are completed as per the above methods, we are at stage where the geometry preparation is completed and the next procedure is to setup the case for sunning the simulation.
The following are the input parameter for the IC Engine Simulation:
i. Engine Geometric Parameters
- Bore =0.086 m
- Stroke = 0.09 m
- Connecting rod length = 0.18 m
- RPM = 3000
ii. Run parameters
- Simulation mode: No Hydro
iii. Simulation time parameters
- Start time : -520 deg
- end time : 120 deg
iv. Boundary conditions
- Piston temperature - 450K
- Liner temperature - 450K
- Head temperature - 450K
- Spark Plug temperature - 550K
- Spark Plug electrode temperature - 600K
- Exhaust ports temperature - 500K
- Exhaust outflow - 1 bar
- Exhaust outflow temperature - 800k
- Exhaust species concentration - Calculate the stoichiometric condition
- Exhaust valve top temperature - 525K
- Exhaust valve angle temperature - 525K
- Exhaust valve bottom temperature - 525K
- Intake port - 1 temperature 425K
- Intake port - 2 temperature 425K
- Inflow pressure - 1 bar total pressure
- Inflow temperature - 363K
- Inflow species - Air
- Intake valve top temperature - 480K
- Intake valve angle temperature - 480K
- Intake valve bottom temperature - 480K
v. Initial conditions
- Intake port - 1 (closer to combustion chamber)
- ic8h18 - 0.025508
- o2 - 0.20157
- n2 - 0.77292
- Temperature - 390k
- pressure - 1 bar
- Intake port - 2 (away from combustion chamber)
- Air
- Temperature - 370K
- Pressure - 1 bar
- Cylinder
- Pressure - 1.85731 bar
- Temperature - 1360K
- Stoichiometric composition
vi. Injection Parameters
- Fuel flow rate = 7.5e-4 Kg/second
- Injection start time = -480.0
- Injection duration = 191.2
- Fuel temperature = 330K
vii. Nozzle positions
Nozzle diameter = 250 micro-meter
Circular injection radius = Nozzle radius
Spray cone angle = 10
- Nozzle 0
- center 0.0823357 0.00100001 0.07019
- Align Vector -0.732501 0.210489 -0.647408
- Nozzle 1
- center 0.0823357 -0.00099999 0.07019
- Align Vector -0.732501 -0.210489 -0.647408
- Nozzle 2
- center 0.0823357 -0.0004 0.07019
- Align Vector -0.5 -0.2 -0.647408
- Nozzle 3
- center 0.0823357 0.0003 0.07019
- Align Vector -0.5 0.2 -0.647408
viii. Spark Ignition Parameters
- Start of spark = -15 deg
- Spark duration = 10 deg
- Spark location = -0.003 0 0.0091
- Spark radius = 0.0005m
The case setup is setup using the above parameters as follows:
i. IC Engine (crank angle-based)
ii. Gas simulation
iii. Reaction Mechanism
iv. Run parameters
v. Simulation time parameters
vi. Boundary
vii. Regions and Initialization
Base grid
Adaptive mesh refinement
Fixed embedding
With the above parameters the case setup for IC engine is complete and is ready to be exported and run No-Hydro Simulation (i.e., simulation where the transport equations are not solved but only the mesh is generated).
Once all the Input files are exported, it is ready for running the simulation using cigwin.The simulation summary is as follows once completed:
After completing No-Hydro simulation, the setup is the altered to run for full hydro simulation.
Converge software is used to simulate PFI engine various parameters and efficiency of the engine. To simulate the engine properly various models have been introduced in the simulation so as to replicate the actual combustion cycle computationally.
Following Models were used during the simulation:
1.Spray Model:
For Liquid Spray Converge uses LaGrange solver to model discrete parcels and the Eulerian solver to model continuous fluid domain. Heat, momentum and mass transfer occur between the discrete and the continuous phases with the help of source term in the transport equation.
Converge introduces parcels into the domain at the injector. Each parcel represents identical drops (radius, velocity, temperature) and as a result converge solves for parcel basis rather than per-drop basis. These parcels statically represent entire spray field.
Also, spray modelling uses sub grid models to model various physics of fuel spray after it interacts with the air in the chamber. The interaction of fuel parcels with the air results in breakup of the parcels and leads to various physical interaction provided in the above diagram. Sub grid model takes care of these interactions so as to provide accurate results closely matching the experimental
2.Combustion Modelling:
Converge contains detailed chemistry solver and simplified combustion model to provide the result for combustion. The detailed chemistry solver provides accurate way to compute combustion which can be easily compared with experimental data. Due to this the computational time taken by detailed chemistry is more as compared to simplified combustion model.
Sage Solver:
It uses the local condition to calculate reaction rates based on principles of chemical kinetics. Each mesh cell present inside the engine has a unique value for various thermo-physical properties, which the SAGE solver uses to calculate the reaction rates. The solver uses Arrhenius rate law equation to solve the rate of change of species concentration. data.
RESULTS:
1. Time Mapping:
Fig 27. Time Mapping
The figure indicates the time period in which different process takes place during the simulation process in a graphical representation.
2. Mass Flow Rate
Fig 28. Mass Flow rate into the engine(region 0)
The graph indiates the flow of mass into the cylinder takes place during the intake stroke of the engine.
3. Pressure
From the graph it is clear that there is a lot of pressure building up in the cylinder during compression stroke helping in increasing temperature of the fuel for proper combustion of fuel and later which drops back.
4. Density
Since Pressure and density are inter-related (i.e., directly proportional) with the increase in the pressure, density also increases.
5. Temperature
From the graph it is evident that the temperature inside the piston increases significantly during the compression stoke of the engine cycle.
6. Engine Performance Calculator:
CONVERGE provides a useful tool which calculates the performance of the engine using library commands.
1. Compression Ratio
Compression ratio is defined as the ratio of maximum volume to the minimum volume in the cylinder of an IC engine. Mathematically it can be written as:
Compression Ratio = Maximum Volume / Minimum Volume = vmax / vmin

![]() | = | static compression ratio |
![]() | = | displacement volume |
![]() | = | clearance volume |
Compression Ratio = 9.99
2. Efficiency of Engine:
Efficiency = Output Energy / Input Energy
where Input Energy = mass of fuel * Calorific value of the fuel = 3*10e-5 * 45 MJ
Output Energy = Heat Released = 1240 J
Hence, Efficiency = 91.8518%
3. Power and Torque Calculation:
From Energy Performance Calculator we get,
Work = 468.646 Nm
Duration = 240.199 deg
Crank angle speed = 3000 rpm
Time for every 240.199 deg = 0.01334 s
Power = 468.646/0.01334 = 35.130 KW
Torque [P =`(2piNT)/60] = 111.8 Nm
4. Significance of Ca10, Ca50 and Ca90.
Ca10 - crank angle degree for 10% of cumulative combustion heat release = 6.83717 deg
Ca50 - crank angle degree for 50% of cumulative combustion heat release = 18.4623 deg
Ca90 - crank angle degree for 90% of cumulative combustion heat release = 31.701 deg


