Numerical Study of a Turbo-charged Common-rail Diesel Engine Fueled with Various Biodiesel Blends

Abstract The combustion processes of various biodiesel blends in a turbo-charged common-rail diesel engine with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is studied numerically. This computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model enables comprehensive investigation of the physical phenomena such as the effect of tumbling motions on the mixing and combustion, the spatial distributions of various species, temperature, pressure, and pollutant formation of NOx inside the combustion chamber. The mean cylinder pressures predicted by the CFD model at various injection timings and EGR rates are validated against the experimental data of cylinder pressure with pure diesel. Finally, numerical study of engine combusting various blends of biodiesel fuel is conducted. The effects of blend ratio on combustion process and NOx emission are discussed.