Performance of a Port Fuel Injected, Spark Ignition Engine Optimised for Hydrogen Fuel

This paper presents a study of the performance of a 6 cylinder, spark ignited, port fuel injected, production engine modified for hydrogen fueling. The engine modifications include turbo-charging, multiple fuel injectors per port and charge-dilution control techniques. Pumping losses are reduced through ultra-lean burn and throttle-less operation alongside high charge dilution ratio control achieved by twin independent variable cam timing without external EGR. Lean-burn combustion, engine out emissions and brake thermal efficiency results are examined in detail. In particular, low NO emissions and brake thermal efficiencies near 38% are observed experimentally at the same operating conditions. The former is explained in terms of the usual thermal NOx pathway. Usage of throttle position, injection timings and cam timings for avoiding preignition and knock over the entire engine map are also discussed. Finally, first law analyses of energy losses for varying cam timings, varying manifold pressure and varying torque are presented and used to suggest reasons for values of λ for optimal BTE in each case. Copyright © 2012 SAE International.