Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Light Duty Natural Gas Engine Characterization

Hillstrom, David Roger
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9106-6130
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408967285

Abstract Details

2014, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Mechanical Engineering.
The purpose of this project was to characterize the baseline performance of a 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas vehicle including: designing experiments to generate complete performance maps, executing the experiments, and analyzing the experimental data. In the end, the results yielded a deep understanding of the 1.8 L four cylinder CNG engine’s combustion and air flow performance, as well as a good understanding of steady state engine out emissions. This information is used to isolate inefficiencies in design and propose possible avenues for improvement. The data that was acquired was then used to inform an existing 1-D computational model of the same engine in order to determine if, and where, the model was inaccurate, and determine what steps were necessary to improve it. The resulting test data provides a data based background to the well-understood issues regarding a CNG port-fuel injected vehicle. The volumetric efficiency at low engine speeds was typically around 70%, resulting in an IMEP loss of about 15% compared to the engines peak possible performance. A CNG direct injection system is one possible solution to this problem. Additionally, the engine efficiency and spark timing map demonstrate that, even with the high compression ratio, the vehicle is not currently limited by engine knock. This available pressure headroom could be used with boosting to improve the overall performance of the vehicle to bring it more in line with consumer expectations. The development of this natural gas vehicle technologies research platform will allow the Center for Automotive Research at The Ohio State University to more easily pursue CNG related research topics. Some particular thrust areas of interest regarding this platform are the reduction of hydrocarbons while operating with lean burn, CNG direct injection, turbocharging optimization, and possibly even CNG / gasoline concomitant operation. The benefits to be had from these technology improvements can be gleaned by examining the baseline performance covered herein.
Giorgio Rizzoni (Advisor)
Shawn Midlam-Mohler (Advisor)
Fabio Chiara (Committee Member)
89 p.
Alternative Energy; Automotive Engineering; Mechanical Engineering
CNG; Engine Characterization; Engine Performance; Natural Gas Engine; In-cylinder Pressure; Alternative Fuel

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hillstrom, D. R. (2014). Light Duty Natural Gas Engine Characterization [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408967285

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hillstrom, David. Light Duty Natural Gas Engine Characterization. 2014. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408967285.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hillstrom, David. "Light Duty Natural Gas Engine Characterization." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408967285

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1408967285
1,698
© 2014, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Light Duty Natural Gas Engine Characterization by David Roger Hillstrom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.