PERFORMANCE OF THE SUPERCHARGED SPARK IGNITION HYDROGEN ENGINE

A combustion engine of a given displacement will develop less power when running on hydrogen compared to gasoline or natural gas operation due to less heating value of the fuel air mixture in the combustion chamber. This drop in output exists for external mixing of hydrogen and air prior to intake valve closure. However, external mixing does not require intricate engine modification. Without substantial investment, supercharging is an effective method to increase the output of a hydrogen engine which uses the simple technique of external mixing of hydrogen and air. AVL stationary type research engine was used to investigate the percentage gain in output and thermal efficiency, knock limited combustion air ratios, NO emission and combustion characteristics at different supercharging pressures. The performance of the supercharged hydrogen engine is also compared with that of naturally aspirated hydrogen engine. Results indicate that compared to naturally aspirated hydrogen engine the output increases as much as 233% and the percentage increase in indicated thermal efficiency is 29% at a combustion air ratio of 2.0 and speed of 1200 rpm. By supercharging the hydrogen engine, NO emission increases and knock limit sets in at combustion air ratio leaner than that of naturally aspirated engine. Reduced spark plug gap and better insulation of ignition system are necessary to avoid the ignition failure at supercharged condition of hydrogen engine.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/01487191
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Reprinted from SP-559 Alternate Fuels for Spark Ignition Engines. Fuels and Lubricants Meeting San Francisco, California, October 31-November 3, 1983.
• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

  400 Commonwealth Drive
  Warrendale, PA  United States  15096
• Authors:
  • Nagalingam, B
  • Duebel, M
  • Schmillen, K
• Publication Date: 1983

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References;
• Pagination: 12 p.
• Serial:
  • SAE Technical Paper
  • Publisher: Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
  • ISSN: 0148-7191
  • EISSN: 2688-3627
  • Serial URL: http://papers.sae.org/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Combustion; Engine knock; Engine performance; Exhaust gases; Hydrogen; Nitric oxide; Nitrogen oxides; Spark ignition engines; Superchargers; Thermal efficiency
• Old TRIS Terms: Supercharging
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00387439
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: SAE 831688 Reprint, HS-036 796
• Files: HSL, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 30 1984 12:00AM