A CASE STUDY IN HOMOGENEOUS CHARGE COMPRESSION

IGNITION ENGINES
V Sathrudhan Choudhary1, Jayaram MP 2,Mohamed Akbar H3, Rajasaminathan M 4
1
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dhaanish Ahmed Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India
2
UG Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dhaanish Ahmed Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India
3
UG Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dhaanish Ahmed Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India
4
UG Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dhaanish Ahmed Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India
*
E-mail: sathru07@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
This paper reports an investigation that was carried out in a HCCI has characteristics of the two most popular forms
of combustion used in SI (spark ignition) engines- homogeneous charge spark ignition (gasoline engines) and CI
engines: stratified charge compression ignition (diesel engines). As in homogeneous charge spark ignition, the fuel and
oxidizer are mixed together. However, rather than using an electric discharge to ignite a portion of the mixture, the
density and temperature of the mixture are raised by compression until the entire mixture reacts spontaneously. Stratified
charge compression ignition also relies on temperature and density increase resulting from compression, but combustion
occurs at the boundary of fuel-air mixing, caused by an injection event, to initiate combustion. The defining
characteristic of HCCI is that the ignition occurs at several places at a time which makes the fuel/air mixture burn nearly
simultaneously. There is no direct initiator of combustion. This makes the process inherently challenging to control.
However, with advances in microprocessors and a physical understanding of the ignition process, HCCI can be
controlled to achieve gasoline engine-like emissions along with diesel engine-like efficiency. In fact, HCCI engines have
been shown to achieve extremely low levels of Nitrogen oxide emissions (NO x) without an after treatment catalytic
converter. The unburned hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions are still high (due to lower peak temperatures), as
in gasoline engines, and must still be treated to meet automotive emission regulations. Recent research has shown that
the use of two fuels with different reactivities (such as gasoline and diesel) can help solve some of the difficulties of
controlling HCCI ignition and burn rates. RCCI or Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition has been demonstrated to
provide highly efficient, low emissions operation over wide load and speed ranges.

Keywords: Homogeneous charge compression Ignition, Gasoline Engines, Diesel Engines, Variable Compression ratio.

1. INTRODUCTION and must still be treated to meet automotive emission

HCCI has characteristics of the two most popular
forms of combustion used in IC engines: homogeneous
charge spark ignition (gasoline engines) and stratified
charge compression ignition (diesel engines). As in
homogeneous charge spark ignition, the fuel and oxidizer
are mixed together. However, rather than using an electric
discharge to ignite a portion of the mixture, the
concentration and temperature of the mixture are raised by
compression until the entire mixture reacts simultaneously.
Stratified charge compression ignition also relies on
temperature increase and concentration resulting from
compression, but combustion occurs at the boundary of
fuel-air mixing, caused by an injection event, to initiate
combustion.
In SI engines, large cycle-to-cycle variations occur since
the early flame development varies considerably due to
mixture in homogeneity in the vicinity of the spark plug.
With HCCI, cycle-to-cycle variations of combustion are
very small, since combustion initiation takes place at
many points at the same time. This defining characteristic
of HCCI makes the fuel/air mixture burn nearly
simultaneously. There is no direct initiator of combustion.
This makes the process inherently challenging to control.
However, with advances in microprocessors and a
physical understanding of the ignition process, HCCI can
be controlled to achieve gasoline engine-like emissions
along with diesel engine-like efficiency.
In fact, HCCI engines have been shown to achieve
extremely low levels of Nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx)
without after treatment catalytic converter. The unburned
hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions are still high
(due to lower peak temperatures), as in gasoline engines,
regulations. The homogeneous charge compression
ignition (HCCI) engine has caught the attention of
automotive and diesel engine manufacturers worldwide
because of its potential to rival the high efficiency of
diesel engines while keeping NOx and particulate
emissions extremely low. However, researchers must
overcome several technical barriers, such as controlling
ignition timing, reducing unburned hydrocarbon and
carbon monoxide emissions, extending operation to higher
loads, and maintaining combustion stability through rapid
transients. HCCI engines can operate using a variety of
fuels. In the near term, the application of HCCI to
automotive engines will likely involve mixed-mode
combustion in which HCCI is used at low-to-moderate
loads and standard spark-ignition (SI) combustion is used
at higher loads.
2 MAIN CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS
Major Challenges in automobile sector are
• Emission (NOx & Soot) and
• Fuel Economy
2.1 Emission
NOx is a generic term for oxides of nitrogen, a
mixture of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2),
which are by-products of combustion at high
temperatures, such as those which occur in an engine
cylinder. NOx is a leading cause of, or contributing factor
to, a range of respiratory diseases such as asthma,
emphysema and bronchitis, conditions which can lead to
premature death. The formation of ozone, which can result
in lung damage, is another major adverse effect of NOx
emissions.
2.2 Fuel Economy
Fuel economy is the energy efficiency of a particular generated pmax exceeded 200 bars what is considered to be
vehicle, is given as a ratio of distance travelled per unit of the critical limit for engine mechanisms. To avoid so fast
fuel consumed. Fuel economy is a major problem due to combustion highly diluted mixture must be used.
increase in population and scarcity of oil.
Some of the solutions to these challenges are:
• Hybrid Vehicles
• Fuel Cells
• HCCI Engines
• GDI Engine
3. PRINCIPLE OF WORKING
The HCCI concept, which is proposed as an
ultimate method of lean burn, is completely different from
other conventional combustion concepts like spark or
compression ignition. In the HCCI engine homogeneous
mixture is created and it depends on solution in the intake
system or inside the cylinder. Homogeneous charge or air
is drawn into the cylinder during suction stroke and
compressed to high enough temperature and pressure. To
achieve homogeneous spontaneous ignition of the charge
preferable near TDC, high intake temperature and the high
compression ratio are required. In contrast to SI and CI
engines HCCI combustion lacks from the flame
propagation. Combustion initiation occurs simultaneously Fig.2.SI, CI and HCCI Engine Comparison
at whole volume of combustion chamber and burns at the
same time. 3.1 Method of Operation
The mixture will spontaneously ignite when it reaches its
auto-ignition temperature as a result of the temperature
increase in the compression stroke. A mixture of fuel and
air will ignite when the concentration and temperature of
reactants is sufficiently high. The concentration and/or
temperature can be increased by several different ways:
 High compression ratio
 Pre-heating of induction gases
 Forced induction
 Retained or re-inducted exhaust gases

Fig.1. Photo sequence of HCCI combustion, based on 20

images per degree CA
In the fig.1 it can be seen that the combustion
starts in almost whole volume of combustion chamber two
Crank Angle Degrees before TDC (CAD-02). After
combustion initiation the temperature and pressure rapidly
increase and whole bulk of fuel burns simultaneously
within a few crank angles (CAD-00 to CAD+03).
Because the whole mixture burns almost homogeneously Fig.3. HCCI Concept
unstable flame propagation is avoided. The HCCI non
flame combustion process can be described as a “premixed 4. MODES OF OPERATION
distributed reaction zone”. On the contrary to the SI 4.1 Different Modes of Operation
engines where large cycle to cycle variation occur, since Combustion start is controlled externally in both
the early flame development varies considerably due to SI and CI engine, while in HCCI; combustion start is
mixture inhomogeneity in the vicinity of the spark plug, dependent only on the thermo-chemical conditions inside
HCCI cycle to cycle variations of combustion are very the cylinder. As the driver steps further on the accelerator,
small. Also in contrast to contemporary engines HCCI fast more fuel is introduced into the engine and hence higher
combustion causes very high and fast heat and pressure temperature and pressure build up inside the cylinder,
release. Under some conditions where enough power was which causes the combustion to start earlier.
Unfortunately, in the lower load area, combustion starts
too late to have a sustainable combustion. This is called
misfire. In contrast, at higher loads, the combustion starts
too early causing a large heat release rate which causes a
phenomenon called combustion knock. This limits the
operating range into a narrow window. So HCCI engines
will need to switch to a conventional SI or diesel mode at
very low and high load conditions due to dilution limits.
4.2 HCCI-DI DUAL MODE
A dual combustion system could potentially overcome the
limits of low-load operations and allow for a gradual
transition between the conventional DI mode at high load
and the HCCI external mixture formation at idle and low
load. Using an automotive common rail Diesel engine, a
rapid prototyping ECU is used to control the direct
injection system, varying the number of injections, rail
pressure, timings and fuel quantities. The ECU also
controls the quantity of fuel atomized in the intake
manifold, as well as the EGR dilution and charge
temperature.
Long ignition delay and rapid mixing are required to
achieve diluted homogeneous mixture. Combustion noise
and NOx emissions were reduced substantially without an
increase in Pm. Combustion phasing is controlled by
injection timing. Thus DI-HCCI proves to be promising
alternative for conventional HCCI with good range of
operation.
4.3 HCCI-SI DUAL MODE
Another concept to overcome the disadvantages of HCCI
is to use HCCI / SI dual mode combustion. Equipped with
the VVA and spark ignition system, the HCCI/SI dual
mode engine is able to operate in HCCI mode at low to
medium loads and it can switch into SI mode to meet the
large power output requirements. However the mode
transition, especially from HCCI to SI, is not very stable
and smooth so that more improvements would be needed
on the control strategies to diminish the cycle-to-cycle
variation. Generally, this dual mode engine combines the
HCCI and SI together to achieve the best performance.
5. RESULTS USING DIFFERENT FUELS
5.1 Gasoline
Gasoline has multiple advantages as an HCCI
fuel. Gasoline also has a high octane number, which
allows the use of reasonably high compression ratios in
HCCI engines. Actual compression ratios for gasoline-
fueled HCC engine data vary from 12:1 to 21:1 depending
on the fuel octane number, intake air temperature, and the
specific engine used (which may affect the amount of hot
residual naturally retained). This compression-ratio range
allows gasoline-fuelled HCCI engines to achieve relatively
high thermal efficiencies (in the range of diesel-fueled
CIDI engine efficiencies). A potential drawback to higher
compression ratios is that the engine design must
accommodate the relatively high cylinder pressures that
can result, particularly at high engine loads. Additional
advantages of gasoline include easy evaporation, simple
mixture preparation, and a ubiquitous refuelling
infrastructure
5.2 Diesel Fuel
Diesel fuel auto ignites rapidly at relatively low
temperatures but is difficult to evaporate. To obtain diesel-
fuel HCCI combustion, the air-fuel mixture must be
heated considerably to evaporate the fuel. The
compression ratio of the engine must be very low (8:1 or
lower) to obtain satisfactory combustion, which results in
a low engine efficiency. Alternatively, the fuel can be
injected in-cylinder, but without air preheating,
temperatures are not sufficiently high for diesel-fuel
vaporization until well up the compression stroke. This
strategy often results in incomplete fuel vaporization and
poor mixture preparation, which can lead to particulate
matter and NOx emissions. However, one concept for
direct injection of diesel fuel, involving late injection
(after TDC) with high swirl, has been successful at
thoroughly vaporizing and mixing the fuel before ignition
at light loads. This mode of operation is used in the Nissan
MK engine, to be discussed in the next sub-section. In
addition, diesel fuel has an extensive refueling
infrastructure.
5.3 Propane
Propane is an excellent fuel for HCCI. High efficiencies
can be achieved with propane-fueled HCCI engines
because propane has a high octane number (105). Because
propane is a gaseous fuel, it can be easily mixed with air.
Some infrastructure also exists for propane. Because it can
be maintained as a liquid at moderate pressures, the
amount of fuel that can be stored onboard a vehicle is
comparable to what can be stored for typical liquid fuels.
5.4 Natural Gas
Because natural gas has an extremely high octane rating
(about 110), natural gas HCCI engines can be operated at
very high compression ratios (15:1 to 21:1), resulting in
high efficiency. However, similar to gasoline or propane,
the engine design must accommodate the relatively high
cylinder pressures that can result. Natural gas is widely
available throughout the U.S.
6. CONTROLLING COMBUSTION IN HCCI
6.1 Difficulty
Controlling HCCI is a major hurdle to more
widespread commercialization. HCCI is more difficult to
control than other popular modern combustion engines,
such as Spark Ignition (SI) and Diesel. In a typical
gasoline engine, a spark is used to ignite the pre-mixed
fuel and air. In Diesel engine, combustion begins when the
fuel is injected into compressed air. In both cases, the
timing of combustion is explicitly controlled. In an HCCI
engine, however, the homogeneous mixture of fuel and air
is compressed and combustion begins whenever the
appropriate conditions are reached. This means that there
is no well-defined combustion initiator that can be directly
controlled. An engine can be designed so that the ignition
conditions occur at a desirable timing. However, this
would only happen at one operating point. The engine
could not change the amount of work it produces. This
could work in a hybrid vehicle, but most engines must
modulate their output to meet user demands dynamically.
To achieve dynamic operation in an HCCI engine, the
control system must change the conditions that induce
combustion. Thus, the engine must control either the
compression ratio, inducted gas temperature, inducted gas
pressure, fuel-air ratio, or quantity of retained or re
inducted exhaust.
The approaches suggested for control are
 Variable compression ratio
 Variable induction temperature
  Variable valve actuation
 Variable exhaust gas percentage
 Variable fuel ignition quality
6.2 Variable Compression ratio
There are several methods for modulating both
the geometric and effective compression ratio. The
geometric compression ratio can be changed with a
movable plunger at the top of the cylinder head. The
effective compression ratio can be reduced from the
geometric ratio by closing the intake valve either very late
or very early with some form of variable valve actuation.
Both of the approaches mentioned above require some
amounts of energy to achieve fast responses. Additionally,
implementation is expensive. Control of an HCCI engine
using variable compression ratio strategies has been
shown effective.
6.3 Variable Induction Temperature
In HCCI engines, the auto ignition event is highly
sensitive to temperature. Various methods have been
developed which use temperature to control combustion
timing. The simplest method uses resistance heaters to
vary the inlet temperature, but this approach is slow
(cannot change on a cycle-to-cycle basis). Another
technique is known as fast thermal management (FTM). It
is accomplished by rapidly varying the cycle to cycle
intake charge temperature by rapidly mixing hot and cold
air streams. It is also expensive to implement and has
limited bandwidth associated with actuator energy.
Fig.4.FTM System
6.4 Variable Valve Actuation
Variable valve actuation (VVA) has been proven
to extend the HCCI operating region by giving finer
control over the temperature-pressure-time history within
the combustion chamber. VVA can achieve this via two
distinct methods.
Controlling the effective compression ratio: A variable
duration VVA system on intake can control the point at
which the intake valve closes. If this is retarded past
bottom dead center (BDC), then the compression ratio will
change, altering the in-cylinder pressure-time history prior
to combustion.
Controlling the amount of hot exhaust gas retained in the
combustion chamber: A VVA system can be used to
control the amount of hot internal exhaust gas
recirculation (EGR) within the combustion chamber. This
can be achieved with several methods, including valve re-
opening and changes in valve overlap. By balancing the
percentage of cooled external EGR with the hot internal
EGR generated by a VVA system, it may be possible to
control the in-cylinder temperature.
While electro-hydraulic and cam less VVA systems can be
used to give a great deal of control over the valve event,
the component for such systems is currently complicated
and expensive. Mechanical variable lift and duration
systems, however, although still being more complex than
a standard valve train, are far cheaper and less
complicated. If the desired VVA characteristic is known,
then it is relatively simple to configure such systems to
achieve the necessary control over the valve lift curve.
6.5 Variable Exhaust Gas Percentage
Exhaust gas can be very hot if retained or re-inducted
from the previous combustion cycle or cool if recirculate
through the intake as in conventional EGR systems. The
exhaust has dual effects on HCCI combustion. It dilutes
the fresh charge, delaying ignition and reducing the
chemical energy and engine work. Hot combustion
products conversely will increase the temperature of the
gases in the cylinder and advance ignition.
6.6 Variable Fuel Ignition Quality
Another means to extend the operating range is to
control the onset of ignition and the heat release rate by
manipulating the fuel itself. This is usually carried out by
adopting multiple fuels and blending them "on the fly" for
the same engine. Examples could be blending of
commercial gasoline and diesel fuels, adopting natural gas
or ethanol. This can be achieved in a number of ways:
 Blending fuels upstream of the engine: Two fuels
are mixed in the liquid phase, one with low
resistance to ignition (such as diesel fuel) and a
second with a greater resistance (gasoline), the
timing of ignition is controlled by varying the
compositional ratio of these fuels. Fuel is then
delivered using either a port or direct injection
event.
 Having two fuel circuits: Fuel A can be injected
in the intake duct (port injection) and Fuel B
using a direct injection (in-cylinder) event, the
proportion of these fuels can be used to control
ignition, heat release rate as well as exhaust gas
emissions.
A. Power Output
In both a spark ignition engine and diesel engine, power
can be increased by introducing more fuel into the
combustion chamber. These engines can withstand a boost
in power because the heat release rate in these engines is
slow. However, in HCCI engines the entire mixture burns
nearly simultaneously. Increasing the fuel/air ratio will
result in even higher peak pressures and heat release rates.
In addition, many of the viable control strategies for HCCI
require thermal preheating of the charge which reduces the
density and hence the mass of the air/fuel charge in the
combustion chamber, reducing power. These factors make
increasing the power in HCCI engines challenging.
One way to increase power is to use fuels with different
autoignition properties. This will lower the heat release
rate and peak pressures and will make it possible to
increase the equivalence ratio. Another way is to thermally
stratify the charge so that different points in the
compressed charge will have different temperatures and
will burn at different times lowering the heat release rate
making it possible to increase power. A third way is to run
the engine in HCCI mode only at part load conditions and
run it as a diesel or spark ignition engine at full or near full
load conditions. Since much more research is required to
successfully implement thermal stratification in the
compressed charge, the last approach is being studied
more intensively.
B. Emissions from HCCI Engine
Because HCCI operates on lean mixtures, the peak
temperatures are lower in comparison to spark ignition
(SI) and Diesel engines. The low peak temperatures
prevent the formation of NOx. This leads to NOx
emissions at levels far less than those found in traditional
engines. However, the low peak temperatures also lead to
incomplete burning of fuel, especially near the walls of the
combustion chamber. This leads to high carbon monoxide
and hydrocarbon emissions. An oxidizing catalyst would
be effective at removing the regulated species because the
exhaust is still oxygen rich.
7. ADVANTAGES
 HCCI provides up to a 15-30% fuel savings,
while meeting current emissions standards.
 Since HCCI engines are fuel-lean, they can
operate at a Diesel-like compression ratios (>15),
thus achieving higher efficiencies than
conventional spark-ignited gasoline engines.
 Homogeneous mixing of fuel and air leads to
cleaner combustion and lower emissions.
Actually, because peak temperatures are
significantly lower than in typical spark ignited
engines, NOx levels are almost negligible.
Additionally, the premixed lean mixture does not
produce soot
 HCCI engines can operate on gasoline, diesel
fuel, and most alternative fuels.
 In regards to gasoline engines, the omission of
throttle losses improves HCCI efficiency.
 HCCI engines may be lower cost due to lack of
injection system etc.
8. DISADVANTAGES
 High in-cylinder peak pressures may cause
damage to the engine.
 High heat release and pressure rise rates
contribute to engine wear.
 The auto ignition event is difficult to control,
unlike the ignition event in spark ignition (SI)
and diesel engines which are controlled by spark
plugs and in-cylinder fuel injectors, respectively.
 HCCI engines have a small power range,
constrained at low loads by lean flammability
limits and high loads by in-cylinder pressure
restrictions.
 Carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC)
pre-catalyst emissions are higher than a typical
spark ignition engine, caused by incomplete
oxidation (due to the rapid combustion event and
low in-cylinder temperatures) and trapped crevice
gases, respectively.
 Extending the Operating Range to High Load
 Cold-Start Capability
9. RESEARCH
9.1 Introduction
Ford, General Motors (GM), and Cummins
Engine Company have been performing research on HCCI
combustion. Ford motor company has an active research
program in HCCI combustion. Researchers are using
optical diagnostics in single-cylinder engines to explore
viable HCCI operating regimes and to investigate methods
of combustion control. In addition, chemical kinetic and
cycle simulation models are being applied to better
understand the fundamentals of the HCCI process and to
explore methods of implementing HCCI technology.GM,
at a research level, is evaluating the potential for
incorporating HCCI combustion into engine systems. This
work includes assessing the strengths and weaknesses of
HCCI operation relative to other advanced concepts,
assessing how best to integrate HCCI combustion into a
viable power train, and the development of appropriate
modeling tools. Work is focused on fuels, combustion
control, combustion modeling, and mode transitioning
between HCCI and traditional SI or CI combustion. GM is
also supporting HCCI work at the university level.
Cummins has been researching HCCI for almost 15 years.
Industrial engines run in-house using HCCI combustion of
natural gas has achieved remarkable emission and
efficiency results
The main areas requiring R&D are outlined below
 Ignition Timing Control
 Heat release rate
 Engine Cold-Start
 Multi-Cylinder Engine Effects
 Fuel System
 Engine Control Strategies and Systems
9.2 Ignition Timing Control
R&D is needed to develop control methods for
HCCI engines in order to overcome the challenge of
maintaining ignition timing as load and speed are varied.
Maintaining optimal ignition timing is more challenging
for HCCI engines than for conventional engines because
no positive mechanism, such as spark or fuel-injection,
determines ignition timing.
In HCCI engines, ignition timing is determined by the
chemical kinetic reaction rates of the mixture, which are
controlled by time, temperature, and mixture composition.
Of these parameters, ignition timing is most sensitive to
temperature. As engine speed and load (time and mixture)
are varied, the ignition timing will also vary, unless the
charge temperature is adjusted to compensate. The amount
of compensation required is a strong function of fuel type,
with one-stage-ignition fuels (e.g. gasoline) requiring
much less compensation for changes in speed and load
than two-stage-ignition fuels (e.g. diesel).
Perhaps the most straightforward way to control charge
temperature in an HCCI engine is to add a variable amount
of hot EGR to the intake; however, the response is slow,
and transients are not handled well. Alternatively, varying
the temperature by mechanical variation of the
compression ratio (VCR) has recently been demonstrated
as an excellent way of controlling HCCI ignition timing.
9.3 Heat Release Rate
R&D is needed to develop methods to slow the rate of
combustion in HCCI engines at high engine loads to
prevent excessive noise and engine damage. Two solutions
are as follows:
First, on a shorter time horizon, at high loads the engine
could switch over and run as a conventional SI or CIDI
engine. SI operation has advantages for control of NOx
emissions, and gasoline-like fuels offer additional
advantages. On the other hand, CIDI operation has the
advantage of high efficiency. Conversion to SI operation
may require reducing the compression ratio, which would
be straightforward for an engine equipped with a VVT or
VCR system.
Second, the charge temperature and/or mixture could be
partially stratified to smooth out the heat release rate.
Because even small variations in intake temperature (~10°
C) can significantly alter HCCI ignition timing, thermal
stratification is a feasible means of spreading out the heat
release.
9.4 Engine Cold Start
R&D is needed to develop concepts to overcome the
challenge of ignition in cold HCCI engines without
compromising the warm engine performance. Past
research has focused on warm-engine HCCI operation,
and little, if any, research has been conducted to address
the issue of cold start. HCCI combustion is strongly
dependent on the charge temperature. During cold-start,
the fuel/air charge receives no preheating from the intake
manifolds and ports, and heat transfer from the
compressed charge to the cold combustion chamber walls
is high. The combination of these effects can significantly
reduce the compressed-gas temperature and prevent an
HCCI engine from firing.
Three solutions appear possible.
First, the engine could be started as a conventional spark-
ignition (SI) engine, and then switched to HCCI mode
after a short warm-up. This scheme would likely require
the compression ratio to be reduced during the SI, warm-
up operation, which could be readily accomplished on an
engine equipped with a VVT or VCR system to handle
transients. VVT has the added benefit of allowing the hot
residual to be retained from the previous cycle; thereby
allowing a more rapid transition to HCCI. (The engine
could also be started as a CIDI engine without any
compression-ratio adjustment, but gasoline-like fuels offer
more advantages).
Second, the engine could be started in HCCI mode by
increasing the compression ratio during cold start, with a
VVT or VCR system.
Third, a glow plug could be used to assist HCCI ignition
until the engine warms up. Combinations of these systems
might also be used.
9.5 Multi Cylinder Engine Effects
R&D is needed to develop intake and exhaust manifold
designs for multi-cylinder engines to overcome the
challenge of maintaining strict uniformity of the inlet and
exhaust flows of each cylinder to assure smooth engine
operation. In multi-cylinder engines, manifold wave
dynamics can cause small differences in the amount of hot
residual combustion products remaining and the amount of
fresh charge delivered to the various cylinders.
9.6 Fuel System
R&D is necessary to develop a fuel delivery system
because it is a key enabling technology to overcome the
challenge of maintaining proper ignition timing, smooth
combustion rates, and low emissions over the operating
range of the engine. Various types of fuel systems have
been proposed including port fuel injectors, DI fuel
injectors similar to those designed for SI engines, DI
diesel engine injectors, and combinations of these
injectors. Each type has advantages for different operating
regimes and fuel types.
9.7 Engine Control Strategies
R&D is necessary to develop a methodology for feedback
and closed-loop control of the fuel and air systems to keep
the combustion optimized over the speed and load range
of the engine in a production vehicle. Control
mechanisms, sensors, and appropriate control algorithms
are key enabling technologies for practical HCCI engines.
VVT and/or VCR systems have a strong potential for
controlling HCCI engines and addressing many of the
important issues such as ignition timing, cold-start,
transients, fuel type, and switching into or out of SI mode
10. FUTURE OF HCCI ENGINE
The future of HCCI looks promising especially
with partial HCCI mode. Major companies such as GM,
Mercedes-Benz, Honda, and Volkswagen have invested in
HCCI research.
Table.1.Investment Details
Estimated Year of
Company Technology
Commercialization
Saturn- Test Vehicle is on
pHCCI
Aura road
General
Motors
Opel-
pHCCI 2015
Vectra
Dies- Test Vehicle is on
Mercedes pHCCI
otto road
Volkswage
Touran CCS 2015
n
Ford pHCCI 2015
Because HCCI works best at relatively constant,
partial-load conditions, the HCCI engines being developed
right now are actually combination engines that can run as
either spark ignition or HCCI. At higher speeds or loads,
the engine runs as a normal SI type and then transitions to
HCCI when the conditions warrant. The control software
required to reliably detect when to operate in either mode
as well as transitioning between modes is extremely
complex and requires a lot of development. Most of the
hardware necessary required to produce HCCI/SI engines
exists now and the main stumbling block is getting
reliable, cost effective cylinder pressure sensors. All of
this technology results in an engine that approaches the
efficiency of diesel engines at a significantly lower cost.
An HCCI engine provides a fifteen percent boost in fuel
economy and reduced emissions compared to a
conventional SI engine using pretty much the same [2] Chia-jui Chiang and Anna G.Stefanopoulou,
exhaust after-treatment systems. “Stability analysis in homogeneous charge
For the first media sampling of HCCI, GM provided an compression ignition (HCCI) engines with high
automatic transmission-equipped Saturn Aura and five dilution” IEEE Transactions on control systems
speed manual Opel Vectra. Both cars had the same 2.2L Technology”,Vol 12, Issue.2.2007.
Ecotec four cylinders modified to operate in HCCI mode
at speeds up to 55 mph and partial loads. A display
mounted on top of the dashboard shows a map of engine [3] Anders widd, Kent Ekholm, per Tunestal, Rolf
speed and fuel mass and indicates when the engine is in SI Johansson, “ Physics – Based model predictive
or HCCI mode. On the test loop that we were able to Control of HCCI Combustion phasing using Fast
drive, the transitions between SI and HCCI were largely Thermal Management and VVA”, IEEE
transparent and far smoother than any of the current Transactions on control systems
production hybrids when starting and stopping the engine. Technology,2012, Vol.20, Issue.3.
Performance felt pretty much the same as a regular Vectra
or Aura. The only detectable difference was a slight
audible ticking when the engine was in HCCI. The [4] Nikhil Ravi, Mathew J. Rolle, Hsien-Hsin Liao,
technology definitely works; the main problem now will Adams F. Jungkunz, Chen-Fang, “model-Based
be making the control software robust enough to deal with Control on HCCI Engines using Exhaust
all real world weather, road and driver conditions. recompression”, IEEE Transactions on Control
11. CONCLUSION Systems Technology, Vol.18, issue.6,2010.
HCCI has been identified as a long-term alternative
technology deserving of increased R&D support. A high-
efficiency, gasoline-fueled HCCI engine represents a
major step beyond SIDI engines for light-duty vehicles.
HCCI engines have the potential to match or exceed the
efficiency of diesel-fueled CIDI engines without the major
challenge of NOx and PM emission control or a major
impact on fuel-refining capability. Also, HCCI engines
would probably cost less than CIDI engines because HCCI
engines would likely use lower-pressure fuel-injection
equipment and the combustion characteristics of HCCI
would potentially enable the use of emission control
devices that depend less on scarce and expensive precious
metals. In addition, for heavy-duty vehicles, successful
development of the diesel-fueled HCCI engine is an
important alternative strategy in the event that CIDI
engines cannot achieve future NOx and PM emissions
standards.
HCCI engines will be cheaper than presently used engines
because of their simplified construction. Currently, the
only problem to be solved in future work is the balance
improvement between load control strategies and HCCI
engine exhaust gas emissions.

FUNDING
This research received no specific grant from any funding
agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are grateful to the NGI Centre for Research in
Engineering Design, Green Manufacturing and Computing
(CRDGC) of the Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Nehru College of Engineering & Research Centre for
facilitating this research work.

REFERENCES

[1] J.Hiltner, R. Agama, F. Mauss, B. Johansson, M.

Christensen, “Homogeneous charge combustion
ignition operation with natural gas”, ASME,
Journal of engineering for gas turbine and power,
2003, Vol 125.