Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition Chapter 1.

INTRODUCTION
In the quest for ever improving fuel efficiency and emissions reduction, an old and very promising idea has found new life. HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition) technology has been around for a long time, but has recently received renewed attention and enthusiasm. While the early years saw many insurmountable (at the time) obstacles whose answers would only come as sophisticated computer controlled electronics were developed and matured into reliable technologies, progress stalled. Time has, as it always does, worked its magic and nearly every problem has been solved. HCCI is an idea whose time has come with nearly all of the parts and pieces of technology and know-how in place to make a real go of it. [2] 1.1 HOMOGENEOUS CHARGE Definition: Homogeneous charge, as it relates to internal combustion engines, is a thoroughly and completely mixed (so that every molecule is evenly distributed) charge of air and fuel across the combustion chamber. This absolute mixing occurs well before the start of ignition. The idea behind homogeneous charge is to create an easily ignitable fuel mixture that is easy to manage and burns smoothly and evenly across the entire combustion chamber. It does this well, but at the expense of excessive NOx build-up that must then be captured and processed by the vehicle's catalytic converter. [3] 1.2 WHAT IS HCCIENGINE? An HCCI engine is a mix of both conventional spark-ignition and compression ignition technology. diesel The

blending of these two designs offers high efficiency like diesel engine and very low NOx and particulate matter emissions as that of spark ignition engine. In its most basic form, it simply means that fuel (gasoline or Fig. 1.1 SI,CI and HCCI Engine

Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition

E85) is homogeneously (thoroughly and completely) mixed with air in the combustion chamber (very similar to a regular spark ignited gasoline engine), but with a very high proportion of air to fuel (lean mixture). As the engine's piston reaches its highest point (top dead center) on the compression stroke, the air/fuel mixture auto-ignites (spontaneously and completely combusts with no spark plug assist) from compression heat, much like a diesel engine. The result is the best of both worlds: low fuel usage and low emissions. [2]

Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition Chapter 2.

HISTORY AND LITERATURE SURVEY

HCCI engines have a long history, even though HCCI has not been as widely implemented as spark ignition or diesel injection. It is essentially an Otto combustion cycle. In fact, HCCI was popular before electronic spark ignition was used. One example is the hot-bulb engine, which used a hot vaporization chamber to help mix fuel with air. The extra heat combined with compression induced the conditions for combustion to occur. [1]

Fig. 2.1Some early results gave piston damage Onishi et al initially investigated the concept of HCCI for gasoline applications, in order to increase combustion stability of two-stroke engines. They found that significant reductions in emissions and an improvement in fuel economy could be obtained by creating conditions that led to spontaneous ignition ofthe in-cylinder charge. Stable HCCI combustion could be achieved between low and high load limits with gasoline at a compression ratio of 7.5:1 over the engine speed range from 1000 to 4000 rpm. Noguchi et al. performed a spectroscopic analysis on HCCI combustion by experimental work on an opposed piston two- stroke engine. Building on previous work on two-stroke engines, Najt and Foster extended the work to four-stroke engines and attempted to gain additional under- standing of the underlying physics of HCCI combustion. They concluded that HCCI auto-ignition is controlled by low temperature (below 1000 K) chemistry and the 3

Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition

bulk energy release is controlled by the high temperature (above 1000 K) chemistry dominated by CO oxidation. [8] As discussed above, initial efforts with HCCI involved gasoline- fuelled engines, and this technology continues to be strongly pursued today. 2.1 FOLLOWING ARE SOME SUMMERY POINTS COLLECTED ON HCCI FROM DIFFERENT JOURNALS Progress and recent trends in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines, Mingfa Yao, ZhaoleiZheng, Haifeng Liu:-Typical generalized diesel-fuelled HCCI combustion modes include: early direct injection HCCI, late direct injection HCCI, premixed/direct-injected HCCI combustion and low temperature combustion. Mixture control (mixture preparation), including charge components and temperature control in the whole combustion history and high pre-ignition mixing rate, is the key issue to achieve diesel HCCI combustion. There are two measures to improve mixture formation: 1) by improving the mixing rate of fuel and air by such means as high pressure/ultra-high pressure fuel injection and small nozzle holes, high boost, design of combustion chamber geometry and utilization of energy of spray wall impingement and multi-pulse fuel injection based on modulating injection mode; and 2) by extending ignition delay by such means as EGR and variable compression ratio/valve actuation technology. Since the diesel fuel has low volatility, the port fuel introduction is not a practical way without significant change of intake system. An early in-cylinder injection strategy, to some extent, can result in a quite homogeneous charge before ignition. Due to lower charge density, in-cylinder pressure, and temperature, the liquid fuel impingement on the liner wall or piston wall is unavoidable, which leads to high HC and CO emissions. Another issue for the early injection strategy is the ignition timing control. For early injection HCCI combustion, the ignition is purely controlled by the chemical kinetics. The ignition is often advanced due to early injection timing and other measures have to be taken to delay the ignition by using heavy EGR, variable compression ratio, changing fuel properties, etc. In practice, both the HCCI mode and conventional diesel combustion will have to be used to cover the complete engine operational range. For the LTC, the short times between the fuel injection event and the start of 4

Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition

combustion preclude thorough premixing, and significant regions exist where 4 > 1 at the start of combustion. Even though there is a locally rich region in the mixture of this strategy, the soot formation can be suppressed. The main soot suppression mechanism is that using large amounts of EGR reduces the temperature, and this temperature reduction is sufficient to allow the combustion to avoid the soot formation region. This is the major reason why smokeless combustion can be accomplished with no adjustment required in the mixture formation by changing fuel spray system, combustion chamber geometry, etc., under rich operating condition. Simultaneously, the NOx emissions can also be avoided due to the high EGR rates and thus low combustion temperature. Furthermore, the EGR rate influences the path not only through changes in the flame temperature, but also in ignition delay and the amount of ambient fluid that must be mixed with the fuel to attain a given equivalence ratio. In addition, the injection strategies (including injection pressure, timing and multiple injections) influence the temperature (and density) during the ignition delays period, the peak flame temperature reached, and the premixing improvement. Finally, in order to keep the power density and the combustion efficiency of the engine at high EGR rates, high boost levels are required. Therefore, the control and optimize of EGR rate, injection strategies and high boost are the key issue to the LTC. The LTC has more benefits, such as high efficiency over broad load range, simple control of ignition timing, reduced pressure rise rates, high load capability. So, this strategy will be more promising in the future. The high octane numbers of gasoline fuels means that such fuels need high ignition temperatures, which highlights the difficulty of auto-ignition. The main challenge for gasoline HCCI operation is focus on the obtaining sufficient thermal energy to trigger auto- ignition of mixtures late in the compression stroke, extending the operational range, and the transient control. The most practical means to obtain sufficient thermal energy in a gasoline HCCI engine is through the use of large levels of recirculate exhaust gases. There are two EGR strategies with VVA: one is exhaust re-breathing and the other is exhaust recompression. These dilution strategies have no significant differences in the cylinder pressure profile or

Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition

combustion characteristics. From a practical perspective, however, the exhaust recompression strategy appears to be easier to implement and has become the strategy favored in the literature. To reduce the fuel consumption and emissions over real-life drive cycles, the engine must operate in HCCI mode over the widest possible speed and load range. To extend gasoline-fuelled HCCI operation to high loads without transition to knock, some methods can be used, such as fuel modification, variable compression ratio, charge boost, the temperature or charge stratification, and the multiple fuel direction injections. To extend gasoline-fuelled HCCI operation to light loads, high in-cylinder temperatures are necessary to promote compression ignition. Meantime, the post- combustion temperatures need to be optimized between 1500 and 1800 K for low HC, CO and NO emissions. Approaches include variable valve strategies, variable injection timings, charge boost, and spark-assisted ignition. Active closed-loop real-time dynamic control is essential to maintain the desired ignition timing for any practical HCCI combustion system. Speed and load control within the HCCI mode and transitions between HCCI and SI modes have been demon- started in single cylinder research engines. However, additional complications in multi-cylinder engines require individual cylinder control to ensure the same combustion phasing and reach HCCI/SI transition for all cylinders. A cycle-resolved, closed-loop control system with individual sensors and actuators for each cylinder allowed combustion phasing to be matched for all cylinders, but any changes in the combustion phasing in one cylinder resulted in changes in another cylinder due to exhaust-manifold coupling. [4] Understanding the transition between conventional spark-ignited combustion and HCCI in a gasoline engine, C. Stuart Daw, Robert M. Wagner, K. Dean Edwards, Johney B. Green :-The experimental gasoline engine studied here exhibits a repeatable region of low-dimensional deterministic combustion oscillations as internal EGR is increased to drive the transition between PF and HCCI combustion. We hypothesize that the oscillation behavior represents a type of non- linear map bifurcation that begins with destabilization of the PF fixed point and ends with the stabilization of the HCCI fixed point. The transition dynamics include complex regions of multi- periodicity and

Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition

deterministic chaos. The general similarity of the PFHCCI transition to the lean-limit transition suggests that both processes are driven by nonlinear feedback through recirculated exhaust gas. The types of inter-mode transition experiments described here need to be investigated using other engines. If the same or similar patterns can be confirmed to be general features of a range of engines, it would seem appropriate to utilize nonlinear time series diagnostics and chaos control theory to expand the practical implementation of HCCI. [5] A new heat release rate (HRR) law for homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion mode- Miguel Torres Garca, Francisco Jos Jimnez-Espadafor Aguilar, Toms Snchez Lencero, Jos Antonio Becerra Villanueva:-In this work, an experimental and simulation study has been carried out to compare the performance of a new HRR law that de- fines a proportion of slower combustion for HCCI engine modeling. The new HRR law was implemented in an engine model to evaluate performance in comparison to the experimental data obtained in detailed tests. The study showed that by describing a proportion of slower combustion with the new HRR proposed, it was possible to achieve a very good match to experimental data. The new HRR law allows predicting the cylinder pressure curve perfectly with minimum error. As has been shown, the HRR law depends on four parameters that can be related to any load condition. Research is in progress on the development of a predictive model of the engine in HCCI combustion mode. [6]

Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition Chapter 3.

HOMOGENEOUS CHARGE COMPRESSION IGNITION

3.1 WHAT IS HCCI? HCCI is an alternative piston-engine combustion process that can provide efficiencies as high as compression-ignition, (CI) engines while, unlike SI engines, producing ultra-low oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter emissions. HCCI engines operate on the principle of having a dilute, premixed charge that reacts and burns volumetrically throughout the cylinder as it is compressed by the piston. In some regards, HCCI incorporates the best features of both spark ignition (SI) and compression ignition (CI). As in an SI engine, the charge is well mixed, which minimizes particulate emissions, and as in a CI engine, the charge is compression ignited and has no throttling losses, which leads to high efficiency. However, unlike either of these conventional engines, the combustion occurs simultaneously throughout the volume rather than in a flame front. This important attribute of HCCI allows combustion to occur at much lower temperatures, dramatically reducing engine-out emissions of NOx. [2] Most engines employing HCCI to date have dual mode combustion systems in which traditional SI or CI combustion is used for operating conditions where HCCI operation is more difficult. Typically, the engine is cold-started as an SI or CI engine, and then switched to HCCI mode for idle and low- to mid-load operation to obtain the benefits of HCCI in this regime, which comprises a large portion of typical automotive driving cycles. For high-load operation, the engine would again be switched to SI or CI operation. [7] 3.2 WORKING PRINCIPLE In Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition, homogeneous mixture of fuel and air is taken in the cylinder. This mixture is then compressed inside the cylinder to a point where auto ignition occurs. Once the conditions suitable for auto ignition are reached, ignition occurs simultaneously at several places in combustion chamber. Thus the combustion takes place. This is the basic principle used to drive Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition engine.

Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition

3.3 WORKING An HCCI engine ignites a mixture of fuel and air by compressing it in the cylinder. Unlike a spark ignition gas engine or diesel engine, HCCI produces a lowtemperature, flameless release of energy throughout the entire combustion chamber. All of the fuel in the chamber is burned simultaneously. This produces power similar to today's conventional gas engines, but uses less fuel to do it. Heat is a necessary enabler for the HCCI process, so a traditional spark ignition is used when the engine is started cold to generate heat within the cylinders and quickly heat up the exhaust catalyst and enableHCCI operation. During HCCI mode, the mixture's dilution is comparatively lean, meaning there is a larger percentage of air in the mixture. The lean operation of HCCI helps the engine approach the efficiency of a diesel, but it requires only a conventional automotive exhaust after-treatment. Diesel engines require more elaborate and more expensive after-treatment to reduce emissions. HCCI builds on the integration of other advanced engine technologies some of which are already in production and can be adapted to existing gas engines. The cylinder compression ratio is similar to a conventional direct-injected gas engine and is compatible with all commercially available gasoline and E85 fuels. [8] In an HCCI engine (which is based on the four-stroke Otto cycle), fuel delivery control is of paramount importance in controlling the combustion process. On the intake stroke, fuel is injected into each cylinder's combustion chamber via fuel injectors mounted directly in the cylinder head. This is achieved independently from air induction which takes place through the intake plenum. By the end of the intake stroke, fuel and air have been fully introduced and mixed in the cylinder's combustion chamber. As the piston begins to move back up during the compression stroke, heat begins to build in the combustion chamber. When the piston reaches the end of this stroke, sufficient heat has accumulated to cause the fuel/air mixture to spontaneously combust (no spark is necessary) and force the piston down for the power stroke. Unlike conventional spark engines (and even diesels), the combustion process is a lean, low temperature and flameless release of energy across the entire combustion chamber. The

Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition

entire fuel mixture is burned simultaneously producing equivalent power, but using much less fuel and releasing far fewer emissions in the process. At the end of the power stroke, the piston reverses direction again and initiates the exhaust stroke, but before all of the exhaust gases can be evacuated, the exhaust valves close early, trapping some of the latent combustion heat. This heat is preserved, and a small quantity of fuel is injected into the combustion chamber for a pre-charge (to help control combustion temperatures and emissions) before the next intake stroke begins. [2] 3.4 WHY HCCI? The modern conventional SI engine fitted with a three-way catalyst can be seen as a very clean engine. But it suffers from poor part load efficiency. As mentioned earlier this is mainly due to the throttling. Engines in passenger cars operate most of the time at light- and part load conditions. For some shorter periods of time, at overtaking and acceleration, they run at high loads, but they seldom run at high loads for any longer periods. This means that the overall efficiency at normal driving conditions becomes very low. The Diesel engine has much higher part load efficiency than the SI engine. Instead the Diesel engine fights with great smoke and NOx problems. Soot is mainly formed in the fuel rich regions and NOx in the hot stoichiometric regions. Due to these mechanisms, it is difficult to reduce both smoke and NOx simultaneously through combustion improvement. Today, there is no well working exhaust after treatment that takes away both soot and NOx. The HCCI engine has much higher part load efficiency than the SI engine and comparable to the Diesel engine, and has no problem with NOx and soot formation like the Diesel engine. In summary, the HCCI engine beats the SI engine regarding the efficiency and the Diesel engine regarding the emissions. 3.5 METHODS 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 several different ways:

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Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition

High compression ratio Pre-heat induction gases Forced induction Retain or reinduct exhaust
Once ignited, combustion occurs very quickly. When auto-ignition occurs too early or with too much chemical energy, combustion is too fast and high in-cylinder pressures can destroy an engine. For this reason, HCCI is typically operated at lean overall fuel mixtures. 3.6 ADVANTAGES

HCCI is closer to the ideal Otto cycle than spark-ignited combustion. Lean operation leads to higher efficiency than in spark-ignited gasoline engines Homogeneous mixing of fuel and air leads to cleaner combustion and lower emissions. In fact, due to the fact that peak temperatures are significantly lower than in typical spark ignited engines, NOx levels are almost negligible.

Since HCCI runs throttleless, it eliminates throttling losses

3.7 DISADVANTAGES

High peak pressures High heat release rates Difficulty of control Limited power range High carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon pre-catalyst emissions. [1]

3.8 CONTROL Controlling HCCI is a major hurdle to more widespread commercialization. HCCI is more difficult to control than other popular modern combustion methods. In a typical gasoline engine, a spark is used to ignite the pre-mixed fuel and air. In diesel engines, combustion begins when the fuel is injected into compressed air. In both

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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 reinducted exhaust. Several approaches have been suggested for control. 3.8.1 Variable Compression Ratio There are several methods of 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 (i.e. variable valve timing permitting Miller cycle). Both of the approaches mentioned above require some amounts of energy to achieve fast responses and are expensive (no more true for the 2nd solution, the variable valve timing being now maitrized). A 3rd proposed solution is being developed by the MCE-5 society (new rod). Miller cycle: In engineering, the Miller cycle is a combustion process used in a type of fourstroke internal combustion engine. Ralph Miller, an American engineer, patented the Miller cycle in the 1940s. This type of engine was first used in ships and stationary power-generating plant, but has recently (late 1990s) been adapted by Mazda for use in their Millenia large sedan. The traditional Otto cycle used four "strokes", of which two can be considered "high power" the compression and power strokes. Much of the power

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lost in an engine is due to the energy needed to compress the charge during the compression stroke, so systems to reduce this can lead to greater efficiency. In the Miller cycle the intake valve is left open longer than it normally would be. This is the "fifth" cycle that the Miller cycle introduces. As the piston moves back up in what is normally the compression stroke, the charge is being pushed back out the normally closed valve. Typically this would lead to losing some of the needed charge, but in the Miller cycle the piston in fact is over-fed with charge from a supercharger, so blowing a bit back out is entirely planned. The supercharger typically will need to be of the positive displacement kind (due its ability to produce boost at relatively low RPM) otherwise low-rpm torque will suffer. The key is that the valve only closes, and compression stroke actually starts, only when the piston has pushed out this "extra" charge, say 20 to 30% of the overall motion of the piston. In other words the compression stroke is only 70 to 80% as long as the physical motion of the piston. The piston gets all the compression for 70% of the work. The Miller cycle "works" as long as the supercharger can compress the charge for less energy than the piston. In general this is not the case, at higher amounts of compression the piston is much better at it. The key, however, is that at low amounts of compression the supercharger is more efficient than the piston. Thus the Miller cycle uses the supercharger for the portion of the compression where it is best, and the piston for the portion where it is best. All in all this leads to a reduction in the power needed to run the engine by 10 to 15%. To this end successful production versions of this cycle have typically used variable valve timing to "switch on & off" the Miller cycle when efficiency does not meet expectation. In a typical Spark Ignition Engine however the Miller cycle yields another benefit. Compression of air by the supercharger and cooled by an intercooler will yield a lower intake charge temperature than that obtained by a higher compression. This allows ignition timing to be altered to beyond what is normally allowed before the onset of detonation, thus increasing the overall efficiency still further. A similar delayed valve closing is used in some modern versions of Atkinson cycle engines, but without the supercharging.

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3.8.2 Variable induction temperature This technique is also known as fast thermal management. It is accomplished by rapidly varying the cycle-to-cycle intake charge temperature. It is also expensive to implement and has limited bandwidth associated with actuator energy. 3.8.3 Variable Exhaust Gas Percentage Exhaust gas can be very hot if retained or reinducted from the previous combustion cycle or cool if recirculated 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.EGR in spark-ignited engines. In a typical automotive spark-ignited (SI) engine, 5 to 15 percent of the exhaust gas is routed back to the intake as EGR (thus comprising 5 to 15 percent of the mixture entering the cylinders). The maximum quantity is limited by the requirement of the mixture to sustain a contiguous flame front during the combustion event; excessive EGR in an SI engine can cause misfires and partial burns. Although EGR does measurably slow combustion, this can largely be compensated for by advancing spark timing. The impact of EGR on engine efficiency largely depends on the specific engine design, and sometimes leads to a compromise between efficiency and NOx emissions. A properly operating EGR can theoretically increase the efficiency of gasoline engines via several mechanisms:

Reduced throttling losses. The addition of inert exhaust gas into the intake system means that for a given power output, the throttle plate must be opened further, resulting in increased inlet manifold pressure and reduced throttling losses.

Reduced heat rejection. Lowered peak combustion temperatures not only reduces NOx formation, it also reduces the loss of thermal energy to combustion chamber surfaces, leaving more available for conversion to mechanical work during the expansion stroke.

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Reduced chemical dissociation. The lower peak temperatures result in more of the released energy remaining as sensible energy near TDC, rather than being bound up (early in the expansion stroke) in the dissociation of combustion products. This effect is relatively minor compared to the first two. It also decreases the efficiency of gasoline engines via at least one more mechanism:

Reduced specific heat ratio. A lean intake charge has a higher specific heat ratio than an EGR mixture. A reduction of specific heat ratio reduces the amount of energy that can be extracted by the piston. EGR is typically not employed at high loads because it would reduce peak power output. This is because it reduces the intake charge density. EGR is also omitted at idle (low-speed, zero load) because it would cause unstable combustion, resulting in rough idle.

3.8.4 EGR Implementations Recirculation is usually achieved by piping a route from the exhaust manifold to the inlet manifold, which is called external EGR. A control valve (EGR Valve) within the circuit regulates and times the gas flow. Some engine designs perform EGR by trapping exhaust gas within the cylinder by not fully expelling it during the exhaust stroke, which is called internal EGR. A form of internal EGR is used in the rotary Atkinson cycle engine. EGR can also be used by using a variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) which uses variable inlet guide vanes to build sufficient backpressure in the exhaust manifold. For EGR to flow, a pressure difference is required across the intake and exhaust manifold and this is created by the VGT. Other methods that have been experimented with are using a throttle in a turbocharged diesel engine to decrease the intake pressure to initiate EGR flow. Early (1970s) EGR systems were relatively unsophisticated, utilizing manifold vacuum as the only input to an on/off EGR valve; reduced performance and/or drivability were common side effects. Slightly later (mid 1970s to carbureted 1980s) systems

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included a coolant temperature sensor, which didn't enable the EGR system until the engine had achieved normal operating temperature (presumably off the choke and therefore less likely to block the EGR passages with carbon buildups, and a lot less likely to stall due to a cold engine). Many added systems like "EGR timers" to disable EGR for a few seconds after a full-throttle acceleration. Vacuum reservoirs and "vacuum amplifiers" were sometimes used, adding to the maze of vacuum hoses under the hood. All vacuum-operated systems, especially the EGR due to vacuum lines necessarily in close proximity to the hot exhaust manifold, were highly prone to vacuum leaks caused by cracked hoses; a condition which plagued early 1970s EGR-equipped cars with bizarre reliability problems (stalling when warm, stalling when cold, stalling or misfiring under partial throttle, etc.). Passing an unlit blowtorch over them should check hoses in these vehicles: when the engine speeds up, the vacuum leak has been found. Modern systems utilizing electronic engine control computers, multiple control inputs, and servo-driven EGR valves typically improve performance/efficiency with no impact on drivability. In the past, a meaningful fraction of car owners disconnected their EGR systems Some still do either because they believe EGR reduces power output, causes a build-up in the intake manifold in diesel engines, or believe that the environmental impact of EGR outweighs the NOx emission reductions. Disconnecting an EGR system is usually as simple as unplugging an electrically operated valve or inserting a ball bearing into the vacuum line in a vacuum-operated EGR valve. In most modern engines, disabling the EGR system will cause the computer to display a check engine light. In almost all cases, a disabled EGR system will cause the car to fail an emissions test, and may cause the EGR passages in the cylinder head and intake manifold to become blocked with carbon deposits, necessitating extensive engine disassembly for cleaning. [7]

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Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition Chapter 4.

HOW TO ACCOMPLISH THE HCCI

Because of the high compression ratios in a diesel, the engine must be more robust to withstand the loads and the temperature of the combustion tends to be high enough to cause the nitrogen in the air to react with the oxygen resulting in NOx. As the name implies, homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) relies on the high temperatures generated by compressing the intake stream to cause the fuel to auto ignite just like a diesel. The difference is that an HCCI engine runs on gasoline (or ethanol) instead of diesel fuel and has a significantly lower compression ratio. That lower compression ratio contributes to a lower combustion temperature and helps keep nitrogen oxide generation to a minimum. In order for this work, very precise metering of the fuel is required and that is now possible thanks to the latest direct injection technology. The fuel is injected directly into the cylinder and mixed with the air. Since gasoline vary in different regions and different times of the year, the timingoperation and concentration has to be adjusted in real time. Having this capability built in also makes it easier to accommodate alternate fuel like ethanol. In order to have smooth, consistent performance with varying fuels the engine management system needs to be able to vary the valve timing and lift which allows the compression ratio to be adjusted. Determining how to adjust the fuel and valve control requires a pressure sensor in the combustion chamber as well as fuel sensor like the ones already used on flex-fuel engines. 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 Fig. 4.1 HCCI accomplished with SI

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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 exhaust after-treatment systems. For the first media sampling of HCCI, GM provided an automatic transmissionequipped Saturn Aura and five-speed manual Opel Vectra. Both cars had the same 2.2L 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 speed and fuel mass and indicates when the engine is in SI or HCCI mode. On the test loop that we were able to drive, the transitions between SI and HCCI were largely transparent and far smoother than any of the current production hybrids when starting and stopping the engine. 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 technology Fig. 4.2 HCCI operating range

definitely works, the main problem now will be making the control software robust enough to deal with all real world weather, road and driver Conditions. It's critical to make sure that the fuel injection and valve timing and lift are managed correctly. If the fuel ignites too early, it can cause excessive noise or damage to the engine internals. If it happens too late, the engine can misfire or stall so the software and the cylinder pressure sensor have to be reliable. Currently GM is not giving a timeline for when HCCI engines will go into production, but it will probably be sooner rather than later. [11]

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Chapter 5.

CASE STUDY
After many years of development and research, General Motors has brought a completely drivable and street-worthy HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition) test mule (working concept vehicle) from the proving grounds of Detroit to the streets of major metropolitan areas like Washington D.C. and greater New York City. Finally, GM took on HCCI development in a serious way, and when it was out for test drive, they gave the chance to many of the automotive journalists to drive the Saturn Aura HCCI on the streets of New York. [8]

Fig 5.1 Saturn Aura

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5.1 THE HCCI CONCEPT In a brief nutshell, HCCI is an engine design that falls somewhere between a diesel and a spark ignition gasoline engine. Instead of a rich fuel mixture ignited by a spark plug in an engine's combustion chamber (like almost every gasoline car out there), HCCI uses a super lean (high air-to-fuel ratio) homogeneous gasoline or E85 mixture ignited by compression ignition (heat triggered much like a diesel, but without using diesel fuel). So what's the big deal? Why would GM consider it worthy of investing many millions of dollars of R&D money? Why not just stick with diesels? The answer, friends, is fuel efficiency (up to a 15 percent gain) AND clean emissions--two of the most difficult to achieve (simultaneously) parameters in all of engine design. 5.2 DRIVING IMPRESSIONS OF THE HCCI SATURN AURA 5.2.1 The Look On the exterior, aside from the splashy graphics (GM really does want the attention), the HCCI Saturn Aura looks every bit the part of the run-of-the-mill Aura sedan. On the inside, it was pretty much the same except for the engineers' laptop computer plugged into the engine's computer and the HCCI feedback display mounted on the dash. (Don't look for these options when the car hits production). 5.2.2 Cold start As with diesels, cold starts require a bit of special treatment for HCCI engines-it's a function of heat. When cold, compression ignition engines need an initial heat source. Diesels supply initial startup heat with glowplugs, whereas HCCIs use traditional spark plugs for cold fire. It initially start-up in spark mode and then stays there for a minute or so during idle. After that, it automatically switches to HCCI mode (as evidenced by the operation mode display) . When that happens, we can notice a slight change in the engine's timbre, an ever so faint diesel-like clack just after switchover. 5.2.3 Merge into traffic Into traffic, the engine works fully in HCCI mode and it get accelerated quickly and smoothly into the fold with other vehicles without one bit of spark ignition assistance. The engine runs so smoothly and effortlessly.

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5.2.4 Cruise with traffic at moderate speed While having operation display with laptop, sundry HCCI control adjustments that happens nearly instantaneously. Throughout the cruise, fuel delivery pulses seems fluctuating (more fuel, less fuel), the variable valve lift dimensions continuously changes (a little more valve lift, a little less valve lift) and electromechanical cam phases rotates back and forth among all manner of early-open, late-close and late open-early close modes to keep the engine's valves (and subsequent cylinder pressure) in perfect harmony with whatever load and speed requirements prevailed at the moment. These continuous micro adjustments really are the heart and soul of HCCI. Powering a highway-traveling vehicle with its myriad and ever changing load, speed, temperature and atmospheric condition parameters is perhaps the greatest challenge that can be presented to an engine. That probably goes double or triple for the HCCI process. 5.2.5 Stomp on the gas Matthias, Vijay and the development team decided long ago that they'd engineerin dual mode capability to this package so that it could do diesel-like efficiency and emissions, but still pound out spark ignition-like instant response. When I nailed the Saturn's gas pedal, it took but a few brief Nano seconds for the onboard computer to detect a change in engine dynamics and elevated cylinder pressure readings and kick the 2.2-liter 4-banger into spark ignition mode. The engine management system disables HCCI and initiated spark mode to meet instantaneous high load demands. Here's how Matthias put it in a GM press release: "GM's HCCI development focuses the technology where it will deliver the most benefit at the most reasonable cost for the consumer. An HCCI engine that uses HCCI in the entire operating mode would be heavier, noisier, more costly and would not deliver the performance experience people expect from a modern car." In effect, he's saying that they could make it do HCCI from idle to top speed, but it would miss the bang-for-the-buck threshold.
[9]

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5.2.6 Highway Speed HCCI can sustain speeds of up to about 55 mph (somewhere around 3000 RPMs). After that, the engine transitions into spark mode to keep torque and horsepower up without detonating the engine block and heads from excessive compression. According to engineers from GM, the engine is not built to handle the intense cylinder pressure that would develop at high RPMs and speeds. 5.2.7 Stop and idle We find fun in this car--and want to go again. Idling in HCCI mode, ifwe wait to hear or feel something different, but no, it felt like a regular ole engine. Actually we are able to track HCCI versus spark ignition time of operation, and on the first test drive, the engineers were pretty eager to find out how it did. One of them punched a button or two and the score displayed. Not too bad as it turns out: they spent 2.42 km out of 3.26 km in HCCI mode. 5.2.8 Shutdown Shutdown with an HCCI engine is no different than any other car. The engineers said that challenges do still exist, and controlling the complicated HCCI process over the long haul in a vehicle with many years and miles on the odometer is as yet an unknown. This is what Dr. Uwe Grebe, executive director for GM Powertrain Advanced Engineering has to say in a GM press release: "Our development costs for HCCI are very expensive; however, we have made tremendous strides in bringing this much awaited combustion technology out of the lab and onto the test track with the Saturn Aura concept vehicle. More research and testing are required to ensure the technology is ready for the great variety of driving conditions that customers experience."
[10]

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CONCLUSION
Therefore, it can be concluded that the SI/HCCI dual mode is the developmental direction for the large-scale production of gasoline- fuelled HCCI engines in the future. While the flexible valve actuation and direct multiple injection strategies are the keystone to reach the combine HCCI combustion mode at low to medium loads with traditional SI mode at high speed and high loads. However, to realize the practical HCCI combustion system, active closed-loop real-time dynamic control is necessary for the gasoline-fuelled HCCI engines.

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REFRENCES
[1] [2] [3] [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homogeneous_charge_compression_ignition http://alternativefuels.about.com/od/researchdevelopment/a/HCCIbasics.htm http://alternativefuels.about.com/od/glossary/g/HomogeneousChg.hmt Progress and recent trends in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines Mingfa Yao, ZhaoleiZheng, Haifeng Liu, Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 428-432 (2009) [5] Understanding the transition between conventional spark-ignited combustion and HCCI in a gasoline engineC. Stuart Daw, Robert M. Wagner , K. Dean Edwards, Johney B. Green Jr,Proceedings of the Combustion Institute-2886-2894 (2007) [6] A new heat release rate (HRR) law for homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion mode -Miguel Torres Garca , Francisco Jos JimnezEspadafor Aguilar, Toms Snchez Lencero, Jos Antonio Becerra Villanueva, Applied Thermal Engineering -36543662 (2009) [7] The influence of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) on combustion and emissions of n-heptane/natural gas fueled Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engines, MortezaFathi, R. KhoshbakhtiSaray, M. David Checkel,Applied Energy June 2011 [8] http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/24/gm-shows-off-hcci-engines-in-workingprototypes [9] http://alternativefuels.about.com/od/researchdevelopment/a/HCCISaturnAura.htm

[10] http://alternativefuels.about.com/od/researchdevelopment/a/HCCISaturnAura_2.h tm [11] http://green.autoblog.com/2007/08/26/abg-tech-analysis-and-driving-impressiongms-hcci-engine.html

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ABSTRACT
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 spontaneously. 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. 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 (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, and must still be treated to meet automotive emission regulations.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SR. NO. TITLE CERTIFICATE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Homogeneous Charge 1.2 What is HCCI Engine? 2. HISTORY AND LITERATURE SURVEY 2.1 Following are some summery points collected on HCCI from different journals 3. HOMOGENEOUS CHARGE COMPRESSION IGNITION 3.1 What is HCCI? 3.2 Working Principle 3.3 Working 3.4 Why HCCI? 3.5 Methods 3.7 Disadvantages 3.8 Control 3.8.1 Variable Compression Ratio 3.8.2 Variable induction temperature 3.8.3 Variable Exhaust Gas Percentage 3.8.4 EGR Implementations 4. 5. HOW TO ACCOMPLISH THE HCCI CASE STUDY 5.1 The HCCI Concept 8 8 8 9 10 10 11 11 12 14 14 15 17 19 20 TITLE PAGE NO. i ii iii iv v vii 1 1 1 3 4

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5.2 Driving Impressions of the HCCI Saturn Aura 5.2.1 The Look 5.2.2 Cold start 5.2.3 Merge into traffic 5.2.4 Cruise with traffic at moderate speed 5.2.5 Stomp on the gas 5.2.6 Highway Speed 5.2.7 Stop and idle 5.2.8 Shutdown CONCLUSION REFRENCES 22 22 23 24 20 20 20 20 21 21

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LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE NO. 1.1 2.1 4.1 4.2 5.1 TITLE SI,CI and HCCI Engine Some early results gave piston damage HCCI accomplished with SI HCCI operating range Saturn Aura PAGE NO. 1 3 17 18 19

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