Combustion and emissions of RP-3 jet fuel and diesel fuel in a single-cylinder diesel engine

Abstract

The combustion characteristics and emission behaviors of RP-3 jet fuel were studied and compared to commercial diesel fuel in a single-cylinder compression ignition (CI) engine. Engine operational parameters, including engine load (0.6, 0.7, and 0.8 MPa indicating the mean effective pressure (IMEP)), the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rate (0%, 10%, 20%, and 30%), and the fuel injection timing (−20, −15, −10, and −5 ° crank angle (CA) after top dead center (ATDC)) were adjusted to evaluate the engine performances of RP-3 jet fuel under changed operation conditions. In comparison to diesel fuel, RP-3 jet fuel shows a retarded heat release and lagged combustion phase, which is more obvious under heavy EGR rate conditions. In addition, the higher premixed combustion fraction of RP-3 jet fuel leads to a higher first-stage heat release peak than diesel fuel under all testing conditions. As a result, RP-3 jet fuel features a longer ignition delay (ID) time, a shorter combustion duration (CD), and an earlier CA50 than diesel fuel. The experimental results manifest that RP-3 jet fuel has a slightly lower indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) compared to diesel fuel, but the ITE difference becomes less noticeable under large EGR rate conditions. Compared with diesel fuel, the nitrogen oxides (NO_x) emissions of RP-3 jet fuel are higher while its soot emissions are lower. The NO_x emissions of RP-3 can be effectively reduced with the increased EGR rate and delayed injection timing.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

RP-3 jet fuel / diesel / engine / combustion / emissions

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