Chemical kinetic investigations of ignition and combustion phenomena in a DI diesel engine fueled with methanol (1st report, Ignition characteristics of methanol mixtures)

A methanol-fueled direct-injection diesel engine with a glow-assisted ignition system tends to suffer from poor ignitability under low load conditions. Chemical delay phenomena associated with methanol mixture ignition were investigated to improve ignitability. Effects of vaporization heat of liquid methanol, surface temperature of the glow-plug, heat provided from the glow-plug and the effect of O₂ excess ratio of methanol-air mixtures on ignition characteristics were examined. Our numerical model accounted for these parameters and detailed chemical kinetic schemes, including 39 chemical species and 157 elementary reactions, were used to predict the delay of methanol mixture ignition.