Chemical kinetic investigations of ignition and combustion phenomena in a di diesel engine fueled with methanol: (Ignition characteristics of methanol mixture)

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. The effects of the vaporization heat of liquid methanol, the surface temperature of the glow-plug, the heat created by the glow-plug and the O₂ excess ratio of methanol-air mixtures on the ignition characteristics were examined. Our numerical model considers these parameters, and a detailed chemical kinetic scheme, including 39 chemical species and 157 elementary reactions, was used to predict the delay in methanol mixture ignition.