Performance of a Semi Adiabatic Diesel Engine Fuelled with Jatropha Bio-diesel | Chapter 11 | Technological Innovation in Engineering Research Vol. 4

Background of the Issue: Due to the rapidly diminishing supply of conventional fuels, the steadily rising pollution levels caused by conventional fuels, and the increasing financial burden on developing nations brought on by the importation of crude oil at a fluctuating foreign exchange rate, research into alternative fuels is now relevant and crucial. Because they can be recycled, alcohols made from biomass and oils recovered from plant seeds are significant alternatives to traditional diesel. Plant-seed oils are equivalent to diesel fuel in terms of cetane number, a measure of the ignition quality in diesel engines, and energy fuels per mass. However, they are highly viscous and hardly fugitive. Biofuels, on the other hand, have a high transient. However, they have a low cetane number and little energy per mass. In order to decrease viscosity and improve ignition quality, biodiesel is created chemically from plant seed oils. The semi-adiabatic diesel engine, which reduces the heat transfer to the coolant, is the solution to the biodiesel difficulties.

Goal: Tests were conducted on a low heat rejection (LHR) diesel engine or semi-adiabatic diesel engine using an air gap insulated piston with a 3-mm air gap, a crown made of stainless steel, and an air gap insulated liner with a stainless steel insert. The conditions of the jatropha biodiesel were varied, as were the injection timing and injector opening pressure.

Study Design: Test fuels diesel or jatropha biodiesel, variable injection time, varied injection pressure, conventional engine (CE) or low heat rejection (LHR) configuration.

Creating biodiesel from raw vegetable oil is one of the goals. 2. Establishing the ideal injection timing for biodiesel-powered LHR and conventional engines, 3. Calculating performance metrics, pollutant levels, and combustion traits using biodiesel at suggested and optimal injector timings at varied injector opening pressures

Methodology: At different brake mean effective pressure readings, performance metrics were calculated. Smoke and nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution levels were measured when the engine was operating at full load. Utilizing a TDC (top dead centre) encoder, pressure transducer, console, and specialised pressure-crank angle software programme, combustion parameters during full load operation were determined.

Brief Results: When using biodiesel at the prescribed injection timing and pressure, the LHR engine's performance improved while the conventional engine's (CE) performance declined. When compared to CE with pure diesel operation, the performance of both versions of the engine improved with enhanced injection time and greater injection pressure. When using biodiesel on an LHR engine at its optimal injection timing, as opposed to a CE engine using plain diesel at the manufacturer's suggested injection timing, peak brake thermal efficiency increased by 4%, smoke levels reduced by 4%, and NOx levels rose by 37%.

Author(s) Details:

N. Janardhan,

Mechanical Engineering Department, Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, Gandipet, Hyderabad-500 075, India.

M. V. S. Murali Krishna,

Mechanical Engineering Department, Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, Gandipet, Hyderabad-500 075, India.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/TIER-V4/article/view/7316