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A Pathway to Ultra-Lean IC Engine Combustion: The Narrow Throat Pre-chamber

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Engines and Fuels for Future Transport

Part of the book series: Energy, Environment, and Sustainability ((ENENSU))

Abstract

Stable internal combustion (IC) engine operation with a lean mixture allows improved thermal efficiency and reduced engine-out emissions. However, lean limits in IC engines are challenging due to poor ignitibility. Narrow throat pre-chamber as an ignition source allows extending the lean limit through a robust multi-reactive jet ignition and in-cylinder turbulence generation. These benefits have revived the research interest in such narrow throat configurations of pre-chamber. Metal engine studies offer limited insights into the physics of pre-chamber combustion (PCC). However, when coupled with recent optical engine studies involving high-speed visualization and laser diagnostics, a better understanding of this combustion mode is unlocked. This work attempts to evaluate and summarise the recent advancement in PCC research.

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Acknowledgements

The work is supported by Saudi Aramco Research and Development Centre FUELCOM3 program under Master Research Agreement Number 6600024505/01. FUELCOM (Fuel Combustion for Advanced Engines) is a collaborative research undertaking between Saudi Aramco and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to address the fundamental aspects of hydrocarbon fuel combustion in engines and develop fuel/engine design tools suitable for advanced combustion modes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clean Combustion Research Centre, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Manuel Alejandro Echeverri Marquez, Ponnya Hlaing, Priybrat Sharma, James W. G. Turner, Hong Im & Gaetano Magnotti

  2. Transport Technologies Division, R&DC, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia

    Emre Cenker, Jihad Badra & Amer Amer

  3. Combustion Engine Research Center (CERC), Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Bengt Johansson

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  1. Manuel Alejandro Echeverri Marquez
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  2. Ponnya Hlaing
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  4. Emre Cenker
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  9. Gaetano Magnotti
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Correspondence to Ponnya Hlaing .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oxford, UK

    Gautam Kalghatgi

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India

    Avinash Kumar Agarwal

  3. Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Felix Leach

  4. Convergent Science, Madison, WI, USA

    Kelly Senecal

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Marquez, M.A.E. et al. (2022). A Pathway to Ultra-Lean IC Engine Combustion: The Narrow Throat Pre-chamber. In: Kalghatgi, G., Agarwal, A.K., Leach, F., Senecal, K. (eds) Engines and Fuels for Future Transport. Energy, Environment, and Sustainability. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8717-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8717-4_8

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