Numerical investigation of a premixed combustion large marine two-stroke dual fuel engine for optimising engine settings via parametric runs

As the environmental regulations have become more stringent, the shipping industry has been focusing on more efficient and environmentally friendly means of propulsion and electric power generation. In this respect, dual fuel engines, which operate either in diesel mode or dual fuel (DF) mode by burning diesel fuel or natural gas and pilot diesel fuel to initiate ignition respectively, has become one of the most promising solutions as their dual fuel operation leads to reduced nitrogen oxide (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), as well as almost elimination of particulate matter (PM) and sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions. The present study focuses on the comprehensive investigation of a large marine two-stroke dual fuel engine of the low gas pressure concept by using the GT-Power software. Appropriate combustion, scavenging, heat transfer and friction models were used to fully represent the engine performance and emissions characteristics, whereas a knocking model was employed to characterise the engine abnormal combustion. The simulation results were initially validated against the manufacturer data and subsequently, the entire engine envelope in both operating modes was simulated. The derived results were used for analysing and discussing the engine operation, performance and emissions as well as for comparing the two operating modes in terms of the turbocharger matching. In addition, a parametric investigation was performed in the dual fuel mode and the results were used for identifying the settings that can further optimise the engine operation in terms of CO2 and NOx emissions trade-off. The results indicate that the CO2 and NOx emissions can be simultaneously reduced; however, the engine optimisation in the high load region is challenging due to the permissible cylinder pressure constraint.