Multidimensional modeling of the effect of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) on exergy terms in an HCCI engine fueled with a mixture of natural gas and diesel

One of the most important issues in HCCI engines is auto-ignition timing control. EGR introduction into intake charge can be a method to control combustion phasing and its duration. In the current study, a FORTRAN-based code which includes 10 species (O2, N2, H2O, CO2, CO, H2, OH, O, N, NO) associated with combustion products was employed to study the exergy analysis in a dual fuel (natural gas + diesel) HCCI engine at four EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) mass fractions (0%, 10%, 20%, and 30%) while the diesel fuel amount was held constant. In order to achieve this task, a 3-D CFD code was employed to model the energy balance during a closed cycle of running engine simulation. Moreover, an efficient Extend Coherent Flame Model-Three Zone model (ECFM-3Z) method was employed to analyze the combustion process. With crank positions at different EGR mass fractions, the exergy terms were identified and calculated separately. It was found that as EGR mass fraction increased from 0% to 30% (in 10% increment steps), exergy efficiency decreased from 48.9% to 28.7%. Furthermore, with the change in EGR mass fraction, the cumulative heat loss exergy decreased from 10.1% to 5.64% of mixture fuels chemical exergy.