Combustion performance, flame, and soot characteristics of gasoline–diesel pre-blended fuel in an optical compression-ignition engine

• Gasoline–diesel pre-blended fuel was investigated in an optical direct-injection diesel engine.
• KIVA3V-CHEMKIN code modeled blended fuel spray and combustion with discrete multi-component model.
• Flame and soot characteristics in the combustion chamber were shown by optical kits.
• Combustion performance and soot emissions for gasoline–diesel blended fuel were discussed.

Among the new combustion technologies available for internal combustion engines to enhance performance and reduce exhausted emissions, the homogeneous charge compression ignition method is one of the most effective strategies for the compression-ignition engine. There are some challenges to realize the homogeneous charge compression ignition method in the compression-ignition engine. The use of gasoline–diesel blended fuel has been suggested as an alternative strategy to take advantages of homogeneous charge compression ignition while overcoming its challenges. Gasoline and diesel fuels are reference fuels for the spark-ignition and compression-ignition engines, respectively, both of which are widely used. The application of both these fuels together in the compression-ignition engine has been investigated using a hybrid injection system combining port fuel injection (gasoline) and direct injection (diesel); this strategy is termed reactivity controlled compression ignition. However, the pre-blending of gasoline and diesel fuels for direct injection systems has been rarely studied. For the case of direct injection of pre-blended fuel into the cylinder, various aspects of blended fuels should be investigated, including their spray breakup, fuel/air mixing, combustion development, and emissions.In the present study, the use of gasoline–diesel pre-blended fuel in an optical single-cylinder compression-ignition engine was investigated under various conditions of injection timing and pressure. Furthermore, KIVA-3V release 2 code was employed to model the formation of fuel/air mixtures in the cylinder. Neat diesel fuel was tested, as well as gasoline–diesel blends of 20% and 40% gasoline mass fraction. Experiments on the mixed fuels showed that the inclusion of gasoline fuel improved fuel/air mixing, yielding more homogeneous mixtures over wider cylinder areas. The low cetane index of gasoline fuel induced long ignition delays in the mixed fuels. Compared with neat diesel combustion flame, blended fuel did not produce the soot flame, white-yellow flame. Soot intensity was calculated based on captured flame images, and its variations were investigated as a function of fuel type and injection conditions.