• This has a flexible internal combustion system with provision to vary fuel injection strategies, injection timings, supercharging boost pressure, compression ratio (slightly) etc.
• It is equipped with fuel conditioning, lubricating oil conditioning and coolant condition systems for conducting investigations at standard controlled conditions.
• This facility has provision for measurement and control of fuel injection pressure, injection pattern (two pilot, one main and one post injection).
• It is equipped with AC dynamometer, state-of-the-art intake air measurement system, and gravimetric fuel flow meter.
• For particulate characterization, Smart Particulate Sampler (SPC) is installed in this system. For in-situ combustion analysis, water cooled piezo-electric pressure transducer, fuel-line pressure sensor and crank angle encoders are installed on this facility.
• For Combustion visualization, it has transparent quartz liner and quartz window in the piston crown. Engine also has provisions for installation of endoscope for combustion visualization, which is particularly very useful at higher engine load conditions.

Single Cylinder Research Engine Specifications

• Evaluation of performance of any new diesel like fuel.
• Study of combustion characteristics of diesel, biodiesel and any other CI engine fuel by measuring in-cylinder pressures and fuel-line pressure w.r.t. crank angle degree and in-situ analysis of this data for finding heat release rate and fuel burning rate.
• Optimization of fuel injection timing and determination of optimum strategy of fuel injection for best performance and emission characteristics.
• Measurement of gaseous and particulate emissions from diesel, biodiesel and any other CI engine fuel. Engine out particulate mass emissions can be measured and detailed characterization of particulate composition and toxicology can be performed with variation of fuel injection pattern, quantity of EGR, supercharging boost pressure etc.
• Study of fuel spray formation and atomization process in transparent engine cylinder.
• Combustion visualization can be done at lower engine loads (peak cylinder pressure: 60 bar).
• Application of endoscope for combustion visualization at full permissible engine load (peak cylinder pressure: 150 bar).
• Effect on fuel performance, emissions and combustion with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and supercharging can also be investigated with varying fuel injection parameters with appropriate modification in the engine setup.
• Flexibility of this engine can be utilized for finding control parameters (fuel injection timing, EGR quantity, supercharging pressure and inter-cooling) for direct injection HCCI combustion.
• This facility can be used for ECU mapping/ calibration for wide range of fuels/ engine configurations by finding optimum intake air pressure, fuel injection pressure, injection strategies and injection timings.

Dr Avinash K Agarwal, FSAE, FASME

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Kanpur - 208016 India

Home Page: www.iitk.ac.in/erl

Tel: +91 512 2597982 (Off) +91 512 2598682 (Res)

Fax: +91 512 2597982, 2597408 (Off)

Engine Research Laboratory

Department of Mechanical Engineering

IIT Kanpur, Kanpur-208016

Tel: +91 512 2597458 (Lab)