The effect of injection pressure and strategy in a Jaguar V6 diesel engine

In recent years, the improvement of engine performance and emissions has become an extremely important concern. This study focuses on the injection strategy based on the injection pressure (IP) and duration between pilot injection and the main injection (dMI) using a multi cylinder common rail multiple injections diesel engine. The study was designed to produce improvements in fuel mixing via the injection strategy, to reduce the main ignition delay. This would contribute to a minimum amount of fuel burnt in the premixed combustion phase, leading to a reduction in emissions. Recent evidence shows that premixed combustion is significant in the controlling of emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and soot. Six different IPs combined with a short and long dMI were compared in the attempt to improve engine performance and emissions. The engine performance was measured in terms of brake specific fuel consumption, ignition delay, heat release and peak in-cylinder pressure and emissions, specifically nitrogen oxides (NOx), total unburned hydrocarbons (THC), carbon monoxide (CO) and smoke emissions for each engine test condition. The evidence from this study shows that the effect of IP is more dominant than dMI in terms of peak cylinder pressure, heat release, brake specific fuel consumption and emissions. However, the dMI shows a strong effect at a higher engine speed.