Combustion and Injection Characteristics of a Common Rail Direct Injection Diesel Engine Fueled with Methyl and Ethyl Esters
Mustafa Canakci Ertan Alptekin Huseyin Sanli
AbstractBiodiesel is a renewable alternative diesel fuel which can be produced from different feedstocks via different types of alcohols and catalysts. Alcohol type directly affects the fuel properties of the produced biodiesel. Different fuel characteristics may result in different performance, combustion and injection parameters in the diesel engines. Therefore, in this study, pure diesel fuel and two different esters produced via ethanol and methanol were used as test fuels in a common rail direct injection (CRDI) diesel engine under five different engine loads (BMEP: 3.3, 5.0, 6.6, 8.3 and 9.9 bar) and the medium engine speed (2000 rpm) test conditions. Detailed and comparative injection and combustion characteristics of these test fuels were investigated. According to the test results, maximum cylinder pressure and heat release of ethyl and methyl esters were generally higher than those of diesel fuel. Fuel injection characteristics changed with the fuel type and engine load.