Kacper Kaczmarczyk

Advancement of Combustion and Computational Modelling in Hydrogen Spark Ignited Internal Combustion Engines

Kacper’s PhD is intended to advance the field of computational hydrogen combustion modelling in internal combustion engines (ICE), of which the main focus is the modelling of combustion in predictive scenario, in order to accelerate the development of sustainable (people, profit, planet) powertrains by brining new tools and expertise to the industry.

Most countries around the world have promised to act against the increasingly worrying issue of global warming. This has primarily manifested itself in stringent legislation to reduce carbon emissions.

Naturally, as transport accounts for a very considerable fraction of the global emissions, it has been set very ambitious goals. The main concern in this sector is the global calling for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) to be exclusively sold from years ~2035 and ~2050, for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles respectively. This trend is expected to only continue as international pressures increase.

Currently, there are two powertrain solutions that are generally considered to be the answer to the set challenge of ‘ZEV’: Battery Electric and Hydrogen (H2) Fuel Cell Hybrid.

However, both of those powertrains raise challenging concerns that question the feasibility of their mass-scale adoption. The main Battery Electric concerns are long charging times, range anxiety, cost, high Carbon footprint from the manufacture, lack of infrastructure, un-proved long-term reliability and challenging after-life. There are also some indirect concerns, such as precious metal depletion, exploitation of poor mining communities, the toxicity caused by said mining etc. H2 Fuel Cell Hybrid mostly solves the charging time and range anxiety of the Battery Electric powertrain; however, it also inherits many of the other concerns. Even though current research focuses on mitigating these issues, it is very much possible that implementable solutions to these problems will not be developed within the set timeframe.

The utilisation of current internal combustion engine (ICE) based powertrain systems with zero-carbon energy carrier, that is green H2, has the potential to deliver a widely adaptable (by industry and customers) ‘ZEV’ within the set timeframe. This is primarily because H2-ICE is an evolution, rather than a revolution as is the case in the aforementioned powertrains. The comparable disadvantages of H2-ICE are lower tank-to-wheel efficiency of ~30% compared to fuel cell’s 35%, and nitrous oxide (NOx) emission which would have to be mitigated in order to comply with the ‘ZEV’ standards. However, one of the most notable advantages is comparably little to no increase in powertrain cost compared to traditional powertrains, already existing manufacturing infrastructure, similar range to H2 Fuel Cell with none of its drawbacks, and already achieved global warming potential (GWP) parity with fuel cells as well as the possibility of lower GWP than even the Battery Electric in the future.

Naturally, much more additional research must be carried out in order to make the H2-ICE a realistic option for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), as although H2 ICEs have been 'in development for more than a century, it is only recently that it has gained serious interest by researchers and the industry.

Aim: To explore and advance the H2-ICE combustion and mixture preparation modelling and utilize it to improve efficiency and reduce NOx emissions.

Objectives:

Obj. 1: Investigate and advance the 3D RANS CFD H2 direct-injection mixture preparation modelling.

Obj. 2: Investigate, determine the current most optimal mechanism, and advance the H2 combustion and NOx formation chemical kinetics.

Obj. 3: Investigate, quantify, and evaluate inaccuracies and seek to advance the 3D RANS CFD H2 partially premixed flame modelling.

Obj. 4: Investigate, quantify inaccuracies, evaluate and seek to improve if required, the 3D RANS CFD modelling of H2-ICEs, utilising findings from objectives 1-3.

Obj. 5: Achieve optimal efficiency and NOx emission by optimizing for the ideal H2 distribution within the combustion chamber at the point of ignition, utilizing findings from previous objectives.

Obj. 6: If permitted by time - To develop a novel injection strategy that achieves the ideal H2 distribution found in objective 5.

Applications and Benefits:

The results of this project could be directly utilized to enhance (cost, time and end result) the development of commercial zero-carbon ICEs, which could provide environmentally and financially sustainable propulsion for a wide range of vehicles and customers.

Additionally, the undertaken fundamental research required to achieve the set objectives will enhance our understanding of hydrogen behaviour and its properties, making the findings applicable to many other related fields such as computational fluid dynamics, chemical kinetics as well as any systems which handle hydrogen, such as gas turbines and fuel cells.

Research Council:

This project is partially sponsored by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and is incorporated into the “Hydrogen and alternative energy vectors” research area, specifically as “steps towards the application of clean hydrogen technologies in transport” focus, for which £26,785,769 was invested as of October 2021.