JSAE Review 23 (2002) 407–414

Effects of diesel fuel characteristics on spray and combustion in a

diesel engine
Seang-wock Lee, Daisuke Tanaka, Jin Kusaka, Yasuhiro Daisho
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Waseda University, Okubo 3-4-1, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
Received 4 February 2002; received in revised form 11 March 2002

Abstract

Fuel properties play a dominant role in the spray, mixture formation and combustion process, and are a key to emission control
and efficiency optimization. This paper deals with the influence of the fuel properties on the spray and combustion characteristics in
a high-pressure and temperature chamber. Light diesel fuel spray and combustion images were taken by using a high-speed video
camera and analyzed by their penetration and evaporation characteristics in comparison with current diesel fuel. Then, a single-
cylinder DI engine was used to investigate combustion and exhaust characteristics. The mixture formation of the light diesel fuel is
faster than that of the current fuel depending on physical properties like boiling point, density, viscosity and surface tension. Engine
test results show that smoke is reduced without an increase in other emissions.
r 2002 Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. and Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction different characteristics, a constant volume chamber was

In contemporary Japan, diesel engines have become
the driving force behind the distribution systems and
they are used as the main power source of commercial
vehicles and trucks due to their high efficiency. How-
ever, the exhaust gas from diesel engines has not become
a serious social problem, as it causes air pollution and is
harmful to the human body. Much NOx, CO, HC and
particulate matters (PM) are found to exist in the
exhaust gas from diesel engines, and especially, much
more PM are emitted from diesel engines compared with
gasoline engines, and reduction of PM from diesel
engine exhaust gas is greatly desired.
Also, a strict regulation aiming at about 50%
reduction from the current NOx and PM regulation
level is planned to be put into effect in 2005. In order to
meet these stringent regulations, research in vehicles
such as improvements on the engine and catalyst
systems have been carried out. However, there is a limit
to what research in these areas can achieve in making
diesel engines much cleaner. Therefore, an improvement
in fuels will become important, as can be seen by the
market introduction of the low sulfur diesel fuel (0.05%
of sulfur) in 1997 [1].
In this study, using light diesel fuel having approxi-
mately the same cetane value as the current diesel but
used to duplicate the high-temperature and high-
pressure conditions that exist in diesel engines. An
accumulation type fuel injection system was used to
provide an evaporating spray in the chamber. Also, a
copper laser was used as a source of light to investigate
the atomization and combustion characteristics.
In an engine test, the performance and exhaust
characteristics were investigated using a single cylinder
engine that was attached to a common rail system.
Furthermore, the fuel properties that exert influence on
the mixture formation process were investigated in a
computer simulation, using the KIVA-3 code that is
used as a computational fluid dynamic analysis program
to describe the fuel characteristics quantitatively [2].
2. Experimental apparatus and procedure
2.1. Experimental apparatus
The experiment system was composed of four types of
devices as shown in Fig. 1: constant volume chamber;
fuel injection devices; optical devices and control and
measurement devices.
Using quartz windows installed on both sides of the
chamber, it was possible to observe in full the spray and

0389-4304/02/$ 22.00 r 2002 Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. and Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 8 9 - 4 3 0 4 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 2 2 1 - 7 JSAE20024660
408 S.-w. Lee et al. / JSAE Review 23 (2002) 407–414

Fig. 1. The experimental system. Fig. 2. Optical system.

Table 1
combustion phenomena and perform optical measure- Experimental conditions
ments simultaneously. Around the constant volume Type of engine Direct injection single cylinder
chamber, the intake and exhaust valve, fuel injection toroidal 4 valve per cylinder
nozzle, piezo-type transducer for measuring the com- Bore  stroke 135  150
Compression ratio 17.0
bustion pressure in the chamber, a prism to reflect the Injection equipment Common rail (6 hole)
laser sheet, a fan to stir the mixture and a spark plug go Swirl ratio 2.689 (normal)/0.750 (low)
ignite the mixture were installed. In the injection system,
an electronically controlled accumulator-type fuel injec-
tion system was used to realize the high-pressure Table 2
injection for the determined injection quantity and Fuel properties
timing. For controlling the injection timing and amount, Fuel property Base diesel Light diesel
a pulse generator was used for arbitrary setting of these. 3
Fuel density (at 151C), kg/m 835.5 795.9
Copper laser was used as a light source, as shown in Boiling temperature, K 169.5 151.0
Fig. 2. Laser sheets were introduced, using two cylin- Viscosity (at 301C), mm2/s 3.729 1.465
drical lenses and a prism. The laser sheet was Surface tension, mN/m 28.5 —
synchronized with a high-speed video photography Cetane value 53.0 52.5
Lower heating value, MJ/kg 45.8 46.2
camera (made by Photoron Co.) which is capable of
taking 9000 frames of images per second to observe
cross-sectional spray and combustion. and performance characteristics of light diesel fuel. The
Copper vapor laser was synchronized with pulse specifications are shown in Table 1.
signals from the video camera. Signals from a computer
were output and sent to the injector and the spark plug.
Pressure data in the chamber were counted with the 2.2. Test fuels
computer through an A/D board.
Also, a single cylinder engine that was attached to a Distillation characteristics of the fuels are shown in
common rail system was used to investigate the exhaust Table 2 and Fig. 3. Light diesel (Nisseki Mitsubishi Co.)
 S.-w. Lee et al. / JSAE Review 23 (2002) 407–414 409

Fig. 3. Distillation characteristic of each fuel. Fig. 5. Temperature history of ethylene combustion.

Table 3
Experimental conditions

Items Conditions

Concentration of ethylene, % 4.0

Nozzle Single hole, +0.25 mm
Injection pressure, MPa 40, 60, 80
Quantity of injection, mg 15, 30
Ambient temperature, K 800
Ambient pressure, MPa 1.8
Ambient density, kg/m3 8.0
Injection timing after ethylene 1000
combustion, ms

Fig. 4. Pressure history of ethylene combustion. Table 4

Operating conditions for engine

Speed (rpm) Injection Injection quantity (mg/cyl)

pressure (load rate %)
has low density, viscosity and boiling point in compar- (MPa)
ison with current diesel fuel (JIS No. 2 diesel fuel).
However, cetane value and low heating value are 1500 40, 60 40, 60, 80, 100, 120
(20, 40, 60, 80, 100)
practically identical.

2.3. The experiment method
To reproduce the high-pressure and temperature
conditions of a diesel engine, a mixture of ethylene,
oxygen and nitrogen is created by the fan and ignited by
the spark plug. Concentration of each gas was adjusted
by measuring the partial pressure of each gas, using a
pressure gauge attached to the chamber.
For spray visualization without combustion, oxygen
concentration was adjusted to 3% after ethylene
combustion. Oxygen concentration was adjusted to
21% after ethylene combustion to observe spray
combustion. Gas temperatures in the chamber were
calculated as a function of time based on the measured
pressure histories as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.
Thus, specific fuel injection timing was selected for a
given combination of pressure and temperature, after
the ignition of the ethylene mixture. The experimental
conditions and injection timing are shown in Table 3. In
an engine test, the experimental conditions (injection
pressure and amount) are shown in Table 4. Combus-
tion characteristics based on exhaust measurement and
indicated pressure diagram were analyzed under the
conditions of 1500 rpm fixed and 40 and 60 MPa
injection pressure.
2.4. Numerical analysis
The behaviors of sprays were predicted by using the
KIVA-3 code that has been widely used as one of the
most useful computational simulation codes for in-
cylinder fluid dynamics accompanied by combustion [2].
The wave length model was adopted to analyze and
predict the breakup process of the spray with the diesel
engine cylinder [3]. The calculation parameters were
density, surface tension vapor pressure and viscosity.
410 S.-w. Lee et al. / JSAE Review 23 (2002) 407–414

Table 5
Calculation conditions

Properties Value

Ambient temperature, K 800

Ambient pressure, MPa 1.8
Ambient density, kg/m3 8.0
Injection pressure, MPa 40
Injection quantity 15
Fuel density, kg/m3 0.59, 0.85, 1.10
Surface tension, dyn/cm 16.5, 20.5, 24.4

Fig. 8. Calculation mesh.

Fig. 6. Vapor pressure curve.

Fig. 9. Images of each diesel fuel (Pi : 60 MPa, Qf : 24.3 mg, Pa :

1.8 MPa, Ta : 800 K).

height. Meshing for the coordinate was determined as

NX: 15, NY: 18 and NZ: 24 as shown in Fig. 8.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Experimental results

Fig. 7. Viscosity curve.
Values of density and surface tension were used as
730% value of current diesel fuel as shown in Table 5.
Also, the vapor pressure and viscosity values as shown
in Figs. 6 and 7 [4] were used.
The calculation conditions are indicated in Table 5
and the spray angle was measured from the image and
used as a mean value of 121 for the calculation. A half
cylinder coordinate had a 140 mm diameter and 60 mm
Figs. 9 and 10 show the spray images of each fuel
under the condition of 1.8 MPa and 800 K. In these
results, spray of light diesel was clearly short and thin in
comparison with current diesel. This is because the
penetration becomes weak due to the low density. In
addition, evaporation becomes active because the low
surface tension and the viscosity of light diesel promotes
atomization.
Images under the same ambient condition and
injection pressure of 80 MPa are shown in Fig. 10. The
liquid penetration distance tends to become somewhat
longer with the increased injection pressure at the nozzle
 S.-w. Lee et al. / JSAE Review 23 (2002) 407–414
Fig. 10. Images of each diesel fuel (Pi : 80 MPa, Wf : 28.4 mg, Pa :
1.8 MPa, Ta : 800 K).
Fig. 11. Penetration of each fuel (Injection quantity 28.4 mg) (Pi :
80 MPa, Wf : 28.4 mg, Pa : 1.8 MPa, Ta : 800 K).
Fig. 12. Combustion images of each fuel (Pi : 60 MPa, Wf : 24.3 mg, Pa :
1.8 MPa, Ta : 800 K).
due to the enhanced momentum. The measured
penetration of each fuel is shown in Fig. 11.
Combustion images of each fuel are shown in Figs. 12
and 13 under ambient condition of 2.0 MPa and 800 K.
As can be seen in Fig. 12, it is clear that the flame
luminosity of light diesel is weaker than that of current
411
Fig. 13. Combustion images of each fuel (Pi : 80 MPa, Wf : 28.4 mg, Pa :
1.8 MPa, Ta : 800 K).
diesel fuel under the 60 MPa injection pressure and
2.0 ms injection duration. It is conceivable that the
smoke is controlled by combustion promotion because
low boiling point causes active evaporation. In addition
to low boiling point, low viscosity and surface tension
cause the specific surface area to enlarge and to promote
atomization.
The combustion image of injection pressure of
80 MPa is shown in Fig. 13. For the same reason as
above, it is clear that the flame luminosity of light diesel
is weak at 60 MPa.
However, it was confirmed that the mixture formation
of the fuel and air was improved and the combustion
duration became shorter as the injection pressure
became higher. This is considered to be caused by the
air introduction to the spray becoming active at
injection of 80 MPa in comparison with injection of
60 MPa.
From these results, the improvement of combustion
and the reduction of smoke can be expected by high-
pressure injection of the light diesel [5].
3.2. Computation results using the KIVA-3 code [6]
The influence of the fuel properties on spray was
investigated using KIVA-3 code that has been used
widely as one of the most useful computational
simulation codes for in-cylinder fluid dynamics accom-
panied by combustion.
(1) Influence of density: The calculated results regard-
ing the density that influence penetration are shown in
Fig. 14. The calculation was carried out with density of
0.59 and 1.10 kg/m3 that was 730% value of current
diesel fuel (0.85 kg/m3).
From the comparison of the shape of liquid phase in
Fig. 14, it was known that penetration extended little
and the droplet of liquid phase increased as the density
increased. Also, it was predicted that the distribution of
412 S.-w. Lee et al. / JSAE Review 23 (2002) 407–414

Fig. 14. Effect of fuel density on characteristics of spray (@1.32 ms).

Fig. 15. Effect of surface tension on characteristics of spray (@1.32 ms).

Fig. 16. Effect of vapor pressure on characteristics of spray (@1.32 ms).

gas phase became narrow as density increased. Penetra-
tion increases as density become high, because air
resistance of the droplet under progress becomes
proportionate to the square of diameter. Also, in the
case of low density of 0.59 kg/m3, it was found that the
gas phase of fuel was distributed widely around the
injector tip because of the lack of relative momentum.
(2) Influence of surface tension: The result predicting
the influence of surface tension is shown in Fig. 15.
From this figure, it can be seen that evaporation had a
tendency to be restrained as surface tension became
high. This was because atomization by the shear force
with the air was restrained and the Sauter mean
diameter increased. The reason, however, that there
 S.-w. Lee et al. / JSAE Review 23 (2002) 407–414 413

Fig. 17. Effect of viscosity on characteristics of spray.

was no big difference in penetration was because the

center of penetration was decided without receiving the
shear force from the air.
However, there was a tendency for the spray width to
spread and evaporation to be promoted at the periphery
of the spray because of atomization by shear force
between the droplets and air. Thus, it was predicted that
the mixture would become lean as the surface tension
became low, although the penetration did not change
much. Such a tendency was expected as one of the
means for reducing particulate matter in diesel engines.
(3) Influence of the vapor pressure: Using the vapor
pressure diagram shown in Fig. 6, the influence of the
vapor pressure on spray was calculated, which is shown
in Fig. 16. From these results, it was apparent that there
was a tendency for the evaporation of low boiling point
fuel to become active in the periphery of the spray.
Because atomization and evaporation were influenced
largely by the vapor pressure of fuel, vapor pressure
characteristics and appropriate air introduction need to
be controlled in the formation of mixture.
Although the experiment was carried out in stable
conditions, it was necessary to control swirl or tumble
when a low boiling point fuel was injected. However, it
was possible to observe that the penetration was not
affected much by evaporation.
(4) Influence of viscosity: The calculated results
regarding the influence of viscosity are shown in
Fig. 17. The viscosity of a fuel influences its atomization
Fig. 18. Comparison of exhaust & combustion characteristics (Pinj:
in an engine. A fuel that has high viscosity value has 40 MPa).
deteriorated atomization characteristics, resulting in
poor evaporation.
As was also apparent from the distribution of air 3.3. Results of engine test
excess ratio with Fuel 1, which had low viscosity, when
the distribution of the air excess ratio was between 1 and The exhaust and combustion characteristics using the
2, it became richer compared to Fuels 2 and 3, which single cylinder engine are shown in Figs. 18 and 19.
have high viscosity. Furthermore, there was no large Because the experiment was carried out with a fixed
difference in penetration because the center of penetra- torque, there was almost no difference in input energy.
tion was decided without receiving the shear force from The heat release rate of the light diesel is higher than
air as mentioned above. that of the current diesel, which can be seen from these
414 S.-w. Lee et al. / JSAE Review 23 (2002) 407–414
Fig. 19. Comparison of exhaust & combustion characteristics (Pinj:
60 MPa).
results. As mentioned above, the reason for this is that
the evaporation is promoted by atomization in the light
diesel as the mixture formation is carried out actively.
Smoke was reduced clearly in comparison with the
current diesel fuel. Furthermore, the tendency of NOx
increasing by the high heat release rate was seen,
although the evident difference was not present with
the THC.
4. Conclusion
The transient characteristics of light diesel sprays and
combustion were investigated under high-temperature
and high-pressure conditions in the constant volume
chamber. The following conclusions were drawn.
(1) The spray of the light diesel fuel with low boiling
point and low density because short and narrow because
atomization and evaporation were promoted compared
to the current diesel.
(2) In case of the light diesel, the luminosity of the
flame was weaker than that of the current diesel because
combustion was improved by the promotion of eva-
poration and introduction of the air. Therefore a
reduction of smoke can be expected.
(3) The performance obtained in the experimental of
the light diesel was almost equivalent to that of the
current diesel without deterioration of other exhaust
gases, while smoke was reduced substantially.
Also, spray characteristics were simulated using
KIVA-3 code and the following results were obtained.
(4) With lower values of density, surface tension and
viscosity of the fuel, the effects were that more
atomization and mixture formation were promoted.
(5) Because atomization and evaporation were
affected largely by the vapor pressure of fuel, there
was a need to control the vapor pressure characteristics
in the formation of an appropriate mixture.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Nisseki Mitsubishi. The
authors sincerely thank them for their support in this
study.
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