Effect of injection timing on gasoline homogeneous charge compression ignition particulate emissions

Particulate emissions from homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI)engines are often considered as negligible and the measurement of particulate matter (PM) with HCCI combustion systems has been rare. An earlier publication in the literature and the authors' own recently published work suggest that PM emissions from gasoline direct injection (DI) HCCI engines should not be neglected. It has been shown that PM emissions from HCCI engines, although generally lower, can be similar to spark ignition (SI) levels for certain engine conditions, especially in the accumulation mode. The present work shows that although injection timing is effective for control of HCCI, it can have a significant impact on PM emissions. Engine speed also appears to have an impact on PM emissions for the HCCI combustion mode. Typically for HCCI operating at 1500 r/min, the total mass and total number of the PM emissions could be up to six times higher when the fuel is injected during the recompression period compared with the case for injection during the inlet valve open period. Similarly, when the engine was operated in SI mode, an attempt to inject fuel close to induction top dead centre (TDC) made the PM emission noticeably higher, reaching unacceptable levels. The split injection strategy for HCCI mode has been investigated for its effect on PM emissions. It has been found that the PM. number concentration for split injection lies between the maximum concentration measured for very early injections (near TDC at recompression) and the minimum concentration measured for the latest injections used (at crank angles near to the inlet valve maximum opening time), with the magnitude of number density varying approximately from 0.2 to 1.2 million/cm(3). It is also observed that for split injection the number of particulates in nucleation mode varies less, while the number in accumulation mode level varies within a limit of one order of magnitude; both are dependent on the injection strategy. The shape of the PM distribution is such that the nucleation mode exceeds the number concentration of 1 x 10(7) (dN d log D-p) and the accumulation mode falls parabolically to approximately 1 x 10(6). For comparison, it can be said that the PM number concentration measured in the authors' engine is approximately one order of magnitude lower in accumulation mode than the level for a typical modern diesel engine.