Abstract
In-cylinder blending of gasoline and diesel fuels to achieve low-temperature reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI) can reduce NOx and PM emissions while maintaining or improving brake thermal efficiency compared to conventional diesel combustion (CDC). Moreover, the dual-fueling RCCI is able to achieve these benefits by tailoring combustion reactivity over a wider range of engine operation than is possible with a single fuel. However, the currently demonstrated range of stable RCCI combustion just covers a portion of the engine speed-load range required in several light-duty drive cycles. This means that engines must switch from RCCI to CDC when speed and load fall outside of the stable RCCI range. In this study we investigated the impact of RCCI as it has recently been demonstrated on practical engine-out exhaust temperature and emissions by simulating a multi-mode RCCI-enabled vehicle operating over two urban and two highway driving cycles. To implement our simulations, we employed experimental engine maps for a multi-mode RCCI/CDC engine combined with a standard mid-size, automatic transmission, passenger vehicle in the Autonomie vehicle simulation platform. Our results include both detailed transient and cycle-averaged engine exhaust temperature and emissions for each case, and we note the potential implications of the modified exhaust properties on catalytic emissions control and utilization of waste heat recovery on future RCCI-enabled vehicles.
