INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH

Int. J. Energy Res. 2016; 40:100111

Published online 23 January 2015 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/er.3286

Modeling and simulation of diesel, biodiesel and biogas

mixtures driven compression ignition internal
combustion engines
Vilmar Graciano1, Jose Viriato C. Vargas1,*, and Juan C. Ordonez2
1
Departamento de Engenharia Mecnica, Programa de Ps-Graduao em Engenharia Mecnica (PGMEC) e Ncleo de Pesquisa e
Desenvolvimento em Energia AutoSustentvel (NPDEAS), UFPR Universidade Federal do Paran, Curitiba, PR 81531-980, Brazil
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Energy and Sustainability Center and Center for Advanced Power Systems, Florida State
University, Tallahassee, FL 32310-6046, USA

SUMMARY
This paper introduces a general mathematical model for compression ignition internal combustion engines driven by diesel,
biodiesel, and/or biogas. The model is written for dynamic and steady state operation and combines principles of classical
thermodynamics and heat transfer, with the use of empirical and theoretical correlations for simplicity, in order to quickly
assess the potential of new fuel mixtures such as microalgae-derived biodiesel and biogas to feed the compression ignition
internal combustion engines. Geometric and operating parameters (e.g., rpm, piston and cylinder diameter, stroke, engine
operating temperature, engine compression ratio, and air-to-fuel ratio) are the basis for the model equations, which are ca-
pable of calculating the engine mean indicated pressure, indicated power, and indicated torque with respect to crank speed.
Friction losses are quantied based on existing empirical correlations for engines with direct fuel injection, so that engine
net power and torque are also assessed. The model was adjusted and experimentally validated by direct comparison of the
obtained results to previously published experimental data, and engine nominal curves. The simulations show the follow-
ing: (i) using only biodiesel, the engine power reduces about 1.0%, and the fuel consumption rises about 12.0% with re-
spect to fossil diesel; (ii) using only natural gas, the engine power reduces about 2.0%, and the fuel consumption
reduces about 13.0% with respect to fossil diesel; and (iii) fuel mixtures using 50% of biodiesel and/or 50.0% of natural
gas produce power values within 1.0% when compared to each other. The obtained numerical results demonstrate that
the model is expected to be an important and simple tool for design, control, and optimization of compression ignition en-
gines driven by diesel, biodiesel, and biogas fuel mixtures, due to the combination of accuracy with low computational
time. Copyright 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

KEY WORDS
mathematical model; biofuel mixtures; engine parametric analysis; model experimental validation

Correspondence
*Jose Viriato C. Vargas, Departamento de Engenharia Mecnica, Programa de Ps-Graduao em Engenharia Mecnica (PGMEC)
e Ncleo de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento em Energia AutoSustentvel (NPDEAS), UFPR Universidade Federal do Paran, CP
19011, 81531980, Curitiba, PR, Brasil.

E-mail: jvargas@demec.ufpr.br

Received 31 August 2014; Revised 27 October 2014; Accepted 23 November 2014

1. INTRODUCTION projects, due to their high production capacity of vegetable

The search for alternative and possibly clean energy sources
has denitely gained momentum all over the world since the
past decade. The increasing energy demands, predicted fossil
fuels shortage in the near future, and environmental concerns
due to the production of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide on
their combustion are the main reasons for such global effort.
Among several sun driven energy sources, microalgae
are currently the basis of many alternative energy ongoing
oils. They present high growth rate, even at low solar light
and CO2 levels, and thus are more photosynthetically ef-
cient than oil crops [1].
Figure 1 shows the owchart of one of such projects,
which is under development at the Center for Sustainable
Energy Research and Development, Federal University of
Parana, Curitiba, Brazil. The proposed sustainable energy
plant consists of the integration of several engineering sub-
systems. The main objective is to demonstrate that a mid-

100 Copyright 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Diesel, biodiesel and biogas mixtures driven CI-ICE simulation
Figure 1. Microalgae derived sustainable energy plant owchart.
to-high energy demand industrial facility could operate with
locally produced microalgae-derived biofuels (e.g., biodiesel,
ethanol, and biohydrogen). In the photobioreactors (PBR),
high density microalgae biomass production is attained,
followed by a sequence of unit operations, that is, harvesting,
separation by centrifugation, drying, and solvent-based lipid
extraction. The nonfat and carbohydrate/protein rich resi-
due is currently directed to a biodigester for biogas pro-
duction, and the nitrates/phosphate rich efuents are used
as microalgae nutrients in the PBR. However, the nonfat
residue could be used for ethanol, food supplements, and
animal feed production. The extracted oil undergoes a
transesterication reaction for biodiesel production (ethyl-
esters). The produced biodiesel and biogas are then used
to fuel a trigenset (electricity, heating, and cooling) whose
emissions are then used as CO2 source for microalgae
growth. Biohydrogen production is also possible directly
from the PBR, using indirect biophotolysis, that is, an
aerobic/anaerobic intermittent cycle strategy [2].
In such context, the performance of the diesel cycle
based trigenset using new fuel mixtures, that is, the
microalgae-derived biodiesel and biogas, needs to be
assessed. Therefore, a brief review on the current main
trends in research and development of compression igni-
tion (CI) engines is herein conducted.
Aiming at better use of energy sources, the cogeneration
and trigeneration-based CI engines strategy has been
proposed in several studies. For example, Temir and Bilge
[3] analyzed a trigeneration system powered by a natural
Int. J. Energy Res. 2016; 40:100111 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/er
V. Graciano, J. V. C. Vargas and J. C. Ordonez
gas internal combustion engines (ICE), which generated
electricity, and used the exhaust gases to power an absorp-
tion refrigerator, and the engine cooling water for ambient
heating. The experimental work reported optimal parame-
ters for maximum efciency. Similarly, Abusoglu and
Kanoglu [4] developed an exergetic and thermoeconomic
analysis of a 25 MW turbo and intercooled CI-ICE cogen-
eration system that generates electricity and uses the ex-
haust gases heat for the manufacturing process in which
it is installed. The study introduced a mathematical model
followed by experimental validation. Signicant efciency
and economical gains were obtained. Katri et al. [5] de-
signed and experimentally investigated performance and
emissions of the CI-ICE in simple and trigeneration opera-
tion. The net efciency with full load reached 82.6% and
33.7%, and CO2 emission level was 0.1211 kg CO2
kWh-1 and 0.308 kg CO2 kWh-1, for the tri and simple
generation systems, respectively. The results conrm the
adequacy of trigeneration systems for remote locations
and sustainable applications. However, in all such studies,
only steady state operation was investigated, and the possi-
ble use of alternative fuels was not addressed.
Considering ICE modeling and simulation, possibly,
the most famous and widely used ICE development code
is the so called KIVA, which was developed by Los
Alamos National Laboratory, LANL [6]. KIVA is an ICE
modeling tool designed to help make automotive engines
more fuel efcient and cleaner burning. For example,
General Motors has used KIVA in the development of
101
V. Graciano, J. V. C. Vargas and J. C. Ordonez
direct-injection, stratied charge gasoline engines as well
as the fast burn, homogeneous-charge gasoline engine
[6]. Cummins reduced development time and cost by
1015% to develop high-efciency diesel engines [6].
Rakopoulos and Giakoumis [7] presented and discussed
some of the most important ndings in the eld during
the last 30 years related to transient diesel engine simula-
tion, such as second-law analysis, response when the tur-
bocharger compressor experiences surge, and whole
vehicle performance.
Regarding CI engines operating with new and alterna-
tive fuels, a few studies could be cited, such as the work
of Gogoi and Baruah [8]. They considered biodiesel and
its blends and developed a cycle simulation model incorpo-
rating a thermodynamic-based single zone combustion
model to predict the effect of engine speed and compres-
sion ratio on brake power and brake thermal efciency.
Similarly, Bueno et al. [9] studied the CI-ICE fed with
soy oil and diesel mixtures (530% w/w). A simple mathe-
matical model was used for the engine, but a more sophis-
ticated one was used to determine the heat of combustion,
followed by experimental validation, concluding that the
equivalence ratio and combustion temperature are the
highest impacting parameters on performance. Jimenez
et al. [10] numerically studied the inuence of bioethanol
addition to diesel and biodiesel fuel on the injection
process, by considering neat mineral diesel, neat biodiesel
from rapeseed oil, and bioethanoldiesel, and bioethanol
biodiesel blends up to 15% bioethanol concentration (v/v)
with an increment of 5%. A one-dimensional mathematical
model was used, which was experimentally tested, and
concluded that the addition of bioethanol to biodiesel and
to diesel reduces fuelling, injection timing, injection dura-
tion, mean injection rate, and maximum injection pressure.
Another study considered the problems of adapting diesel
mathematical models to engines converted to rapeseed oil
methyl ester biofuels, also using experimental assessments,
concluding that adjustment of the algorithm for calculating
the induction period and the on-set phase of fuel injection
is required for accuracy [11]. Also, the use of pure natural
gas or mixed with conventional diesel (dual fuel natural
gas/diesel engines) has been a common practice and the
subject of numerous articles, such as by Papagiannakis
et al. [12]. They applied a two-zone phenomenological
model on a high-speed, pilot ignited, natural gas diesel en-
gine, and reported the relative impact of the mentioned pa-
rameters on performance and exhaust emissions.
Entropy generation in CI-ICE has been considered in
several previous works. For example, Giakoumis and
Andritsakis [13] introduced a computer model to study
the dynamic response of a turbocharged diesel engine
using the rst-law and second-law of thermodynamics.
Irreversibilities of all processes and devices after a ramp
increase in load were quantied, by including a detailed
analysis of mechanical friction, a separate consideration
for the processes in each cylinder during a cycle (multi-cylin-
der model) and a mathematical simulation of the fuel pump.
The contribution of combustion, manifolds, aftercooler, and
102
Diesel, biodiesel and biogas mixtures driven CI-ICE simulation
turbocharger irreversibility production is analysed using
detailed diagrams revealing that transient in-cylinder irrevers-
ibilities develop in a different manner compared to the respec-
tive steady state. However, only fossil diesel was analyzed.
Besides the impact on CI-ICE performance that the
change in fossil diesel could cause, the new fuels proper-
ties certainly require the research and development of ade-
quate components, such as combustion chambers and fuel
nozzles. In that direction, there is a need for the develop-
ment of detailed models, and existing complex models
should be amended. Actually, reliable and effective com-
plex codes for CI-ICE simulation, such as KIVA, do exist.
A recent and comprehensive work by Isermann [14] pre-
sents the basic fundamentals of ICE, the most recent
advances in modeling and identication methods, as well
as engine control. However, fast and accurate computer ap-
plications for the dynamic simulation of the 4-stroke CI
engine with alternative fuels (including combustion) are
needed for the simulation of the four-stroke CI engine for
control and optimization purposes.
1.1. Objectives
Based on the bibliographic review, and the identied re-
search needs on the subject, the following objectives are
dened for this study: (i) develop a simplied dynamic
mathematical model for four-stroke CI engines powered
by diesel, biodiesel, and biogas mixtures; (ii) adjust and
experimentally validate the model; and (iii) perform a CI-
ICE parametric analysis to illustrate model utilization.
2. MATHEMATICAL MODEL
Figure 2 shows the CI-ICE working space, which includes
the piston head and cylinder walls. The mathematical
model was developed with the following assumptions:
ideal gas behavior is assumed for the working uid mixture
(reactants and products) inside the cylinder in all strokes,
the pressure and temperature inside the cylinder are uni-
form in the working space, and the working uid potential
and kinetic energy variations are neglected with respect to
internal energy variation.
Figure 2. Compression ignition internal combustion engines
working space schematic diagram.
Int. J. Energy Res. 2016; 40:100111 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/er
Diesel, biodiesel and biogas mixtures driven CI-ICE simulation V. Graciano, J. V. C. Vargas and J. C. Ordonez

The position of the piston relative to the top of the cyl- or volume), kJ kg1 K1; cj,gm(Tcyl) gas mixture specic
inder and the instantaneous working space volume are heat at constant j (= pressure or volume), kJ kg1 K1; Mi
given by represents molecular mass of substance i, kg kmol1; and
H cyl ROD CS1- cos (1) xi molar fraction of substance i.
q A balance of energy applied to the working space dur-
- ROD2 -CS2 sin2 ing the admission stroke states that

! !
Q_ w -pcyl dtcyl hf ;in m_ f hair;in m_ air -cv;air T cyl m_ air -cv;f T cyl m_ f
dV
Pd 2 dT cyl
 
V cyl H cyl (2) dt cv;air mair mprod cv; f mf
4
(9a)
2.1. Admission and exhaust strokes
and during the exhaust stroke
The admitted instantaneous air mass and mass ow rate to
!
or from the cylinder are obtained from Q_ w -pcyl dtcyl  hprod;out m_ prod -cv;air T cyl m_ prod
dV
dT cyl

q
  dt cv;air mprod
dmi
m_ i 1j Cd Amin 2 p0 -pcyl 
air (3)
dt (9b)

with j = 1 (exhaust) and 2 (admission); Amin represents in which hair,in and hf,in are the air and fuel input specic
valve minimum opening area, m2; Cd discharge coefcient; enthalpy during the admission stroke, kJ kg1; hprod,out
mi mass of substance i in the cylinder, kg; m_ i mass ow rate are products output specic enthalpy during the exhaust
of substance i, kg s1, in which i = air (admission) or prod stroke, kJ kg1; and Q_ w_ is the heat transfer rate through
(exhaust products); and air, air density, kg m3, which is the engine cylinder walls, kW.
utilized as the density of substance i as an approximation The air, products, and fuel specic enthalpies at any
both during the admission and exhaust strokes, for temperature T are evaluated as follows:
simplicity.
hi T cp;air T (10)
Therefore, the injected instantaneous fuel mass and
mass ow rate are calculated by
hf T cp;f T (11)
dmf m_ air
m_ f (4)
dt AFR where i = air or prod; cp,air, cp,f represents air and fuel spe-
cic heat at constant pressure, kJ kg1 K1; and hi(T) and
where AFR represents air-to-fuel ratio, mf mass of injected hf (T) air or products, and fuel specic enthalpies, respec-
fuel, kg, and m_ f injected fuel mass ow rate, kg s1. tively, kJ kg1 K1.
The instantaneous total mass of gas mixture inside the The heat transfer rate from or to the cylinder walls is
cylinder is therefore calculated by adding the radiation and convection contri-
butions, which are assumed as the predominant heat
mgm mf mair (5) transfer modes in the process. The convection heat transfer
coefcient is evaluated using the Dittus and Boelter corre-
where mgm is the total mass of gas mixture in the cylinder, lation [15]. The resulting equations are given as follows:
kg.The instantaneous pressure inside the cylinder is given  
by Q_ w - Q_ conv Q_ rad (12)
 
Q_ conv hconv Acyl T cyl -T w (13)
mgm Rgm T cyl
pcyl (6)
V cyl 4=5 kgas
hconv 0:023RePd Pr1=3 (14)
Pd
with
Sp Pd
RePd (15)
Rgm cp;gm -cv;gm (7) gas

  CSN
n
Sp (16)
xi M i cj;i T cyl 60
  i1
cj;gm T cyl n (8)
xi M i P2d
Acyl Pd H cyl (17)
i1 4

in which Rgm represents gas mixture constant, kJ kg1 K1;  

cj,i(Tcyl) specic heat of substance i at constant j (= pressure Q_ rad w Acyl T 4cyl -T 4w (18)

Int. J. Energy Res. 2016; 40:100111 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 103
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V. Graciano, J. V. C. Vargas and J. C. Ordonez Diesel, biodiesel and biogas mixtures driven CI-ICE simulation

where Acyl represents cylinder heat transfer area, m2; hconv products and reactants, which is given as follows:
convection heat transfer coefcient, kW m2 K1; N crank
angular speed, rpm; Pr gas mixture Prandtl number; ReP Qcomb hprod - hreac (22)
d
piston diameter Reynolds number based on piston diame-
ter; Q_ conv , Q_ rad , and Q_ w cylinder walls heat transfer rate where Qcomb represents combustion released heat, molar
by convection, radiation, and total, kW; Sp average piston basis, kJ kmol1 and hprod , hreac as products and reactants
speed, m s1; Tw cylinder wall temperature, K; w cylinder molar enthalpies, kJ kmol1.
walls emissivity; kgas gas mixture thermal conductivity,
kW m1 K1; gas gas mixture kinematic viscosity, Qcomb
m2 s1; and StefanBoltzmann constant, kW m2 K4. Qcomb (23)
Mf

2.2. Compression and expansion strokes with

In the compression and expansion strokes, the pressure is also
calculated using Eqs. 6(8). Note that, with the admission M f y M biodiesel 1-y fx M diesel 1-x (24)
and expansion valves closed, the working space is treated z MCH4 1  z M CO2 g
as a closed system, under a no leak assumption. Therefore,
a balance of energy applied to the working space states that where Qcomb represents heat of combustion, kJ kg1 and
Mi as molecular mass of substance i, kg kmol1.The heat
 
dT cyl Q_ w  W
_p of combustion per unit of time is calculated as follows:
(19)
dt mgm;adm cv;gm
Q
Q_ comb mf ; adm comb (25)
t comb
where W _ p pcyl cyl represents consumed power (compres-
dV
dt
sion) or produced (expansion) by the piston, kJ, and mgm,adm in which
admitted air and fuel total mass (gas mixture) by the end of
the admission stroke ( = 90o), kg. 60
tcomb (26)
2N
2.3. Combustion

The combustion reaction, considering the existence of die-
sel, biodiesel, and biogas (mixture of methane and carbon
dioxide) in the fuel mixture, is written as follows:
 During combustion, a balance of energy and the equa-
yC H O 1  y xC H 1  x zCH4 1  z CO2 
aO2 3; 76N2 bCO2 cH2 O 3; 76aN2 (20)
 1 a O2
where , , and represents carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen
number of atoms in the biodiesel molecule; and carbon
and hydrogen number of atoms in the diesel molecule; a, b,
and c balanced coefcients in the combustion reaction; y
biodiesel fraction in total fuel mixture; x diesel fraction in
the diesel/biogas mixture; and z methane fraction in biogas
mixture.
where Q_ comb represents heat of combustion per unit of time,
kW; tcomb combustion time (duration), s; combustion
angle span, rad; and mf,adm total mass of admitted fuel at
the end of the admission stroke ( = 90o), kg.
tion of state for ideal gases state that the instantaneous
pressure inside the cylinder is given by
(20)  
dpcyl Rgm Q_ comb Q_ w -pcyl dt  Rgm
dV cyl pcyl cv;gm dV cyl
dt
(27)
dt V cyl cv;gm
During combustion, the working uid temperature, Tcyl,
is calculated using Eqs. (6)(8).
2.4. Compression ignition internal
combustion engines output variables

AFRr The cylinder mean indicated pressure is calculated as

(21)
AFRst follows:

where AFRst, AFRr represents air-to-fuel ratios, stoichio- Wi

metric and real and as the inverse of the equivalence ratio
(or excessive air ratio).
Note that only theoretical and excess air conditions
( 1) are considered by Eq. (20). For low air ( < 1), a
products composition analysis is necessary.
The heat released by the combustion in molar basis is
the difference between the specic molar enthalpy of
pm;i (28)
Vd
where pm,i is the cylinder mean indicated pressure, N m2,
and Wi is the cylinder indicated work, kJ.
The cylinder mean friction pressure is obtained using
empirical correlations for ICE engines with direct injection
of fuel [16], which expresses the losses (e.g., friction and

104 Int. J. Energy Res. 2016; 40:100111 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/er
Diesel, biodiesel and biogas mixtures driven CI-ICE simulation V. Graciano, J. V. C. Vargas and J. C. Ordonez

30 11
50o 1.2
25 x = 1 y = 0.5 10
N 3000 rpm
20 9

p [bar] 15
cyl
FC [kg h -1] 8
10
7
5
6
model
modelo
0
experiments
real
0 0.0004 0.0008 0.0012 5
V [bar] 1500 2000 2500 3000
cyl N [rpm]
(a) (a)
2500
50o 1.2
2000
x = 1 y = 0.5
N 3000 rpm 4 104

1500
T [K]
cyl
Wef [W]
1000
3 104
500

0 model
modelo
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 experiments
real
t [s] 2 104
1500 2000 2500 3000
(b) N [rpm]
(b)
Figure 3. Simulation example of compression ignition internal
combustion engines dynamic response diagrams: (a) Pcyl Vcyl Figure 4. Hourly fuel consumption (a) and net power output (b)
and (b) Tcyl t. of the Lintec 4LD 2500 compression ignition internal combus-
tion engine, used for model adjustment.

pumping) in the form of a pressure drop:

48N where W _ ef ;p, W
_ ef represents net power delivered by one cyl-
2
pm; f r C1 0:4Sp (29) inder, and by the engine, kW; tec = 2 60/N engine cycle
1000
duration time, s; ef net engine torque, kN m; ef net engine
efciency; and Ncyl number of engine cylinders.
pm;ef pm;i  pm; f r (30) Finally, the hourly fuel consumption (FC) is given by

where pm, fr is the cylinder mean friction pressure, N m2; mf ;adm

C1 is constant, 75,000 N m2 [16]; and pm,ef is the cylinder FC 3600 N cyl (35)
t ec
mean effective pressure, N m2.
The net power delivered by one cylinder, and the net
3. NUMERICAL METHOD
power, torque, and efciency delivered by the engine are
pm;ef V d A computational code for solving a system of ODEs was
_ ef ;p
W (31)
t ec implemented in Fortran language to solve the problem for-
mulated by Eqs. (3), (4), (9), (19), and (27), together with
W _ ef ;p N cyl
_ ef W (32) complementary algebraic equations, aiming at obtaining a
pressure-volume diagram of the CI-ICE. The system is
60W_ ef integrated in time from a given set of initial conditions
ef (33) explicitly, using an adaptive time step 4th/5th order
2N
RungeKuttaFehlberg method [17]. Note that a BVP is
_ ef
W
ef (34) what results from the formulation. Therefore, an initial
_Qcomb thermodynamic state must be guessed to start the engine

Int. J. Energy Res. 2016; 40:100111 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 105
DOI: 10.1002/er
V. Graciano, J. V. C. Vargas and J. C. Ordonez
Figure 5. Net torque (a) and efciency output (b) of the Lintec
4LD 2500 compression ignition internal combustion engine,
used for model adjustment.
thermodynamic cycle simulation, being a special process
that starts and ends at the same thermodynamic state.
In this study, the point in the beginning of the admission
stroke was selected as the starting point, that is, the top dead
center. The four strokes (admission, compression,
combustion/expansion, and exhaust) occur in two spins of
the crankshaft in a four-stroke engine, that is, 720o. As a result,
the integration is conducted from the estimated initial values
for two crankshaft spins, then the values at the end and start
are compared. In case there is good agreement, the values
are correct; otherwise, the previous initial values are replaced
by the newly calculated ones at the end of the rst iteration in
order to start the second iteration, and so on. The procedure is
repeated until convergence is attained. The initial values esti-
mated for the ve unknowns are mair,0 = p0Vc/R/Tw, mf,0 = 0,
Tcyl,0 = Tw, pcyl,0 = p0, and mprod,0 = 0. The convergence to
the correct thermodynamic state is checked through
 
uj1  uj 
cycle tol (36)
uj
in which, u = mair, mf, Tcyl, pcyl or mprod, tol is a tolerance limit
for convergence (in this study, 0.01 or 1%), and j 0 is the
106
Diesel, biodiesel and biogas mixtures driven CI-ICE simulation
Figure 6. Hourly fuel consumption (a) and net power output (b)
of the Agrale M790 compression ignition internal combustion
engine, used for model experimental validation.
iteration counter. All ve unknowns need to be tested
according to the criterion of Eq. (36), so that convergence
is achieved.
The solution procedure started with p0 = 101,300 N m2,
T0 = 298.15 K, in which subscript 0 refers to ambient condi-
tions; Cd = 0.9; dadm = 0.012 m (admission and exhaust
valve diameters for calculating the valve minimum opening
area); R = 287 J kg- 1 K- 1; Vc = 6.128 10 5 m3; Pd = 0.102 m;
CS = 0.06 m; ROD = 0.207 m; cp,air = 1 kJ kg - 1K  1 ;
cv,air = 0.7 kJ kg- 1K  1; cp;f ;diesel 293:494 kJ kmol-1 K 1 ;
cp;f ;biodiesel 455:18 kJ kmol-1 K 1 ; kgas = 0.026 W m-
1 1
K ; gas = 1.5 10 5 m2 s- 1; = 5.67 10- 8 Wm- 2K  4;
Tw = 373.15 K; = 50o, = 1.2, and air = 1.125 kg m- 3. In
this study, the fuel molecular formulae are assumed to be
C12H23 [18] and C20H36O2 [8] for fossil diesel and biodiesel,
respectively.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In order to indicate the validity of the assumptions, numer-
ical procedure and engine characteristics, the analysis starts
Int. J. Energy Res. 2016; 40:100111 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/er
Diesel, biodiesel and biogas mixtures driven CI-ICE simulation
Figure 7. Net torque (a) and efciency output (b) of the Agrale
M790 compression ignition internal combustion engine, used
for model experimental validation.
by presenting a Pcyl Vcyl diagram, which is shown in
Figure 3a. For this example, it was assumed that the fuel
was a fossil diesel and biodiesel mixture, that is, a B50
fuel, therefore, in the mathematical model, x = 1, and
y = 0.5 at N = 3000 rpm. The compression and expansion
processes are clearly devised in the graphic, showing that
a positive net work is achieved. It is also seen the pumping
work that is consumed during the admission and exhaust
strokes. The simulation was conducted for the CI-ICE con-
guration and operating conditions described in the previ-
ous section. Figure 3b shows a Tcyl t diagram, that is, the
behavior of the cylinder working uid temperature with
respect to time during one engine cycle. Both graphs
corroborate the expected trends for a CI-ICE, obtained
with the simulations conducted with the mathematical
model introduced in this paper.
Next, aiming at a parametric analysis, experimental data
are used to experimentally validate the numerical results
obtained with the mathematical model introduced in the
previous section. For that, four different CI-ICE output
data were utilized. The procedure consists of solving the
inverse problem of parameters estimation (IPPE) to
Int. J. Energy Res. 2016; 40:100111 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/er
V. Graciano, J. V. C. Vargas and J. C. Ordonez
Figure 8. The effect of admission valve diameter (a) and com-
bustion angle span (b) on the Lintec 4LD 2500 compression igni-
tion internal combustion engine net power output.
determine two multiplying coefcients using two data sets
by the solution of an IPPE, therefore adjusting the mathe-
matical model. After that, the conditions corresponding to
the other two data sets are computationally simulated with
the adjusted model to verify the agreement between nu-
merical and experimental results. Finally, the experimen-
tally validated model is used to investigate the CI-ICE
dynamic response.
For model adjustment, the engines Lintec 4LD 2500
and MWM 229.6 were utilized, with measured data from
the manufacturer and by Pereira [18], respectively. For
model experimental validation, the engines Lintec 3LD
1500 and Agrale M790 were utilized, with measured data
from the manufacturers. All the experimental data are
shown with their respective uncertainties.
The model results for the hourly FC lie within the ex-
perimental uncertainty even without adjustment. However,
the model must be adjusted in order to provide accurate net
power, torque, and efciency results. The model adjust-
ment was conducted by adding multiplying coefcients
to Eqs. (12) and (29), after noting that the model calcula-
tion of heat transfer rate through the cylinder walls and
friction losses had the highest impact on the variation of
107
V. Graciano, J. V. C. Vargas and J. C. Ordonez
the results, and has potential sources of inaccuracy, mainly
due to the estimate of heat transfer and friction coefcients.
Two coefcients were established as unknowns to be de-
termined by the IPPE solution, K1 and K2, which were ob-
tained by trial and error using the mathematical model, and
the results are as follows:
 
Q_ w - Q_ conv Q_ rad K 1 (37)
 the CI-ICE performance. The study starts with Figure 9,
48N 2 which shows the values of hourly FC, and net power out-
pm;f r C1 0; 4Sp K2 (38)
1000
in which K1 = 1.45 and K2 = 0.8.
Figures 4 and 5 present the values of hourly FC, net power,
torque, and efciency output for the Lintec 4LD 2500 engine
after model adjustment. In the simulations, fossil diesel was
utilized as fuel to perform the model adjustment in order to
match the available experimental data. The numerical results
are all within the experimental uncertainties, which demon-
strate that the model adjustment strategy was successful.
Figures 6 and 7 present the values of hourly FC, net
power, torque, and efciency output for the Agrale M790
engine using the adjusted model. Again, in the simulations,
fossil diesel was utilized as fuel to perform the model ex-
perimental validation. The numerical results are all within
the experimental uncertainties, which validate experimen-
tally the model, because the adjusted model was capable
of producing accurate results for a different set of experi-
mental data from the one used to adjust the model.
Figure 8 depicts examples of parametric analyses,
showing the effects of valve diameter variation and com-
bustion angle span in the net power output delivered by
the Lintec 4LD 2500 engine. The valve diameter was var-
ied around the nominal value, up and down. The results of
Figure 8a show that for a lower valve diameter, less air
ows to cylinder and because the air-to-fuel ratio, AFR,
is kept constant, less fuel is injected in the cylinder,
resulting in lower net power values. Conversely, when
valve diameter increases, the net power increases as well,
but approaching a ceiling value, so that increasing valve di-
ameter no longer results in power increase. The results of
Figure 9. The effect of biodiesel and diesel fuel mixtures on the hourly fuel consumption and net power output of the Lintec 4LD 2500
compression ignition internal combustion engine.
108
Diesel, biodiesel and biogas mixtures driven CI-ICE simulation
Figure 8b show that the combustion angle span variation
is not important at low speeds but becomes more important
as crank speed increases, because an increase in combus-
tion angle span results in loss of power due to slower com-
bustion time; that is, the faster the combustion (more
effective), the higher the engine net power output.
Next, the experimentally validated model is used to in-
vestigate the effect of using different biofuel mixtures on
put for the Lintec 4LD 2500 diesel engine with respect to
crank speed. The simulation shows that the biodiesel fuel
led to less net power output than with fossil diesel mainly
at low to medium speed, and approaching fossil diesel per-
formance as the engine gets close to cut off speed. The
hourly FC is signicantly greater with 100% and 50% bio-
diesel than using 100% fossil diesel. On the other hand,
such FC increase is capable of compensating the CI-ICE
operation for almost matching the engine net power output
to fossil diesel operation, which is shown to be only 1.0%
lower than with fossil diesel.
Figure 10 shows the values of hourly FC, and net power
output for the Lintec 4LD 2500 diesel engine with respect
to crank speed for natural gas and fossil diesel mixtures. In
this study, only 100% methane biogas was analyzed, but
the model allows for the investigation of methane and car-
bon dioxide mixtures by varying the methane fraction in
the mixture, z, as it is shown in Eqs. (20) and (24). The
simulation shows that the natural gas led to almost the
same net power output as with 50% and 100% fossil diesel,
that is, only 1.5% lower. However, the hourly FC is signif-
icantly lower than using 100% and 50% fossil diesel. This
is mainly because natural gas has a higher lower heating
value (LHVnatgas = 47.141 MJ kg1) than fossil diesel
(LHVUSconvdiesel = 42.791 MJ kg1).
A similar analysis is conducted in Figure 11, which shows
the values of hourly FC, and net power output for the Lintec
4LD 2500 diesel engine with respect to crank speed for nat-
ural gas and biodiesel mixtures. The simulation shows that
the natural gas led to almost the same net power output as
with biodiesel, that is, only at most 1% lower. However,
Int. J. Energy Res. 2016; 40:100111 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/er
Diesel, biodiesel and biogas mixtures driven CI-ICE simulation V. Graciano, J. V. C. Vargas and J. C. Ordonez

Figure 10. The effect of natural gas and diesel fuel mixtures on the hourly fuel consumption and net power output of the Lintec 4LD
2500 compression ignition internal combustion engine.

Figure 11. The effect of natural gas and biodiesel fuel mixtures on the hourly fuel consumption and net power output of the Lintec
4LD 2500 compression ignition internal combustion engine.

the hourly FC is signicantly lower than using 100% and
50% biodiesel. This is mainly because natural gas has a
higher lower heating value than methyl ester diesel
(LHVMEbiodiesel = 37.528 MJ kg1).
The values of hourly FC and net power output for the Lintec
4LD 2500 diesel engine with respect to crank speed for natural
gas, biodiesel, and fossil diesel mixtures are shown in Figure 12.
The simulation allows for the investigation of the effect on
engine performance of fuel mixtures in different proportions,
that is, 50%, 30%, and 20% as compared to 100% fossil diesel.
As a result, Figure 12 illustrates how the allocation of
different fuel proportions in the fuel mixture impacts en-
gine performance. In this example, the mixture 50% natu-
ral gas, 30% biodiesel, and 20% diesel is shown to lead
to a signicantly lower hourly FC than the other tested
ones, whereas engine net power output drops only at most

Figure 12. The effect of natural gas, biodiesel, and diesel fuel mixtures on the hourly fuel consumption and net power output of the
Lintec 4LD 2500 compression ignition internal combustion engine.

Int. J. Energy Res. 2016; 40:100111 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 109
DOI: 10.1002/er
V. Graciano, J. V. C. Vargas and J. C. Ordonez Diesel, biodiesel and biogas mixtures driven CI-ICE simulation

2% with respect to 100% fossil diesel driven engine one. h = specic enthalpy, kJ kg1; convective
The reason that is possible is because with a fast and accu- heat transfer coefcient, W m2 K1
rate model, many such proportions could be tested and op- Hcyl = instantaneous piston position, m
timized for example for minimum FC while keeping net LHV = lower heating value, MJ kg1
power output at a level as high as with 100% fossil diesel. k = thermal conductivity, W m1 K1
K1, K2 = model adjustment constant, Eqs. (37) and (38)
m = mass, kg
5. CONCLUSION m_ = mass ow rate, kg s1
M = molecular mass, kg kmol1
This paper introduced a general mathematical model for N = crank rotational speed, rpm
CI-ICE driven by diesel, biodiesel, and/or biogas. Model Ncyl = number of cylinders, Eq. (32)
adjustment and experimental validation were conducted p = pressure, N m2
with good quantitative and qualitative agreement. In this Pr = Prandtl number
way, parametric analyses and engine performance under Pd = piston diameter, m
the use of different fuel mixtures could be assessed with Q_ = heat transfer rate, W
the expectation of good accuracy. R = gas constant, J kg1 K1
The key conclusions of the study are the following: Re = Reynolds number
ROD = connecting rod length, m
1. Using only biodiesel as fuel in diesel engines, the S = piston average speed, m s1
power reduces about 1.0%, and the FC rises about t = time, s
12.0% compared to using diesel as fuel; T = temperature, K
2. Using only natural gas as fuel in diesel engines, the TDC = top dead center
power reduces about 2.0%, and the FC reduces about V = volume, m3
13.0% compared to using diesel as fuel; W _ = power, kW
3. Fuel mixtures using 50% of biodiesel and/or 50.0% x = molar fraction; fossil diesel in diesel/biogas
of natural gas produce power values within 1.0% mixture
when compared to each other; y = biodiesel fraction in total fuel mixture
4. The variation in valve diameter leads to proportional z = methane fraction in biogas mixture
variation in the power developed by the engine, if the
value of the valve diameter is near the nominal value Greek letters
for engine operation. Greater values than the nominal
for valve diameter do not result in signicant varia- = number of carbon atoms in diesel molecule
tion in the power developed by the engine; = number of hydrogen atoms in diesel molecule
5. The effect of combustion angle span variation be- = number of carbon atoms in biodiesel molecule
tween 50 and 60o is not important at low speeds = combustion angle span, rad
but becomes more important as crank speed in- = emissivity
creases. Therefore, strategies to increase combustion cycle = cycle renement error criterion, Eq. (36)
speed at high crank speeds are recommendable; and = number of hydrogen atoms in biodiesel
6. Because a model experimental validation was per- molecule
formed in this study, it is expected that the model = efciency
could be safely used for control and optimization, = crank angle, rad
even as part of a greater system due to the combina- = inverse of the equivalence ratio
tion of accuracy with low computational time. v = kinematic viscosity, m2 s1
= number of oxygen atoms in biodiesel
molecule
NOMENCLATURE = density, kg m3
= StefanBoltzmann constant, 5.6731028 W
A = area, m2 m2 K4
AFR = air-to-fuel ratio = torque, kN m
AV = admission valve = crank speed, rad s1
BDC = bottom dead center
c = specic heat, J kg1 K1 Subscripts
C1 = constant, 75,000 N m2
Cd = discharge coefcient adm = admission
CS = crank radius, m air = air
d = diameter, m biodiesel = biodiesel fuel
EV = exhaust valve c = dead space
FC = hourly fuel consumption, kg h1, Eq. (35) comb = combustion

110 Int. J. Energy Res. 2016; 40:100111 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/er
Diesel, biodiesel and biogas mixtures driven CI-ICE simulation V. Graciano, J. V. C. Vargas and J. C. Ordonez

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge with gratitude the support of the
Brazilian National Council of Scientic and Technological
Development, CNPq (projects 552867/2007-1, 574759/
2008-5, 558835/2010-4, and 482336/2012-9), the PSA-
Peugeot-Citroen, and the NILKO Technology Ltd.
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DOI: 10.1002/er