237

Analysis of combustion in a small homogeneous

charge compression assisted ignition engine
H Ma1*, K Kar1, R Stone1, R Raine2, and H Thorwarth2
1Department of Engineering Science, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
2Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland, New Zealand

The manuscript was accepted after revision for publication on 8 July 2005.

DOI: 10.1243/146808705X60834

Abstract: Combustion analysis has been conducted on a small two-stroke glow ignition
engine, which has similar combustion characteristics to homogeneous charge compression
ignition (HCCI) engines. Difficulties such as unknown ignition timing and the polytropic index
have been addressed by combining both heat release and mass fraction burn analyses. Results
for all operating conditions have shown good correlations between the two methods.
The engine has been fuelled with a mixture of methanol, nitromethane, and lubrication oil.
The effect of nitromethane on combustion is difficult to determine, since altering nitromethane
content also changes the air–fuel ratio under the current experiment set-up. However, it is still
possible to show that nitromethane shortens the combustion periods beyond the uncertainty
created by the mixture strength and cycle-by-cycle variations. The results further show that a
faster combustion does not necessarily give a higher indicative mean effective pressure
(i.m.e.p.) in this engine. This is because the start of combustion can shift away from its optimum
value when nitromethane is added. The initial combustion period is found to be between 10
and 30° CA (crank angle); the main combustion period is between 25 and 50° CA. These com-
bustion periods are comparable to a traditional spark ignition engine. In a very rich mixture,
the ‘hot’ glow plug has been found to change significantly the combustion characteristics.
Further study would be recommended to elucidate the effect of glow plugs. Lastly, in the case
of poor combustion, cycle-by-cycle analysis shows that a misfire or partial burn cycles are
always followed by high i.m.e.p. and fast burn cycles.

Keywords: homogeneous charge compression ignition engine, glow ignition, nitromethane,

methanol, combustion analysis, partial burn cycles

1 INTRODUCTION Traditionally, burn rate analysis is widely used for

This paper is based on continuing work with a
small homogeneous charge, two-stroke glow ignition
engine of the type used in model aircraft [1, 2]. A
special torque balance was devised to be sensitive
enough to measure torque in the order of 0.1 N m.
In the work reported here, the facility has been
extended to instrument for combustion pressure,
and combustion analysis has been carried out. The
detailed experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 1.
* Corresponding author: Faculty of Engineering, The University
of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1020, New Zealand.
email: r.raine@auckland.ac.nz
spark ignition engines, while the heat release analysis
is more suitable for compression ignition engines.
This type of miniature engine does not fall into either
category. In spark ignition engines, the mixture is
premixed and the combustion is initiated by a spark,
so the time of the start of combustion is known. In
compression ignition engines, combustion starts
from autoignition of the fuel. The start of combustion
is unknown, but it has to be later than the fuel
injection timing. This miniature engine, with a pre-
mixed mixture and glow plug assisted autoignition is
a special case. It is likely that the compression and
ignition processes would be most similar to homo-
geneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines.

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238 H Ma, K Kar, R Stone, R Raine, and H Thorwarth
Fig. 1 Sketch of the instrumentation system
In this paper, both analyses of burn rate are con-
sidered together to establish correlations between
them. The aim is to gain an understanding of the
applicability of both analyses to this type of engine.
Since the combustion process is similar to HCCI
engines, it is anticipated that the study here would
also be relevant to those engines.
The two-stroke glow ignition engine has been
fuelled with a mixture of methanol, nitromethane,
and lubrication oil. Methanol (CH OH) is widely
3
used as an automotive fuel in racing applications
and is being extensively researched as an alternative
fuel for internal combustion engines. Glow assisted
ignition of methanol fuelled, compression ignition
engines is an established topic of research and
development [3–5].
However, there is little published work on nitro-
methane (CH NO ) as an engine fuel. Starkman [6, 7]
3 2
noted the strong knocking tendency of nitromethane
blends and the high power output that is possible.
Nitromethane will explode if it is subjected to shock.
‘Any attempt to burn nitromethane in undiluted form
in a reciprocating engine can only lead to disaster’,
Starkman noted [6], because of its pre-ignition or
knocking tendency. For this reason nitromethane is
only used as an additive to automotive engine fuels.
Bush et al. [8] showed that an increase in nitro-
Int. J. Engine Res. Vol. 7
methane concentration in methanol increased the
knocking tendency. Ferguson and Kirkpatrick [9]
note its wide use as a drag racing fuel.
Notably, the authors have not found reported data
on the combustion rate of nitromethane/methanol
blends. Starkman [6] speculated that nitromethane
may combust more rapidly than methanol, but did
not have facilities to measure this. In contrast, Gierke
[10] states that ‘Compared with the snail-like burning
of nitromethane, methanol is fast burning…’, but
gives no quantitative data, nor reference for this
statement.
Glow plug manufacturers typically rate plugs in
three categories, namely ‘cold’, ‘medium’, and ‘hot’
[11], which is assumed to indicate the level of
temperature that the plug will maintain between
successive combustion cycles. This implies that a
‘hot’ glow plug is likely to cause earlier ignition than
with a ‘cold’ rated glow plug. One aspect of this pro-
ject was to determine whether these assumptions
are correct.
To summarize, the objectives of this project were:
(a) to develop a method to combine the burn rate
and heat release analyses in order to investigate
the combustion process of engines with pre-
mixed charge, but ignited by compression;
JER03805 © IMechE 2006
 Analysis of combustion 239

(b) to investigate the combustion and perform- 3 THEORY

ance characteristics of different nitromethane/
methanol fuel blends;
(c) to investigate the characteristic of different glow
plugs.
2 EXPERIMENTAL ASPECTS
The engine is fuelled with a mixture of methanol,
nitromethane and lubrication oil, using a glow plug
and piston compression to assist the ignition of
the charge. The supplied fuel mass flowrate is varied
(not precisely quantitatively) by setting the needle
valve position. The detailed experimental equipment,
arrangement, and results from measured engine
power have been previously reported [2].
With an external sampling rate of 200 points/cycle,
200 cycles of data at 27 different engine operating
conditions (all at wide-open throttle, or WOT) were
measured by varying three parameters:
(a) three different fuel compositions (nitromethane
0, 10, and 20 per cent);
(b) three different glow plugs (hot, medium, and
cold);
(c) three different fuel-supply needle settings (2, 3,
and 4) – the greater the number, the higher the
fuel flowrate.
An extended version of the MATLAB combustion
analysis package CoBRA (combustion burn rate
analysis) was used to process the measured com-
bustion pressure data [12]. Extensions that have been
made allow for the analysis of the two-stroke cycle
engine, heat release, and rate of heat release analysis
as well as incorporating completeness of combustion
calculations.
3.1 Effects of fuel blend
The fuel blends used in this experimental project
have been made up using a range of methanol and
nitromethane proportions, suitable for operation of
the engine. Castor oil is mixed with the fuel as a
lubricant, and is fixed as 20 per cent by volume of
the liquid fuel. Proportions of nitromethane and
methanol were varied so that between 0 and 20 per
cent of the fuel is nitromethane. Thus the proportion
of methanol in the fuel was varied between 80 and
60 per cent by volume of the liquid fuel.
In these experiments, the absolute air–fuel ratio
was not able to be measured, so it is essential to
understand how the fuel flowrate, the stoichiometry
of the fuel/air mixture, and the energy content of the
mixture supplied to the engine changes with fuel
composition. The fuel is supplied through a needle
valve by gravity feed. Assuming a constant head is
maintained upstream of the needle valve and the fuel
is incompressible, the fuel mass flowrate is given by
ṁ =C A (2r Dp )1/2 (1)
f DO O f O
For a fixed needle setting, the flow area is fixed.
Assuming further that the head (Dp ) and the orifice
O
discharge coefficient remain constant, the effect of
changes in fuel properties is given by
ṁ 3 √r (2)
f f
By using equation (2) and the properties of the fuel
components (Table 1), the relative fuel mass flowrate,
relative mixture stoichiometry, and relative lower
heating values (LHVs) of fuel mixtures are calculated
and presented in Table 2 and Fig. 2. The datum
for comparison is a fuel with no nitromethane. Note

Table 1 Fuel properties [13, 14]

Fuel Methanol Nitromethane Castor oil
Formula CH OH CH NO C H O
3 3 2 18 34 2.9
Molar mass (kg/kmol) 32.04 61.04 ~297
Density at 20 °C (kg/m3) 787 1138 ~960
Viscosity at 20 °C (cP) 0.59 0.65 ~700
Enthalpy of vaporization (kJ/kg) 1186.3 628.5
Specific heat
Liquid (kJ/kg K) 2.6 1.74 —
Vapour (kJ/kg K) 1.72 — —
Higher heating value (MJ/kg) 22.3 11.6 —
Lower heating value (MJ/kg) 19.6 10.5 ~37.2
LHV of stoichiometric mixture (MJ/kg) 2.63 3.92 —
Stoichiometric air–fuel ratio (A/F) 6.43 1.69 —
s
Fuel octane rating
RON 106 — —
Motor octane number (MON) 92 — —

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240 H Ma, K Kar, R Stone, R Raine, and H Thorwarth

Table 2 Calculated fuel blend properties based on a fixed needle setting, except the
final row (A/F, air–fuel ratio)
Fraction of nitromethane by the volume of liquid 0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20
Density of blend (liquid) (kg/m3) 787.0 804.5 821.9 839.4 856.8
Relative flowrate of blend (kg/s) 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04
Blend (A/F) by mass 6.43 6.09 5.77 5.46 5.17
s
(A/F)/(A/F) 1.00 1.04 1.09 1.14 1.19
s
Relative LHV rate 1.00 0.98 0.96 0.94 0.92
Relative LHV per m3 of stoichiometric mixture* 1.00 1.01 1.03 1.04 1.06

*See the text.

Fig. 2 Relative fuel mass flowrate, air–fuel ratio, and LHVs as the fuel blend is varied

that in these calculations, the castor oil has been
neglected, since it is assumed that it is unlikely
to contribute to the combustion processes, and it
remains as a constant proportion of the fuel as the
composition of the other components is varied.
These calculations show that, as the nitromethane
content is increased, the density of the fuel blend
increases, with a corresponding increase in the fuel
mass flowrate according to equation (2). At the same
time, the stoichiometric air–fuel ratio of the blend
(l ) decreases due to the much lower value of this
s
parameter for nitromethane than for methanol. The
relative change in the stoichiometric air–fuel ratio is
shown by the ratio l/l . This shows that with an
s
increasing nitromethane content in the fuel, the
stoichiometry becomes leaner, so that the 20 per cent
and modified for research on spark ignition engine
combustion at Oxford University [12]. The com-
bustion process is approximated by considering a
series of small crank angle intervals (Dh), during each
of which the change in pressure (Dp) is the sum of
two parts: the pressure rise due to piston motion
(Dp ) and the pressure rise due to combustion (Dp ).
v c
First, the charge is assumed to be compressed
polytropically by the piston; then a small amount of
charge burns causing a pressure rise. In the next
crank angle interval, the pressure again changes
polytropically and another portion of charge burns;
this continues throughout the combustion period.
The pressure rise due to combustion at the ith
interval can be calculated as [12]

A B
nitromethane blend is 19 per cent leaner relative to V n
Dp =p −p i (3)
stoichiometric than the 0 per cent nitromethane fuel. c,i i+1 i V
i+1
As the nitromethane content is increased, the LHV
decreases, even though the mass flowrate increases, Since combustion is not taking place at constant
due to the lower LHV of nitromethane than of volume, the cylinder volume at TDC (top dead
methanol, per unit mass of the component. centre) is used for normalization

A B
V
3.2 Mass fraction burned Dp* =Dp i (4)
c c,i V
The technique used here for computing the mass TDC
fraction burned (MFB) is based on the method first Assuming that the cumulative normalized pressure
developed by Rassweiler and Withrow in 1938 [15] rise due to combustion is proportional to the mass

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 Analysis of combustion 241

fraction burned (x), then for N total increments R=c −c ), then equation (10) can be written as
p v
i dQ dQ dQ c dV 1 dp
∑ Dp* n = hr − ht = p + V (11)
c dh dh dh c−1 dh c−1 dh
x= 0 (5)
N where dQ /dh=the net heat release rate. Then the
∑ Dp* n
c cumulative net heat release Q is an integration of
0 n
The total normalized pressure change due to the results of the net heat release rate.
combustion is defined as Y = W N Dp* . Further Since the mass is assumed to be constant, calcu-
0 c lation of the net heat release is only valid between
assumptions and key observations can be found in
reference [12]. the inlet port closure (IPC) and the exhaust port
opening (EPO).
3.3 Heat release analysis
Heat release analysis is generally used for diesel com- 3.4 Completeness of combustion
bustion processes, where the timing of first ignition
is not known a priori. This method of analysis com- The completeness of combustion x is defined as the
putes how much heat would have to be added to the fraction of the inducted fuel that is usefully burned
cylinder contents in order to produce the observed during the cycle [17, 18]. Earlier work [12] has
pressure variations [16]. It is usually assumed that introduced the term
the products and reactants are fully mixed. N
Applying the First Law of Thermodynamics to a Y= ∑ Dp*
c
control volume in which there is no mass transfer 0
gives the heat released by combustion (dQ ) as for the ideal conditions, which are the basis of the
hr Rassweiler and Withrow analysis. This is expected
dQ =dU+dW+dQ (6) to yield the adiabatic combustion pressure rise at
hr ht
the reference volume. If this term is evaluated for
where dQ =the heat transfer with the chamber
ht any combustion cycle and compared with some
walls.
‘maximum’ of Y, referred to as Y , which represents
Another simplification of equation (6) is that there m
‘complete combustion’, then an estimate of the
is no allowance for differences in the properties of
relative completeness of combustion for a single
the reactants and products and that there is a uni-
cycle can be obtained by
form temperature. Each of the terms in equation (6)
has to be evaluated Y
x= (12)
Y
dU=mc dT (7) m
v The frequency distribution of Y departs from a
From the equation of state ( pV=mRT) normal distribution, so the Kaplan–Meier approach
[19] is adopted to estimate the empirical cumu-
p dV+V dp
m dT= (8) lative distribution function (CDF). According to this
R
approach, the calculated data array of Y is first
Equation (7) together with equation (8) gives sorted in ascending order, forming a new array Y∞.
Then the interval of cumulative distribution, [0, 1],
p dV+V dp is divided into several subdivisions by the total
dU=c (9)
v R number of cycles N, for instance [50–55 per cent],
[95–100 per cent], etc., when N=20. The correspond-
Substituting equation (9) into equation (6) and ing values of the cumulative distribution S (discrete)
noting that dW=p dV gives, on an incremental angle n
to Y∞ are given by
basis

A B
n−1 1 n
S =1− a 1− =
A B
dQ c dV dp dV dQ (13)
hr = v p +V +p + ht (10) n N−j N
dh R dh dh dh dh j=0
where n is the number of subdivisions involved.
The dV/dh term is defined from the geometry of the For given results of Y, interpolation is used to
engine and the dp/dh term can be obtained from the obtain the consecutive CDF. A significant point at
engine combustion pressure data. If semi-perfect which S =97.5 per cent is used to define Y . This
n m
gas behaviour is assumed (such that c /c =c and is considered to be a satisfactory measurement of
p v

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242 H Ma, K Kar, R Stone, R Raine, and H Thorwarth

complete combustion [20]; i.e. 97.5 per cent of the fore, 145° CA ABDC (after bottom dead centre) was
Y data calculated from the engine data is below Y . selected as the ‘nominal’ spark timing in the sub-
m
For those 2.5 per cent Y above Y , truncation is sequent analysis.
m
made such that they are all set to Y , in order to In the heat release analysis, c is a function of the
m
treat such cycles as ‘complete’ ones. temperature and air–fuel ratio and has an influence
on the magnitude of Q and dQ /dh according to
n n
equation (11). In order to investigate the effects of c,
4 ANALYSIS ISSUES results for calculated Q and dQ /dh from ‘0-4-Cold’
n n
are shown in Table 3 and Fig. 4. Table 3 shows that,
For convenience, the names of the data files are used with c varying between 1.2 and 1.4, the changes in
instead of listing their corresponding operating the phasing of Q and dQ /dh were only within
n n
conditions in the following discussion. For example, 1.8° CA (one sample point). It is also noted that the
‘0-4-Cold’ represents the condition of 0 per cent CA of Q and the CA of (dQ /dh)| are not exactly
n,min n 0
nitromethane concentration and needle setting ‘4’, the same. This difference is probably because of the
and the cold plug. This naming system will be used numerical error from the computation in MATLAB.
hereafter. However, it is the phase of the start of combustion
In this glow ignition engine, there are issues with (SOC) that is of most interest, and hence it was
unknown timing for the start of combustion, choice assumed that the effect of changes in c within a
of polytropic index for heat release analysis, and typical range on the phasing of Q and dQ /dh is
n n
sampling rate. They will be addressed as follows. negligible. A value of c=1.4 was therefore selected
The burn rate analysis in CoBRA requires the spark in the subsequent analysis.
timing to calculate the compression polytropic index The cylinder pressure signal was measured at
prior to combustion. This is chosen to be the poly- 200 samples/cycle, which is lower than that typically
tropic index (polynomially) fitted from a point half- used for heat release analysis in the literature [16].
way between the inlet closure and spark timing to However, since heat release analysis is usually
the point of spark timing. Given the fact that this applied in compression ignition engines with a
engine has no spark ignition, the effect of varying much higher compression ratio and so much faster
the ‘nominal’ spark timing specified in the code pressure rise, it is difficult to judge whether the
on the phase of 1 per cent mass fraction burned
was investigated. Figure 3 shows the result of this
investigation for the data set for mean values for Table 3 Effect of c on the phasing of Q
n
case ‘0-4-Cold’. This data set was chosen as it is one and dQ /dH, ‘0-4-Cold’
n
showing extreme variations in cycle-by-cycle pressure c 1.2 1.3 1.4
data, so that it was felt this would give the most
CA of Q 176.4 176.4 176.4
rigorous test of the effects being studied. As shown CA of Q
n,min
280.8 280.8 282.6
in Fig. 3, a variation of 30° CA (crank angle) in the n,max
CA of (dQ /dh) 167.4 165.6 163.8
n min
‘nominal’ spark timing resulted in a variation of CA of (dQ /dh) 217.8 217.8 219.6
n max
CA of (dQ /dh)| 176.4 177.3 177.8
only 3° CA in the phase of 1 per cent MFB. There- n 0

Fig. 3 Correlation between ‘nominal’ spark timing and 1 per cent MFB timing, ‘0-4-Cold’

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 Analysis of combustion 243

Fig. 4 Sample results of cycle-averaged Q and dQ /dh, ‘0-4-Cold’ (top) and ‘0-4-Hot’ (bottom),
n n
calculated with c=1.4

current sampling rate is sufficient without further

analysis. Too low a sampling rate will introduce
aliasing in the signal and truncation errors when
evaluating dp/dh. Figure 5 shows the spectrum of the
cylinder pressure signal in one data set. There are
distinct peaks at the fundamental frequency and
higher harmonics, indicating the cyclic nature of the
signal. The spectrum flattens off above 0.08° CA−1,
indicating that there is little or no power above that
frequency. This ensures that the sampling rate is fast
enough to capture most information contained in
the signal.
Errors also arise when approximating the derivative
of a continuous signal by finite difference. In CoBRA,
dp/dh is calculated by the forward difference scheme,
where the truncation error (e) is in the order of a Fig. 5 Power density spectrum of the pressure signal
crank angle step (k), i.e. e=O(k). Three-point and in ‘10-4-Cold’, normalized to the direct current
five-point central difference schemes have been (DC) value

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244 H Ma, K Kar, R Stone, R Raine, and H Thorwarth
considered, which have e in the order of k−2 and k−4
respectively. The three schemes have been compared
against each other. The percentage differences
between them are typically ±0.1 per cent. When
dp/dh is close to zero, because of the quantization
and electrical noise, the difference can go up to ±1
per cent. This is, however, irrelevant because heat
release analysis is only valid between IPC and EPO.
This is when dp/dh values are high. Therefore, it is
concluded that the truncation error is insignificant
compared to random noise in dp/dh and that the
sampling rate is sufficient.
5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
5.1 Correlation between burn rate and heat
release analyses
Historical research on engine thermodynamics has
shown that in conventional spark ignition engines,
the 0–10 per cent MFB is well correlated to the initial
period of combustion and the 10–90 per cent is
representative of the main combustion period during
which most of the fuel burns. On the other hand, the
minimum of Q (where the net heat release rate
n n
becomes positive, as shown in Fig. 4) and the maxi-
mum of Q (where the net heat release rate becomes
n exhaust port open timing. In summary, therefore,
negative) are commonly defined as the start and
end of combustion for compression ignition engines
respectively. As the combustion process in this
engine is not the same as either spark ignition
engines or compression ignition engines, the initial
period and main combustion need to be defined
when employing heat release analysis.
Figure 6 shows the highly linear correlation
between the 0–1 per cent MFB and 0–10 per cent
MFB durations based on data for all engine operating
conditions. In this figure, the time for 0 per cent MFB
Fig. 6 Correlation between 0–1 per cent MFB and 0–10 per cent MFB
Int. J. Engine Res. Vol. 7
refers to the ‘nominal’ spark timing of 145° CA ABDC.
This correlation implies that features of the initial
combustion can be described by either of the two
durations. However, in order to obtain an absolute
value for the rate of combustion, the start of
combustion (SOC) needs to be defined.
Figure 7 shows that the MFB analysis and heat
release analysis have a close correlation except for
two anomalies (represented by the hollow symbols
in Fig. 7). Note that both the minimum of Q and
n
1 per cent MFB are indicators of the SOC. Since
the minimum of Q is an absolute timing and it
n
correlates well with 1 per cent MFB, it will be used
to define the SOC to complement the burn rate
analysis. The anomalies correspond to ‘0-4-Cold’ and
‘0-4-Medium’, both of which contain several misfire
cycles. These two sets of data also have the greatest
cycle-by-cycle variation and extremely slow com-
bustion. This was established from the i.m.e.p.
(indicated mean effective pressure) and 0–90 per
cent MFB results, to be discussed later. For these two
cases, the rate of combustion will be less certain
because the SOC is not well defined.
It has been noted from data such as that in Fig. 4
that the maximum of Q remains almost constant
(280.8–282.6° CA) under all operating conditions and
hence it can be inferred that this estimates the
for this engine the initial period of combustion is
defined as the difference between Q and 10 per
n,min
cent MFB and the main combustion period is
defined as 10–90 per cent MFB.
Correlation between Q –10 per cent MFB and
n,min
10–90 per cent MFB is shown in Fig. 8. As expected,
a quicker initial period of combustion tends to be
followed by a quicker main combustion. Again, the
correlation cannot apply well to the data from
‘0-4-Cold’ and ‘0-4-Medium’ (represented by hollow
JER03805 © IMechE 2006
 Analysis of combustion
Fig. 7 Correlation between 1 per cent MFB and Q
Fig. 8 Correlation between Q –10 per cent MFB and 10–90 per cent MFB
n,min
symbols in Fig. 8) because both of them present
abnormally slow initial and main periods of
combustion.
This analysis, making use of both ‘mass fraction
burned’ and ‘heat release’ methodologies, has estab-
lished that both give useful results for the homo-
geneous, compression assisted engine under study.
Comparison between results from the two methods
shows good agreement in those parameters that can
be compared.
5.2 Effects of fuel blend and flow plugs
The air–fuel ratio was not monitored or controlled
in the experiment, other than keeping fixed needle
settings for the fuel supply. This makes the inter-
pretation of the results difficult, particularly when
the nitromethane content changes, since both fuel
and mixture strength effects are present. The problem
can be first isolated by looking at the results of pure
methanol as shown in Fig. 9.
The initial period of combustion, as indicated
JER03805 © IMechE 2006
245
n,min
by Q –10 per cent MFB, is a strong function of
n,min
laminar burning velocity in spark ignition engines,
and more generally a function of chemical kinetics
[21]. As the needle setting is reduced, less fuel is
supplied, so the relative air–fuel ratio (l) is increased.
Figure 9 shows that the initial combustion period
consistently reduces as the needle setting is reduced
for the ‘cold’ and ‘medium’ plugs. Experiments [16]
show that the laminar burning velocity of methanol
peaks at a relative air–fuel ratio (l) of about 0.9, and
it decreases monotonically either side of that ratio.
For l to increase, and at the same time increase the
laminar velocity, the mixture must be richer than
stoichiometry. Furthermore, the reduction in Q –
n,min
10 per cent MFB is almost linear. This can only
happen for very rich mixtures, as the closer it is
to l=0.9, the smaller the change in the laminar
velocity. The fact that ‘0-4-Cold’ and ‘0-4-Medium’
have very poor combustion also indicates that the
mixture is near the rich burning limit; hence l is
much smaller than 0.9. ‘0-4-Hot’ does not follow the
general trend. With a needle setting of 4 and 0 per
Int. J. Engine Res. Vol. 7
246 H Ma, K Kar, R Stone, R Raine, and H Thorwarth
Fig. 9 Q –10 per cent MFB for various needle settings and plug types using pure methanol
n,min
cent nitromethane, l will be the lowest among all
tested conditions. It is likely that the hot plug has
facilitated the combustion by supplying enough heat
to vaporize the methanol, while the cold and medium
plugs cannot. In other words, a high-temperature
plug effectively extends the rich burning limit of
the fuel.
When 20 per cent nitromethane is added to the
methanol, the initial period of combustion changes,
as shown by the filled bars in Fig. 10, relative to the
values for methanol only. The figure also shows limit
bars for the cycle-by-cycle variations. This figure
indicates that in five out of nine cases, the initial
period of combustion is shorter with nitromethane
added than without. As discussed previously, adding
20 per cent nitromethane to the fuel will lean the
mixture by 19 per cent. Hence the shorter initial
period of combustion could be caused by the leaner
mixture and/or by the nitromethane. However, for
methanol and other hydrocarbon fuels, the maxi-
mum increase in the laminar burning velocity for a
19 per cent increase in l is of the order of 15 per
Fig. 10 The effect of nitromethane on Q –10 per cent
n,min
MFB for various needle settings and plug types;
change relative to 0 per cent nitromethane fuel
Int. J. Engine Res. Vol. 7
cent [16]. Given the cycle-by-cycle variations (limit
bars) indicated in Fig. 10, five conditions (‘3-Cold,
Medium and Hot’, and ‘4-Cold and Medium’)
definitely have shorter Q –10 per cent MFB. All of
n,min
these have about a 40 per cent reduction in Q –
n,min
10 per cent MFB. Assuming that Q –10 per cent
n,min
MFB reduces by the same order as the laminar burn-
ing velocity, then nitromethane certainly has speeded
up the combustion. For the other four conditions
(all needle settings at ‘2’ and ‘4-Hot’), the initial com-
bustion period has changed by an insignificant
amount given that the cycle-by-cycle variation is
large compared with the changes in the mean values.
Interestingly, these four conditions also have the
shortest initial combustion periods (~15° CA), as
shown in Fig. 9. For ‘0-4-Hot’ (rich limit), the hot plug
not only helps to initiate the combustion, it also
speeds up the combustion. In contrast, needle setting
2 may be close to or leaner than the stoichiometric
condition, such that the benefit of nitromethane is
offset by the slower combustion of the weak mixture.
There is a similar picture for the main com-
bustion period (Fig. 11). For those conditions that
have shorter initial combustion periods, the main
combustion period is also shorter. Therefore, nitro-
methane can also increase the rate of main com-
bustion. The cycle-by-cycle variations in the main
combustion period are larger than for the initial
period. This is expected as other factors such as
turbulence and flame development also affect the
main combustion period.
Two three-dimensional graphs of cycle-averaged
data from all the engine operating conditions are
shown in Figs 12(a) and (b), giving information about
the effect of the nitromethane content, the fuel
supply needle setting, and the glow plug type on
i.m.e.p. and Q (SOC). In each graph, the x axis
n,min
(projecting into the page) presents the nitromethane
concentration of the fuel. The y axis (horizontal)
JER03805 © IMechE 2006
 Analysis of combustion
Fig. 11 The effect of nitromethane on 10–90 per cent
MFB for various needle settings and plug types;
change relative to 0 per cent nitromethane fuel
presents the needle setting and the z axis (vertical)
gives the output parameter from the analysis of com-
bustion data. Different symbols are used to represent
the three different glow plug types.
Results presented in Fig. 12(a) suggest that i.m.e.p.
generally increased with increased nitromethane
content. This is likely to be the result of faster and
more efficient combustion in the case of higher
nitromethane content. Figures 10 and 11 have shown
that faster combustion results. The combustion is
more efficient because all operating conditions are
rich relative to the stoichiometry, so burning at
closer to the stoichiometric point would have fewer
incomplete combustion products and less unburnt
fuel.
The results for the hot plug do not follow the trend
well. The i.m.e.p. does not change much as the nitro-
methane content increases, especially for needle
settings 2 and 3. The burn rate analysis has shown
Fig. 12 Effect of nitromethane content, fuel needle setting, and glow plug type on (a) i.m.e.p.
and (b) Q
n,min
JER03805 © IMechE 2006
247
the hot plug either has little effect or has enhanced
the combustion rate. The answer lies in the com-
bustion phasing. The start of combustion (SOC or
Q ) in Fig. 12(b) shows that using cold and
n,min
medium plugs, the SOC is close to TDC (~170° CA)
and occurs earlier when the nitromethane content
increases; thus the ignition time is closer to the MBT
timing. However, when the hot plug is used, the
SOC is generally early (~160° CA), before any nitro-
methane is added. The SOC stays approximately
the same once the nitromethane content increases.
Hence there is no improvement in i.m.e.p. due to
better ignition timing.
5.3 Comparison with other engines
Although the absolute air–fuel ratio is not known for
the tested engine, it is still possible to compare the
combustion characteristics of this engine to a tradi-
tional engine. Bouchard et al. [22] reported the fuel
burning rate of a CFR (cooperative fuel research)
L-head engine for a wide range of air–fuel ratios (l).
The MFB was measured by observing the flame travel
through an optical slot in the head. Instead of com-
paring the burning rate at a given l, the ranges
of MFB duration are compared in Table 4. It is
surprising to see two engines with very different
operating speeds, size, and combustion mechanisms,
yet the ranges of initial and main combustion
periods are markably similar. Taking account of the
higher engine speed but smaller combustion lengths
in the small engine relative to the CFR engine,
the initial and main combustion periods (in real
time) are much shorter in the former engine. This
suggests that the combustion is not only enhanced
by engine speed (turbulence intensity) but possibly
Int. J. Engine Res. Vol. 7
248 H Ma, K Kar, R Stone, R Raine, and H Thorwarth

Table 4 Comparison between the CFR L-head engine [22] and the engine under study
CFR engine Engine under study

Initial combustion period (°CA) 14–34 (0–10% MFB) 10–31 (Q –10% MFB)
n,min
Main combustion period (°CA) 40–62 (10–95% MFB) 24–47 (10–90% MFB)
Bore (mm) 111.1 21.6
Stroke (mm) 114.3 20.3
Swept volume (cm3) 1109 7.44
Speed (r/min) 900 ~9000
Fuel type Gasoline Methanol/nitromethane
l range 0.7–1.4 Not measured
Engine details Single-cylinder, spark ignition, Single-cylinder, glow assisted compression ignition,
four-stroke, WOT two-stroke, WOT

by HCCI combustion with multiple flame kernels and
propagation.
The heat release rate results (Fig. 4) are compared
with the results (Fig. 13) obtained from a spark
ignition (SI), single-cylinder engine [23]. This engine
had optical access with pure methanol injected to
the inlet manifold. Kajitani et al. [23] noted that for
l=0.8 and 1, there were two modes of combustion.
First, premixed combustion gives a rapid heat
release, which manifests itself as the peak in Fig. 13.
After that the heat release is much slower and
endures for a long time. During that period, com-
bustion photos showed droplet diffusion flames. The
test ‘0-4-Cold’ exhibits a similar heat release profile
(Fig. 4 (top)), which possibly suggests that both pre-
mixed and diffusion combustion occurred. However,
‘0-4-Hot’ in Fig. 4 (bottom) is more akin to the case
of l=1.2 in Fig. 13, where the slow diffusion phase
of combustion is absent. It can be seen that given
Fig. 13 Cycle-averaged Q of an SI engine running on
n corner of the plot, confirming that partial and late
pure methanol at a varied dimensionless air–
fuel ratio [23]
the same fuel and mixture strength, the type of glow
plug used could have a profound effect on the com-
bustion process. An optical study of this glow ignition
engine would elucidate the actual combustion pro-
cess and how it is affected by different glow plugs.
In many ways this small glow assisted engine is
rather uncommon in the wider engine market, but
its combustion characteristics are comparable to
traditional research engines. Hence the methodology
developed for analysing the combustion in this
engine should be applicable to a wide range of
engines.
5.4 Cycle-by-cycle results
Cycle-by-cycle data have been analysed from the
four extreme fuel/needle data sets (the four ‘corners’
of the x–y plane in Fig. 12 representing mixture
strengths from the richest ‘0-4-Cold, Medium, Hot’
to the leanest ‘20-2-Cold, Medium, Hot’). Thus,
needle setting 4 with 0 and 20 per cent nitromethane
content as well as needle setting 2 with 0 and 20 per
cent nitromethane content were investigated and the
results are shown in Fig. 14.
Figure 14 presents cycle-by-cycle data for the
calculated i.m.e.p. versus the SOC. The graphs show
a characteristic of maximum i.m.e.p. against SOC,
analogous to the MBT timing (maximum ignition
advance for best torque) study commonly applied to
SI engines. Each graph consists of three operating
conditions using different plugs. Particularly in
the ‘0-4-Cold, Medium, Hot’ graph, an operating
envelope has been defined/sketched such that all
the outlier points represent poor engine operating
conditions. In this case, both cold and medium
plugs show a much wider scatter of points than the
hot plug. This clearly means large cycle-by-cycle
variations in both indicated power and the start of
combustion. Apart from several misfire cycles show-
ing very low i.m.e.p., a noticeably high percentage of
points in these two cases lie in the right bottom
combustion leads to low power.

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JER03805 © IMechE 2006
Analysis of combustion

Fig. 14 Cycle-by-cycle correlation between i.m.e.p. and Q from four fuel/needle data sets: needle settings 2 and 4 with 0 and 20 per cent of
n,min
nitromethane content

Int. J. Engine Res. Vol. 7

249
250 H Ma, K Kar, R Stone, R Raine, and H Thorwarth

Generally speaking, 20 per cent nitromethane
(the lower pair of Fig. 14) gives a higher i.m.e.p., less
variation, and an earlier start of combustion than
0 per cent nitromethane. Furthermore, the hot plug
presents a relatively more stable range of the SOC
than the other two plugs. Therefore, to optimize the
operating regime of this engine at WOT, 20 per cent
nitromethane and a hot plug would be selected as
the best compromise.
Inspection of original pressure versus crank angle
traces raises questions about how, in this type of
combustion system, one cycle might affect the sub-
sequent cycle; i.e. if the nth cycle has late or incom-
plete combustion, does this affect the (n+1)th cycle?
In order to address this question, comparisons in
terms of completeness of combustion (CoC) were
made between two cases: ‘0-4-Cold’ and ‘0-4-Hot’,
with coefficients of variation (CoVs) of i.m.e.p. of 31.3
and 4.5 per cent respectively.
Figure 15 gives the cycle-by-cycle correlation
between the CoC and the i.m.e.p., with the x axis
presenting the completeness of combustion of the
nth cycle and the y axis presenting the i.m.e.p. of
the (n+1)th cycle. The upper graph of Fig. 15, which
is for the case ‘0-4-Cold’ with a very large CoV
of i.m.e.p., clearly shows the trend that a partially
burning (nth) cycle (or even misfire cycles, when
CoC=0) is always followed by a cycle (1+n)th
with a higher than average i.m.e.p. (3.05 bar). This
is likely to be because for a partially burning
cycle (probably slow burning as well) the trapped
in-cylinder residuals tend to add to the air–fuel ratio
and the initial temperature of the following cycle,
which is then likely to perform a more complete
combustion (i.e. better scavenging). The lower graph
of Fig. 15 gives a dense cluster of points randomly
positioned on the right top corner of the plot.
This means that the combustion of these cycles is
relatively stable and complete, as expected due to
the low cycle-by-cycle variation.
Figure 16 presents plots of cycle-by-cycle crank
angle of Q and crank angle of 90 per cent MFB
n,min
from the above two sets of data (excluding misfire
cycles in ‘0-4-Cold’). With Q and 90 per cent MFB
n,min
representing the SOC and end of main combustion,
the top graph agrees with the perception that cycles

Fig. 15 Correlation between the completeness of combustion of the nth cycle and the i.m.e.p.
of the (n+1)th cycle: ‘0-4-Cold’ (top) and ‘0-4-Hot’ (bottom)

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 Analysis of combustion
Fig. 16 Scatter plot of cycle-by-cycle data: Q
n,min
and Q of the (n+1)th cycle versus 90 per cent MFB of the nth cycle (bottom)
n,min
with early ignition tend to finish combustion quickly
as well. The bottom graph shows data for a crank
angle of 90 per cent MFB for cycle n against the
crank angle of Q for cycle (n+1) and implies
n,min
that a slow burning cycle (the right bottom wing of
‘0-4-Cold’, marked with an ellipse) is more likely to
trigger a following cycle with early ignition. Data
from ‘0-4-Hot’ in the bottom graph support the
observation in the previous paragraph that stable
combustion features a random and tight distribution
of data points.
6 CONCLUSIONS
Conclusions can be drawn as follows from the work
carried out on this two-stroke glow ignition engine.
1. The burn rate and heat release analyses have pro-
duced useful results from the measured pressure
data.
2. The ‘nominal’ spark timing and ratio of specific
heats specified in the program have no significant
JER03805 © IMechE 2006
251
versus 90 per cent MFB of the same cycle (top)
effect on the calculated results on the phasing of
heat release.
3. Nitromethane improves both the initial and main
combustion rate of pure methanol, beyond the
uncertainty created by the unknown mixture
strength and cycle-by-cycle variations.
4. The i.m.e.p. generally increases with increased
nitromethane content, only if the start of com-
bustion occurs earlier so that the combustion
phasing is approaching the optimum.
5. Comparison with other engines shows that the
combustion period of the engine under study is
remarkably similar to traditional research engines,
even though the engine design and operating
regimes are quite different.
6. The combustion analysis has demonstrated that
the glow plug has a marked effect in a very rich
mixture (‘0-4’). An optical study is recommended
to investigate this effect on combustion.
7. Two sets of data from needle setting 4 and 0 per
cent nitromethane show the greatest cycle-by-cycle
variation and extremely slow combustion. In these
cases, a partially burning cycle is always followed
Int. J. Engine Res. Vol. 7
252 H Ma, K Kar, R Stone, R Raine, and H Thorwarth

by a cycle with a higher than average i.m.e.p., ignition engine combustion. Parts 1 and 2. Proc.
probably because for such a cycle the trapped in- Instn Mech. Engrs, Part D: J. Automotive Engineering,
cylinder residuals and initial temperature enhance 1998, 212(D5), 381–399 and 212(D6), 507–524.
13 Washburn, E. W. (Ed.) International critical
combustion in the following cycle
tables of numerical data, physics, chemistry and
These results may provide an insight into the per- technology, 1st Electronic edition, 2003 (Knovel);
formance and combustion process of such engines www.knovel.com.
14 Kroschwitz, J. I. (Ed.) Kirk–Othmer encyclopedia
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of chemical technology, 4th edition, 1993 (Wiley–
Interscience, New York).
15 Rassweiler, G. M. and Withrow, L. Motion pictures
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of engine flames correlated with pressure cards. SAE
Paper 800131, 1980.
The authors wish to thank the following for useful 16 Stone, R. Introduction to internal combustion
discussions and suggestions in furthering this work: engines, 3rd edition, 1999 (Macmillan, New York).
17 Sztenderowicz, M. L. and Heywood, J. B. Mixture
Professor H. C. Watson, University of Melbourne nonuniformity effects on S.I. engine combustion
Professor N. Collings, University of Cambridge variability. SAE Paper 902142, 1990.
Professor D. B. Kittelson, University of Minnesota 18 Sztenderowicz, M. L. and Heywood, J. B. Cycle-to-
cycle IMEP fluctuations in a stoichiometrically-
RRR is grateful to the University of Auckland for fueled SI engine at low speed and load. SAE Paper
allowing him sabbatical leave, during which this 902143, 1990.
work was progressed. 19 Cox, D. R. and Oakes, D. Analysis of survival data,
1984 (Chapman and Hall, London).
20 Davis, C. S. and Stephens, M. A. Approximate
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 Analysis of combustion 253

ṁ mass flowrate h crank angle

MFB mass fraction burned l relative air–fuel ratio
n polytropic index r density
N number of intervals in finite difference x completeness of combustion
calculations Y total normalized pressure change due to
p pressure combustion
PSD power spectrum density
Q heat transfer Subscripts
SI spark ignition c due to combustion
SOC start of combustion f fuel
TDC top dead centre hr heat release
R gas constant m, max maximum
T temperature min minimum
U internal energy n net
V volume O orifice
W work p due to pressure
s stoichiometric
c ratio of specific heats v due to volume
Dp pressure difference * normalized value

JER03805 © IMechE 2006 Int. J. Engine Res. Vol. 7