Diesel knocking and detonation

Diesel knocking and detonation

We already know that if the delay period is long, a large amount of fuel will be injected and accumulated in the chamber. The auto ignition of this large amount of fuel may cause high rate of pressure rise and high maximum pressure which may cause knocking in diesel engines. A long delay period not only increases the amount of fuel injected by the moment of ignition, but also improve the homogeneity of the fuel air mixture and its chemical preparedness for explosion type self ignition similar to detonation in SI engines. It is very instructive to compare the phenomenon of detonation is SI ensues with that of knocking in CI engines. There is no doubt that these two phenomena are fundamentally similar. Both are processes of auto ignition subject to the ignition time lag characteristic of the fuel air mixture. However, differences in the knocking phenomena of the SI engine and the CI engine should also be care fully be noted: 1. In the SI engine, the detonation occurs near the end of combustion where as in the CI engine detonation occurs near the beginning of combustion as shown in fig. 6.10. 2. The detonation in the SI engine is of a homogeneous charge causing very high rate of pressure rise and very high maximum pressure.

In the CI engine the fuel and air are in perfectly mixed and hence the rate of pressure rise is normally lower than that in the detonating part of the charge in the SI engine. 3. Since in the CI engine the fuel is injected in to the cylinder only at the end of the compression stroke there is no question of pre ignition or pre mature ignition as in the SI engine. 4. In the SI engine it is relatively easy to distinguish between knocking and non- knocking operation as the human ear easily find the distinction. However, in the case of the CI engine the normal ignition is itself by auto ignition and hence no CI engines have a sufficiently high rate of pressure rise per degree crank angle to cause audible noise. When such noise becomes excessive or there is excessive vibration in engine structure, in the opinion of the observer, the engine is sending to knock. It is clear that personal judgment is involved here. Thus in the CI engine there is no definite distinction between normal and knocking combustion. The maximum rate of pressure rise in the CI engine may reach as high as 10bar per crank degree angle.

It is most important to note that factors that tend to reduce detonation in the SI engine increase knocking in CI engine and vice versa because of the following reason. The detonation of knocking in the SI engine is due to simultaneous auto ignition of the last part of the charge. To eliminate detonation in the SI engine we want to prevent all together the auto ignition of the last part of the charge and therefore desire a long delay period and high self ignition temperature of the fuel. To eliminate knocking the CI engine we want to achieve auto ignitions early as possible therefore desire a short delay period and low self ignition temperature of the fuel. Table 6.2 gives the factors which reduce knocking in the SI and CI engines