ADVANCED PROPULSION

EMISSIONS REDUCTION

State of the art exhaust gas analysis systems are used to link the in-cylinder processes to exhaust stream emissions. The current focus is on fuel injection strategies for low NOX and PM.

ENGINE DIAGNOSTICS

Sensors and measurement techniques developed at UBC allow new views of processes inside engines and can resolve combustion processes with better time resolution than ever before. Other techniques are being developed for novel membrane mediated oxidation technology.

Our capabilities include high speed spectroscopy, visible light imaging systems, optical pyrometric, chemiluminescene, and light absorption probes for characterization of in-cylinder processes.

NANOPARTICLES IN ENERGY SYSTEMS

Ultrafine particles from combustion are climate warming agents, second in importance only to CO2. These particles are also responsible for most of the global health burden of air pollution.

The Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC) hosts one of the leading global research efforts on natural gas engines focusing on the clean burning potential in stationary and mobile applications. Research at the Clean Energy Research Centre covers:

ADVANCED PROPULSION AT UBC

CLEAN, SAFE, AND EFFICIENT

Our research is focused on the clean burning potential of natural gas in stationary and mobile applications. Additional work aims to minimize particulate emissions from natural gas engines, and to characterize particle features relevant to environmental regulations and human health.

Current fuel mixture preparation capabilities include direct and port injection for ultra-lean, as well as partially and fully stratified charge fuelling. Ignition methods under investigation include spark ignition enhanced by a pilot fuel charge, as well as compression ignition via diesel pilot flames.

The state of the art infrastructure includes capabilities to operate three research engines simultaneously. Engine services include high capacity test cell ventilation; supercharged intake air; high and low pressure natural gas, diesel and gasoline fuel supplies; and an automatic safety system that includes hazardous gas detection. A central control system coordinates the engine services, and provides operators with feedback and command input.

Each of the three test cells is equipped with a vibration isolating bed-plate, onto which a wide range of research platforms can be assembled: a Ricardo Hydra single cylinder research engine; a Cummins ISX six cylinder diesel engine; and a heavy duty Ricardo Proteus engine. The latter is a convertible (optical and thermodynamic), single cylinder engine research facility with a flexible fuelling system (diesel, natural gas, biofuels).

FEATURE PROJECT

IN-CYLINDER VISUALIZATION OF ADVANCE NATURAL GAS FUELLING STRATEGIES USING HIGH SPEED IMAGING EQUIPMENT

Natural gas, as a fuel for internal combustion engines, carries the potential for reduced particulate, NOx, and CO2 emissions, and is an abundant, domestically available fuel. While several strategies exist for utilizing natural gas in engines, a popular alternative is to convert diesel engines to use a diesel – natural gas dual fuel strategy. In this strategy, natural gas injected into the intake port of the engine (similar to a gasoline engine), and subsequently in the cylinder by a small amount of direct injected diesel. This strategy facilitates the use of a promising fuel in existing engines, but is plagued by high emissions of unburned hydrocarbons.

For the effective implementation of this strategy, knowledge of the in-cylinder combustion and emission formation processes is required. While such knowledge is well established for conventional gasoline and diesel engines, it is currently lacking for dual fuel engines. At CERC, a heavy-duty, single cylinder, optically accessible engine facility has been developed to investigate the in-cylinder fuel conversion process for existing and novel natural gas fuelling strategies. In the figure below a sample image obtained from this facility indicates the natural and ultraviolet light images from a dual fuel combustion event. We use such information to identify and inhibit the pollutant formation mechanisms, as well as to develop and validate engineering tools for the design and implementation of natural gas combustion technologies.

Soot predictions from 1/7th view of engine cylinder using advanced engine simulation.

Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC)Advanced Propulsion+1 604 827 4342www.cerc.ubc.ca

THE CERC ADVANTAGE

Collaborating with CERC means access to a variety of reliable resources and unique opportunities, including:

• Bench and lab scale experiments • Full-scale testing capabilities under development

BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGIES

SYSTEM SIMULATION MODELLING

PARTNERSHIPS + NEW VENTURES

CERC RESEARCH APPROACH

• High-speed imaging, ultrafast exhaust and nanoparticle measurements, computational fluid dynamics

• Modelling and simulation: economics, thermodynam-ics, CFD, FEa, etc.

• Validates technological benefits

• Commercialisation of research product(s)

• Work with existing partner companies, new start-ups, and licensing

Clean Energy Research Centre

EXPERTISEOptical measurements in engines, ultrafast exhaust measurements, high-speed imaging, nanoparticle measurements and modelling, computational fluid dynamics.

STRONG RELATIONSHIPSConnections to a diverse group of government and industry partners help maximize both the relevance and impact of our efforts. Some of our partners include:

• Westport Fuel Systems,

• Hydra,

• dPoint Technologies,

• National Research Council of Canada

CITY SCALEUBC’s buildings and transportation infrastructure provide a test bed for new ambient measurement techniques for pollutants and control technologies.

THE CERC ADVANTAGE• Three fully-instrumented test cells for propulsion

system characterization and development.

• Portable instrumentation for field measurements.

• Access to UBC’s world-class materials and chemical analytical laboratories.

EXPERIMENTATION + TESTING