Experimental Validation and Combustion Modeling of a JP-8 Surrogate in a Single Cylinder Diesel Engine

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on a single cylinder engine to validate a two-component JP-8 surrogate. The two-component surrogate was chosen based on a previous investigation where the key properties, such as DCN, volatility, density, and lower heating value, of the surrogate were matched with those of the target JP-8. The matching of the auto-ignition, combustion, and emission characteristics of the surrogate with JP-8 was investigated in an actual diesel engine environment. The engine tests for the validation of the surrogate were conducted at an engine speed of 1500 rpm, a load of 3 bar, and different injection timings. The results for the cylinder gas pressure, ignition delay period, rate of heat release, and the CO, HC, and NOx emissions showed a good match between the surrogate and the target JP-8. However, the engine-out particulate matter for the surrogate was lower than that for the JP-8 at all tested conditions. These findings are presented and discussed in the paper. Additionally, a reduced surrogate fuel model was constructed and was implemented in three-dimensional CFD simulation for the predictions of the cylinder gas pressure, rate of heat release, and engine-out emissions of the tested surrogate. The CFD results were found to be in good agreement with the experimental data.