Multidimensional modelling of gaseous injection in modern direct injection internal combustion engines: analisys of different fuel injection strategies

In the short medium term natural gas has emerged as one of the most promising energy sources for internal combustion engines because its usage leads to cleaner combustion, lower CO2 emissions, and energy source diversification. However, considering that automotive DI gas engines are rather new, only limited experience exists on the optimum configuration of the injection system and the related strategy. To facilitate the development of these applications computer models are being developed. In a previous paper, a phenomenological-3D combined approach to simulate gas injection has been presented. This model has been implemented in a modified version of the KIVA 3V code and the simulation of a gas engine is here presented. After having validated both the injection model and the whole 3D code, an analysis of different injection strategies have been carried out in order to demonstrate that these tools are suitable for optimization of direct injection gas engines. To this aim a research engine has been simulated in under stratified charge conditions.