Analysis of Performance and Emissions Characteristics of Diesel and SME B20 Fuels at Varying Start of Main Injection and Pilot Injection Timings
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Abstract
This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the performance, emissions and combustion characteristics of diesel and simarouba methyl ester (SME B20) fuels at various injection timings and load conditions. The investigation covers key parameters such as brake thermal efficiency (BTE), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and smoke opacity. Experiments were conducted using different Start of Main Injection (SoMI) and Start of Pilot Injection (SoPI) timings, specifically 18 deg, 20 deg, 30 deg and 35d eg before top dead center (BTDC), across brake power levels ranging from 0 to 5.2 kW. Results indicate that SME B20 consistently exhibits lower emissions and improved performance characteristics compared to diesel, largely due to its higher oxygen content, which promotes better performance. In terms of performance, diesel demonstrates higher BTE, especially at lower injection timings, while SME B20 performs efficiently at higher loads. CO, HC and smoke opacity emission levels were significantly reduced in SME B20 blends, particularly at optimized injection timings. NOx emissions, although higher at increased loads for both fuels, were consistently lower for SME B20 compared to diesel, especially at the SoMI 20 deg BTDC.
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