Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Mauritius, 11-13 July, 2011.
An experimental setup was designed and built to evaluate the performance of a Diesel cycle engine operating in HCCI mode, using gasoline as fuel. Different sensors and equipment were installed to monitor fuel and air flows, pressure in the air suction, torque, rotation and different temperatures (exhaust gas, air and engine case, among others). The results indicate that the admission charge temperature (air-fuel) and the amount of fuel injected affect the performance of the engine in HCCI mode. The start of the combustion is brought forward as the admission temperature increases, which in some circumstances can cause a detonation characterized by the presence of a loud noise, due to an unstable combustion. The fuel in this case is the commercial gasoline sold in Brazil that contains 22% in volume of anhydrous ethanol.