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Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

The current paper provides a detailed experiment and numerical study of the performance of the combustion chamber of a heavy-duty diesel engine in the common Iraqi industrial conditions at the State Company of Heavy Engineering Equipment (HEESCO). The main goal is to close the difference between what is specified by the manufacturers concerning the performance data, which is usually assumed to be under ideal conditions of the ISO standard, and the real efficiency of operation as witnessed in the field. The methodology is based on a hybrid approach that combines direct field measurements of in-cylinder pressure, temperature and fuel flow of a MAN 18V32/40 diesel engine with a zero-dimensional single-zone thermodynamic model that was developed in MATLAB. A calibration and validation of the simulation model is done using the experimental data that was collected at different points of loads. The experiment showed an in-cylinder peak pressure of 16.5 MPa and a highest brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of 38.5 percent at the rate of about 80 percent of rated load. The tested MATLAB model proved to be very accurate with the difference of the model and experimental data of the pressure-crank angle being less than 4.5 percent. The comparative analysis shows that performance of the engine on locally obtained Iraqi diesel fuel leads to a 3-5% lower BTE than performance expectations on the use of EN 590 standard fuel. This difference is mainly explained by the fact that the local fuel has lower cetane number and more sulfur, and, consequently, results in the increase of the ignition delay and change in the combustion phasing. The paper ends with the validated framework of performance measurement and gives specific, evidence-based suggestions on how to optimize the functioning of diesel engines, improve the fuel consumption levels, and shape the maintenance plan in the context of the heavy industry and energy complexes that are critically important in Iraq.

Keywords

Dasycle engine combustion, Performance analysis, Thermodynamic modeling, In-cylinder pressure, State company for heavy engineering equipment (HEESCO), Iraqi diesel fuel, MATLAB simulation

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