Effect of Pilot Injection on Diesel Combustion. 1st Report. Reduction of Ignition Delay

To reduce the level of exhaust emissions and to improve the ignition characteristics, the effect of pilot injection on combustion was examined experimentally in a turbocharged direct-injection diesel engine, and was analyzed theoretically using a two-zone combustion model. The pilot injection effect was compared with the combustion in the injection without pilot injection and also with the effect of fuel additive as an ignition improver in two kinds of fuel : high-quality fuel having a cetane index of 57 and low-quality fuel having that of 40. It is found that the pilot injection effectively reduces ignition delay at the retarded injection timing, under the low-load condition, and in the case of low-cetane fuel. The ignition delay of the main injection is reduced to about a half of that of the injection without pilot injection by the pilot injection with the short interval between pilot and main injection. The ignition delay of the low-cetane fuel is reduced to that of the high-quality fuel by a small amount of pilot injection, or by adding 1% of the ignition improver.