SAE TECHNICAL

PAPER SERIES

940668

Measurement of the Effect of Injection

Rate and Split Injections on Diesel
Engine Soot and NOx Emissions

D. A. Nehmer and R. D. Reitz

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Reprinted from: Diesel Combustion Processes and Emission Control

(SP-1028)

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940668
Measurement of the Effect of Injection
Rate and Split Injections on Diesel
Engine Soot and NOx Emissions
D. A. Nehmer and R. D. Reitz
University of Wisconsin-Madison

ABSTRACT

conditions present, and because the fuel-air charge is not

homogeneous, the excess oxygen and nitrogen combine
at high rates to form NOx. NOx formation rapidly slows
during the later portion of the combustion process, and
most of the NOx which has formed "freezes" as it mixes
with cooler cylinder gases and as the bulk cylinder
temperature drops during the expansion stroke. During
the second phase of combustion, the "diffusion burn",
particulates are formed (Plee et al., 1981). Air mixing with
the outer edges of the fuel jet sustains the diffusion burn.
Fuel in the interior of the spray jet is subjected to high
temperatures and pressures but is starved for oxygen,
leading to soot production.

This study was conducted to develop an understanding

of how rate-shaped and split injections can affect the soot
and NOx emissions of a heavy-duty diesel engine. The
tests were performed on a single cylinder version of the
Caterpillar 3406 production engine, modified to accept an
electronically-controlled,
high-pressure
common-rail
injection system that offers a very high degree of flexibility
in injection timing, split injections, and rate shaping of the
initial injection. The engine was instrumented for
particulate measurements with a full dilution tunnel, and
CO, CO2 and NOx emission meters. Cylinder pressure
was used to study heat release rates, and the response to
changes in the injection scheme. The results show that
rate-shaped injection, when optimized for lowest BSFC,
does not appreciably affect pressure rise or peak cylinder
gas pressures. Split injections, however, allowed peak
pressures to be reduced by more than 45%, and have a
significant effect on the overall rate of pressure rise. The
emission measurements showed that split injections have
a trend of reduced NOx as the quantity of fuel in the first
injection is reduced, without particulate emissions
increasing rapidly. Furthermore, it was determined that
split injection better utilizes the air charge and allows
combustion to continue later into the power stroke than for
a single injection case, without increased levels of soot
production. This indicates that pulsed injection may
provide a means to reduce particulate emissions, and
allow for reduced NOx from controlled pressure rise.

NOx and particulate emissions are now regulated by

the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Since 1974
the allowed emissions have been steadily decreased and
are currently limited to 1/3 of the NOx and 1/4 of the
particulates allowed in the 1974 regulations. Further
reduction of engine emissions are necessary to meet the
1994 and 1998 standards. These levels, however, will be
much more difficult to attain than the previous levels.
Meeting new emission levels will not only require the
incorporation of the many advanced techniques used to
date (such retarded injection timing and increased
injection pressures) but also require significant research
on the effect of injection parameters such as optimum
timing, split injection, and rate shaping.
To provide for better mixing of fuel and air, higher
pressure injection systems have been incorporated into
modern diesel engines. This allows the use of smaller
injection holes for the same fuel delivery rate, resulting in
smaller fuel droplets (Heywood, 1988). Faster fuel-air
mixing and better air utilization are then possible.. High
pressure injection also shortens the ignition delay so that
fuel may be introduced later in the cycle, even after TDC
(Lyn, 1968). Retreading the timing has the benefit of
lowering NOx emissions by reducing peak cylinder
temperatures and pressures, thus reducing the rate of
NOx formation. However, the engine thermodynamic
efficiency is reduced and soot emissions are increased,
(Heywood, 1988).

OF PRIMARY CONCERN FOR diesel engine

emissions is the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and
particulate or soot. Fuel initially injected into the engine
has a short ignition delay as it mixes with the hot
compressed air in the cylinder and reaches its ignition
point. It is generally believed that NOx is formed in local
high temperature regions present in the cylinder during
initial combustion, or the "premixed burn" (Plee et al.,
1981). Because combustion in the premixed bum is
approximately stoichiometric, combustion gases will be at
their maximum temperature and near peak pressure when
the piston is close to top-dead-center (TDC). With these
55

A high pressure, electronically controlled common-rail

unit injector was mount(A in the engine (Racine, 1991).
The injection system is capable of up to four injections per
engine cycle. The injector allowed control over the needle
rise and the initial rate of injection by means of a hardware
change (changing a valve orifice) within the injector. The
various orifices allow for a reduced rate of injection during
initial stages by controlling needle lift rates to produce
injections with rise rates of 2, 7 and 16 crank angle
degrees to maximum open (at 1600 rev/min).
K type thermocouples were used for inlet air, exhaust
gas, engine oil and coolant, and orifice air temperature
measurements. Inlet and exhaust surge tank pressures
and engine oil pressures were monitored. Engine intake
air is metered and flows through a heater to simulate
temperatures of turbo-charged inlet conditions. To
maintain constant inlet pressures an inlet surge tank was
used. Back pressure was maintained in the exhaust surge
tank to simulate turbocharger back pressure.
Cylinder pressure measurements were taken with a
Kistler Model 6061-A water cooled piezo-electric
transducer. The transducer passage diameter was
increased, and its length decreased to give as large a
diameter-to-length ratio as possible to improve response
times. The transducer was also coated with RTV as
recommended by Brown (1967) to provide more stable
readings. An AVL, Model 8 QP 3000 high pressure
transducer was used to measure fuel line pressure. A BEI
optical shaft encoder which provides a resolution of 1/2
crank angle degree was used for engine crank shaft
position. A PEI data acquisition system was used to
record cylinder pressure, needle lift, and fuel line pressure
data.
A Bosch rate-of-injection meter was used to determine
the instantaneous rate of injection. The accuracy of the
rate-of-injection is a function of mass flow and was
measured within 1.0 % using a Flo-Tron flow meter.

In standard injection systems the fuel injection rate

increases rapidly to the maximum, and the injection
duration is varied to control load. The end of injection is
sharp to minimize hydrocarbon and soot emissions which
result from fuel entering the cylinder late in the cycle with
poor spray development (Obert, 1973). New concepts in
diesel injection systems now have the ability to control the
rate at which fuel is delivered during the initial injection.
Rate shaping is applied primarily at the beginning of
injection, with a sharp cutoff used at the end of injection
due to the emission considerations (e.g., Nishizawa et al.,
1987 and Needham et al., 1990).
Splitting the injection sequence into two events is
called pilot or split injection. As early as 1937 pilot
injection was experimented with to reduce combustion
noise and allow the use of poor ignition quality fuels (low
cetane numbers). The pilot injection is used to shorten
ignition delay and to control rapid pressure rise (Augustin
et al., 1991 and Schulte et al., 1989). Reducing ignition
delay also reduces the quantity of premixed burn. Since
most NOx is believed to be formed in the premixed burn,
pilot and split injection are now being investigated as a
means to help control NOx emissions (e.g., Miyaki et al.,
1991, Racine et al., 1991 and Shakal and Martin, 1990).
Shundoh, et al., 1992 have reported that NOx can be
reduced by 35%, and smoke by 60 to 80%, without a
penalty in fuel economy if pilot injection is used in
conjunction with high pressure injection.
The objective of this work is to help develop an
understanding of the effect of rate-shaped and split
injections on diesel engine performance. The approach is
to use a modern, well instrumented research engine
equipped with a flexible high pressure fuel injection
system. The results of this work are available to help
provide guidelines for strategies to achieve simultaneous
reductions of soot and NOx emissions in diesel engines.
An additional objective is to provide experimental data for
computer model development efforts (e.g., Patterson et
al., 1994).

EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS
A single-cylinder research engine that is a version of
the Caterpillar 3406 production engine was used in the
study. The engine is capable of producing 54 kW at a
rated speed of 2100 RPM. Engine specifications pertinent
to the present study are listed in Table 1.
Table 1 Engine Specifications
4-Stroke,Simulated
Turbocharging
Bore
Stroke
Connecting Rod Length
Displacement
Compression Ratio
Intake Valve Timing
Exhaust Valve Timing

137.19 mm
165.1mm
261.62
2.44L
15.0:1
opens 3 ATDC
closes 10 ABDC
opens 19 BBDC
closes 7 BTDC

Figure 1. Dilution Tunnel

A full dilution tunnel, shown in Fig. 1, was constructed

for the particulate measurements following EPA
guidelines (EPA, 1990). The dilution tunnels primary
purpose is to cool exhaust gases by diluting them with
filtered air and to
56

The pressure data was analyzed using a heat release

analysis based on the two-zone heat release model
developed by Borman and Krieger, 1966 and modified to
incorporate the Woschni, 1967, correlation to predict heat
transfer (Tree, 1992).

uniformly mix them before a sample is drawn from the

tuinnel. The full dilution tunnel allows for the use of large
filters (90 mm Pallflex) and large sample rates at low
filter-face velocities. The use of a full dilution tunnel serves
improve test results over mini-dilution approaches by
minimizing measurements errors associated with filter
weighing accuracy and sample volume determination
(MacDonald and Plee, 1980, and Hirakouchi et al., 1989).
The filter method also allowed for the determination of
Soluble Organic Fraction (SOF) using Soxhlet extraction
as described by Tree, 1992.

TEST CONDITIONS
The goal of this study was to quantify changes in
emissions and engine performance caused by varying
injection Parameters. Therefore engine speed, inlet
temperatures and pressures, exhaust back pressure, and
equivalence ratio were held constant for testing, and the
values are listed in Table 2. The values were chosen to
reflect common loads placed on this engine (1600 rpm
and a equivalence ratio of 0.45, or approximately 80%
load) as well as the appropriate inlet temperature and
pressure conditions (Brown, 1992).

The primary tunnel is composed of three parts: the

diffuser, mixing, and sampling sections. Particulate
samples are drawn from the sampling section through a
15.9 mm diameter 304 stainless steel tube which leads to
the secondary dilution tunnel and filter section. To
minimize temperature gradients in the tunnel and prevent
deposition of soot on the cool metal surfaces
(thermophoresis), insulation was placed on the tunnel
walls (Kittleson, 1991). Immediately at the end of the
mixing section is the filter section which is designed to use
two filters in parallel with the secondary filter being used to
trap any particulate which by-passes the primary filter.
The temperature of the diluted products and filter paper
was monitored and maintained at 52 C since SOF loading
has been shown to be dependent on filter temperature.
Procedures used to collect and weigh the particulate
filters are described by Nehmer, 1993.

Table 2 Test Conditions

Engine Speed
Inlet Air Temperature
Inlet Air Pressure
Exhaust Back Pressure
Equivalence Ratio

1600 RPM
36 C
184 kPa
159 kPa
0.45

To better determine the effects of changes in the fuel

injection schemes, an attempt was made to run all tests at
mean best torque. Split injection, or rate shaping
significantly increases the period over which fuel is
injected into the engine - over 50% longer for some tests
conducted in this study - and if the injection timings were
not optimized for best BSFC, measurements of emissions
and performance would also include effects of retarded
timing resulting from the extended injection duration.

Gaseous emission samples were drawn from the

exhaust surge tank with a single probe, designed to SAE
J177 specifications (SAE, 1992). The sample gases were
dried using an ice bath and a Drierite desiccant dryer. A
chemiluminiscent gas analyzer (Thermo Environmental
Instruments, Inc. model 10S) was used to monitor
NO/NOx concentrations. The unit was equipped with a
thermoelectric cooler on the reaction chamber to stabilize
low range sensitivity, and accuracy is within 1% of full
scale. Horiba infrared gas analyzers were used to monitor
CO and CO2 concentrations. The CO and CO2 analyzers
have an nominal accuracy of 1.0% of full scale, while the
CO2 meter has an improved accuracy of 0.5% of full scale
for the high sensitivity range which is needed to monitor
dilution ratios in the primary and secondary dilution
tunnels.

Injector settings were determined experimentally on a

Bosch rate-of-injection bench described by Bower, 1991.
The injector controller is adjusted for each injection
scheme by setting the solenoid initiation and duration for
the appropriate start of injection and fuel flow. Spacing
between injections was set by monitoring needle lift and
setting the time between

Table 3 Injector Settings

Fuel
1'st Inj.
%
100
100
100
10
10
25
25
50
50
75
75

Fuel
2'nd Inj.
%
0
0
0
90
90
75
75
50
50
25
25

Test

Base.6
Single.3
Single.2
10-90,3
10-90,8
25-75,3
25-75,8
50-50,3
50-50,8
75-25,3
75-25,8

Injection
Spacing
CA
3
8
3
8
3
8
3
8

57

1'st Inj.
Duration
msec
1.930
2.200
2.750
0.324
0.324
0.600
0.600
1.040
1.040
1.500
1.500

Signal
Spacing
CA
7.6
13.6
10.3
15.7
14.7
20.0
19.3
24.2

2'nd Inj.
Duration
msec
1.700
1.700
1.430
1.410
0.940
0.940
0.500
0.500

single injection cases with different diameter injector valve

orifices to control needle lift and the initial rate of injection.
The Single.2 case utilizes a 0.20 min valve orifice and has
the slowest lift and the Single.3 case uses a 0.30 min
orifice for a faster needle rise.
Figure 3 presents needle lift and rate-of-injection data
for split injection cases having 3 crank angle degree
spacing (dwell) and Fig. 4 presents data for an 8 crank
angle degree spacing between injection events. All tests
were performed with the 0.60 mm diameter orifice to attain
a fast needle rise for each injection. Anal~g the data
revealed two important details. First, that with 10% of the
fuel in the initial injection, the needle only attains 70% of
total lift in either the 3 or the 8 degree spacing tests
(10-90,3 and 10-90,8). This may cause poor spray
development and slow vaporization of the fuel in the initial
injection.
Secondly, it is noticed that the pressure waves that are
created when the needle closes affect injection rates
during the second injection event. Inspection of the 10-90
and the 25-75 injection splits with 3 degree CA spacing
shows that the rate of injection rises in the later half of the
second injection event. A similar characteristic was noted
with the 8 degree CA spacing in the 10-90 and the 25-75
splits, but the high rate of injection is present in the first
half of the second event. It is the difference in dwell times
between injections which moves the high rate of injection
from the last half to the first portion of the injection event.
This corresponds with the arrival of the pressure wave in
the fuel line and it is the increased pressure that is
responsible for the increased rates of injection.
The baseline (Single.6) injection scheme was run at 5
different injection timings ranging from 5 degrees to 15
degrees BTDC to develop a reference NOx, Particulate
trade-off curve. The engine was also run for each injection
scheme listed m Table 3 while advancing timing until the
dynamometer load appeared to be maximized indicating
that minimum BSFC had been reached. The measured
engine performance for each injection scheme, or
injection timing, is presented in Table 4.
Cylinder pressure data from the Baseline single
injection timing tests are presented in Fig. 5a. The cylinder
pressure trend of increased peak pressure with timing
being advanced from 5 degrees BTDC to 15 degrees
BTDC is as expected. The 5 degree BTDC timing is
interesting because it is actually late enough to show peak
motored pressure, and expansion, before increasing from
combustion. An injection timing of 11 degrees BTDC
produced the lowest BSFC and was therefore used as a
comparison to all other data.
Single injection cylinder pressure data for different
rate-shaped injections is presented in Fig. 5b. In this
figure the advanced timing of the. Single.2 test (20
degrees BTDC) is apparent by the early ignition and sharp
pressure rise at around 6 BTDC. Both the baseline case
(11 degree BTDC injection) and the Single.3 (14 degree
BTDC injection) configuration show premixed burn and
rapid pressure rise starting at about 2 degrees BTDC. The
peak pressure is 9.64 MPa at 12.5 degrees ATDC for both
the baseline and Single.3 configurations, while the
Single.2 test reaches a peak pressure of 9.67 MPa at 11.5
degrees ATDC, a result of the earlier injection timing. This
data shows that the effect of a slow

closing of the needle and its re-opening to the desired 3

and 8 crank angle degree spacings (which corresponds to
0.313 and 0.833 ms, respectively at 1600 rev/min). The
resulting injector settings and test conditions are
displayed in Table 3. For all tests a common-rail pressure
0 of 90 MPa was used.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results of the Bosch rate-of-injection meter tests for
single injection cases are presented in Figure 2. Shown
for each test case is needle lift and rate of fuel injected.
The Base.6, or baseline data, utilizes the 0.6 min diameter
valve orifice, which results in the fastest needle rise and
the shortest injection duration of all the tests. Single.3 and
Single.2 are

Figure 2. Needle Lift and Injection Rate, Single Injections.

58

Figure 3. Needle Lift and Injection Rate, 3 Split Injection

Figure 4. Needle Lift and Injection Rate, 8 Split Injection

59

Table 4 Engine Performance

Run
#
Base.6
Base.6
Base.6
Base.6
Base.6
Single.3
Single.2
10-90,3
10-90,8
25-75,3
25-75,8
50-50,3
50-50,8
75-25,3
75-25,8

Inj. Timing
BTDC
5
8
11
13
15
14
20
12
16
14
is
12
13
12
12

Power
kW
35.2
36.3
37.5
38.7
39.2
38.3
38.0
39.2
37.9
38.0
37.6
38.8
37.6
40.6
38.0

BMEP
kPa
1080
1110
1150
1180
1200
1170
1160
1200
1160
1160
1150
1190
1150
1240
1160

BTDC
g/kw-hr
210
199
187
189
189
192
194
203
206
190
193
187
192
186
192

Eqv. Ratio
0.485
0.459
0.436
0.461
0.468
0.461
0.460
0.501
0.494
0.451
0.453
0.455
0.454
0.473
0.455

Figure 5a. Baseline Cylinder Pressure Data

Figure 5b. Single Injection Cylinder Pressure Data

rise in rate of injection can be compensated for by

advancing the injection timing.

Base.6 case, but the rise in injection rates arc nearly

identical after that point. Therefore, after the delay
accompanying the initial needle rise both cases are
subjected to similar rates of fuel injection and the resulting
heat release curves are nearly identical. The Single.3
case does show ignition taking place approximately 0.5
crank angle degree earlier, indicating that fuel is injected
during the initial needle rise, but only a very small quantity,
and the initial heat release begins more gradually.

Figures 6a and 6b present the heat release data for

the single injection runs. The rate of heat release is
plotted as a fraction of the total energy released versus
engine crank angle position. As with the pressure data,
clear trends are visible in the heat release data of Fig. 6a
as the injection timing is changed. The heat release
curves arc curves for each condition, and are just shifted
by the changes in injection timing.

Pressure data for the split injection cases with 3 crank

angle degree spacing between injections is presented in
Fig. 7. The lowest pressure and highest SFC is associated
with the 10-90,3 injection scheme. As the percent of fuel
in the first injection is increased, peak pressures increase,
BSFC decreases, and the engine performance
approaches that of a single injection with the 75-25,3
scheme.

Figure 6b presents the heat release data for the three

single injection runs with different rate-shapes. The
Single.2 curve shows the premixed bum occurring before
either the Single.3 or Base.6 case and reflects the early
injection timing used. The maximum rate of heat release
during the diffusion burn is lower, and peaks earlier, than
for the other two test cases as a result of the slow needle
rise and early injection.

Figure 8 displays the results from the split injection

tests with 8 crank angle (CA) degree spacing between
injections. As with the 3 CA degree spacing, a larger
percentage of fuel in the first injection, gives a higher
cylinder pressure. As with the 75-25,3 the 3 CA degree
spacing of a 75-25 split performed much like a single
injection. The results show

Differences in the heat release curves for the Single.3

and Base.6 case are very small and do not reveal that the
Single.3 case was run with more advanced timing than the
Base.6 case. This is primarily because the initial needle lift
(first 15%) of the Single.3 configuration is much slower
than the
60

Figure 6a. Normalized Heat Release Rate vs Injection

Timing, Baseline

Figure 6b. Normalized Heat Release Rate, Single

Injections

Figure 7. Pressure Data, 3 Split Injection

Figure 8. Pressure Data, 8 Split Injection

energy release associated with the first injection of the 5050,3 case.

that, with more fuel in the first injection, peak pressures

occur at later crank angles. This is expected, since later
injection timings are required to attain the lowest BSFC
and to keep cylinder pressures within acceptable limits as
a greater quantity of fuel is injected in the first injection.
The 10-90, 3 case in Fig. 7, which has an almost flat
pressure trace, is an exception. In this case, analysis of
the BSFC data also suggested that the injection timing
may not have been quite optimized.

Heat release curves for the 8 split injection test cases

are presented in Fig. 10. Both the 10-90,8 and 25-75,8
cases are very similar to the 3 degree CA spacing tests,
with the larger dwell time between injections resulting in a
later diffusion burn. Again there is a very low rate of
energy release after the premixed burn due to the small
quantity of fuel present in the first injection. The premixed
burn for the 10-90,8 case does begin 1 degree earlier than
for the 25-75,8 case, reflecting the more advanced timing
used. The 50-50,8 and 75-25,8 test cases are also similar
to the 3 degree spacing runs. As expected the larger dwell
time between injections results in a greater separation
between peaks in the diffusion burns, and a more notable
drop in energy release between injection events. The
greatest difference between the 3 and 8 degree CA
spacing is in the 75-25 case with an 8 degree spacing
because the greatest energy release is now in the first
diffusion burn peak.

Heat release data for the 3 degree CA split injection

cases are shown in Fig. 9. The premixed burn spike is
apparent for all cases but there is very little diffusion burn
prior to the second injection for the 10-90,3 and 25-75,3
cases. The premixed burn for the 25-75,3 case starts 2
CA degrees before that of the 10-90,3 case, and shows
the earlier start of injection employed. Both the 50-50,3
and 75-25,3 tests show a diffusion burn taking place after
the premixed burn. The 50-50,3 case shows a period of
relatively constant heat release between 0 and 6 degrees
ATDC before rising again as fuel from the second injection
event begins to burn. The 75-25,3 case shows two peaks
in the diffusion burn, with a drop in heat release being
caused by the split in the injection. Due to the large
quantity of fuel in the first injection, the rate of energy
release is almost that of the peak rate achieved during the
second injection and 67% higher than the maximum

Engine emissions measured during the experimental

runs are shown in Table 5. Figure 11 is a plot of particulate
versus NOx for all test points. From this graph it appears
that all the split injection and rate-shaped (single injection)
data points he approximately on the particulate, NOx
trade-off curve developed for the Base.6 case by varying
the injection
61

Figure 9. Normalized Heat Release Rate Data, 3 Split Injection

Figure 10. Normalized Heat Release Rate Data, 8 Split Injection

62

Table 5 Engine Emissions

Run
#

Inj. Timing
BTDC

Particulate
g/bhp-hr

SOF
% of Part.

NOx
g/bhp-hr

CO
g/bhp-hr

Base.6
Base.6
Base.6
Base.6
Base.6
Single.3
Single.2
10-90,3
10-90,8
25-75,3
25-75,8
50-50,3
50-50,8
75-25,3
75-25,8

5
8
11
13
15
14
20
12
16
14
15
12
13
12
12

0.209
0.137
0.104
0.083
0.075
0.103
0.117
0.163
0.184
0.095
0.084
0.100
0.083
0.076
0.074

4.2
9.7
11.3
13.3
15.2
9.4
12.0
10.7
7.3
14.0
14.7
13.6
14.6
17.7
21.3

2.99
3.76
3.90
4.58
5.20
4.09
4.15
3.39
3.19
3.73
3.91
4.32
4.13
4.82
4.65

0.73
0.78
1.29
1.46
0.73
0.65
0.58
0.46
0.50
0.41

CO2
%Dry
7.01
7.05
6.84
7.01
7.01
7.01
6.97
7.49
7.31
7.09
7.08
7.10
7.06
7.38
6.92

Figure 11. NOx vs Total Particulate Data

versus Particulate emissions revealed a very interesting
result as shown in Fig. 12 for both the baseline data and
all of the injection schemes tested in the study. In all tests,
rate-shaped or split-injection particulate emissions are
below the baseline curve. Thus, even though combustion
was continued longer into the expansion stroke, less
particulates were produced. This is contrary to what would
be expected, since late combustion is usually thought to
lead to high particulate levels (Plee et al., 1981). This
suggests that the changes in injection schemes effects
soot production, and/or oxidation, and new split-injection
schemes may allow reductions in NOx by retarding timing,
without the normal increase in soot emissions. This
conclusion has indeed been borne out by recent
measurements by Tow et al., 1994. The only common

timing. However, closer evaluation of the graph suggests

that 25-75 and even the 50-50 cases may allow a
reduction in NOx without as great an increase in
particulate as the Base.6 trade-off curve.
Therefore the results suggest that split injection may
provide some benefit in terms of reduced emissions.
However, the fact that results were found to be sensitive
to injection timing makes it difficult to draw definitive
conclusions. A timing trade-off curve therefore needs to
be run for each split injection case to determine how much
these points lie below the Base.6 curve, as has been done
recently, for example, by Tow et al., 1994.
Evaluation of the end of combustion (which is defined
arbitrarily as the time when 95% of the fuel has burned)

63

Figure 12. Total Particulate vs End of Combustion

Particulate emissions were analyzed for soluble
point among all of the present injection schemes is that
organic fractions (SOF) and the results are presented as a
the fuel is delivered over a greater number of crank angles
percent of total particulate emissions in Table 5. SOF lie
(a slower overall rate) compared to the baseline single
between 4.2 and 21.3 % (see Table 5) of the total
inaction case.
particulate, and these levels are representative of those
Evaluation of the small first quantity injected 10-90
from modern low emission engines. Moreover, it is
tests suggest that these cases performed much like the
important to note that the actual SOF emissions were
Base.6 at late injection timings. This follows from the heat
between 0.009 and 0.017 g/bhp-hr for all tests, regardless
release data, which showed the premixed burn consuming
of the actual particulate concentrations. This consistency
most of the fuel, and then a long delay time followed by
in emission levels indicates that the engine is in good
the diffusion burn during the second injection, with burning
condition, with little lubricating oil being entrained into the
continuing late into the expansion stroke. This is typical of
exhaust.
late injection and high particulate levels. More advanced
injection timings need to be tested to determine if the
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
particulate levels can be reduced without significantly
The goals of this study were to develop an
increasing NOx emissions.
understanding of the effect of rate-shaped and split
A statistical analysis was performed on the present
injections on diesel engine performance and emissions.
split injection data. The modeling showed that while a
For this purpose, a well characterized research engine
correlation between particulate and NOx exists, it is
test facility has been constructed. The engine test data is
dependent on the quantity of fuel in the first and second
also available to help the development of engine models
injection. Good correlation to a reduction in NOx, and
(e.g., Patterson et al., 1994).
increase in particulate, results as the quantity of fuel in the
It was found that a single injection with a fast rate of
first injection is reduced. This trend is very similar to that
injection produced the lowest particulate emissions, and
of retarding injection timing. A correlation between
the lowest BSFC of all tests. Evaluating the split injection
injection spacing and emission levels could not be found.
tests, it was noted that the quantity of fuel in the first
This indicates that a small spacing of the injection events
injection has a significant effect on the rate of in-cylinder
has little effect on emission levels. However the data in
pressure rise. The percent of fuel in the first injection was
Fig. 12 suggests that a larger spacing in split injection
also found to be correlated with engine emissions. As
cases allows for longer burning into the expansion stroke
more fuel was injected in the first injection, Nox emissions
for a given particulate level.
increased, while particulate emissions decreased.
However, there was no apparent correlation between the
The work of Golding, 1992, indicates that significant
spacing (dwell) between the injections and engine
reductions in soot are possible by enhancing mixing
emissions for the tests conducted in this study, which
during the expansion stroke. The results in Fig. 12 also
considered 3 and 8 crank angle degree spacings.
appear to suggest that split injections serve to enhance
Split injection also) appears to affect the
mixing. This indicates that multiple injections (more than 2
NOx-particulate trade-off. By enhancing mixing, and
split injections) may be beneficial, as confirmed by the
improving air utilization, NOx emissions for the 25%.75%
recent results of Tow et al., 1994.
and 50%-50%
64

Brown, W. L., "Methods for Evaluating Requirements and

Errors in Cylinder Pressure measurements," SAE Paper
670008, 1967.

injection cases were reduced without the increases in soot

suggested by the trade-off curve obtained for single
injections. The split injections also allowed combustion to
continue later into the expansion stroke without an
accompanying increase in particulate emissions. In
addition, the data suggests that an optimum quantity of
fuel in the first injection exists, and it lies somewhere
between 10-90 and 25-75.

Environmental Protection Agency "Code of Federal

Regulations, Chapter 40," 7-1-90 Edition, 1990.
Golding, L., "The Effects of Increased mixing Rates and /
or Temperature on Diesel Engine Particulate Emissions,"
MS Thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1992.

For all split injection tests it was determined that a 3

CA degree spacing produced lower BSFC than an 8 CA
degree spacing, as expected since efficiency improves
with shorter combustion periods closer to TDC.

Heywood,
J.
B.,
Internal
Combustion
Engine
Fundamentals, McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, New
York, New York, 1988.

Rate-shaped injection did appear to have a small

penaltythe NOx-particulate trade-off curve. However, with
slower injection rates it was possible for combustion to
continue later into the cycle with lower soot levels than
those for the fast-injection-rate tests. Rate-shaped
injection also had an increased BSFC over the baseline
fast-injection-rate case, as would be expected because
injection of the fuel is extended over a longer duration.
The 25-75, 50-50, and 75-25 split injection results do
indicate that NOx can be reduced with only a minimal
increase in particulate emissions by means of split
injection. For the 10-90 split injection scheme most of the
fuel in the first injection is consumed in the premixed burn,
and the second injection sustains the diffusion burn. The
relatively long dwell time between the two injections,
however, makes the diffusion burn take place late in the
cycle and the emissions respond similar to those of a
single late injection. Finally, it was noted that both rateshaped and split-injection schemes allowed for
combustion to continue later in the expansion stroke,
while producing less soot than the baseline, fast-rate,
single-injection scheme. This suggests that particulate
emissions can be reduced with optimized injection
characteristics which enhance mixing and differ from the
traditional single injection strategy.

Hirakouchi, N., Fukano, I. and Shoji, T., "Measurement of

Diesel Exhaust Emissions with Mini-Dilution Tunnel," SAE
Paper 890181, 1989.
Kittelson, D. B., and Johnson, J. H, "Variability in Particle
Emission Measurements in the Heavy Duty Transient
Test, SAE Paper 910738, 1991.
Krieger, R. B., and Borman, G. L., "The Computation of
Apparent Heat Release for Internal Combustion Engines,"
ASME Paper 99-WA/DGP-4,1966.
Lyn, W. T., and Valdmanis, E., "Effects of Physical Factors
on Ignition Delay," SAE Paper 680102, 1968.
MacDonald, J. S., and Plee, S. L., "Experimental
Measurements of the Independent Effects of Dilution
Ratio and Filter Temperature on Diesel Exhaust
Particulate Samples," SAE Paper 800185, 1980.
Miyaki, M., Fujisawa, H., Masuda, A., and Yamamoto, Y.,
"Development of New Electronically Controlled Fuel
Injection System ECD-U2 for Diesel Engines," SAE Paper
910252, 1991.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the Caterpillar Engine Co.
and by NASA-Lewis under grant NAG 3-1087. Additional
facilities and support were provided by the Army
Research Office contract DAAL03-86-K-0174. The
contributions of Bill Brown and the ERC staff and students
are greatly appreciated. The authors particularly thank
Tryg Tow for his help with the experiments and for
providing his recent emissions measurements for
comparison, and thank Bob Bair who helped with the
design of the dilution tunnel, and Joe Shakal who
performed a statistical analysis of the data.

Needham, May, and Doyle, "Injection Rate Control," SAE

Paper 900854, 1990.

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66