HOMOGENEOUS CHARGE COMPRESSION IGNITION FUTURE OF IC ENGINES

BACK GROUND
The obvious ideal combination would be to find an engine type with the high efficiency of the CI
engine and the very low emissions of the SI engine.One such candidate is named Homogeneous Charge
Compression Ignition, HCCI. It was observed that an improvement of fuel efficiency from 15% to 30% at 1.5 bar
BMEP. This is an improvement of 100% equivalent to a reduction of fuel consumption with 50%. The major
benefit of HCCI compared to CI is the low emissions of NOx and PM. Clearly the CI engine must use exhaust
after treatment of NOx and/or PM. In the CI engine, NO is formed in the very hot zones with close to
stoichiometric conditions and the soot is formed in the fuel rich spray core. The in- cylinder average air/fuel
ratio is always lean but the combustion process is not. This means that we have a large potential to reduce
emissions of NOx and PM by simply mixing fuel and air before combustion The NOx is normally less than
1/500 of the CI level and no PM is generated by combustion
Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion could be used to solve the problems
of burn duration and flame propogation. In general ,HCCI combustion has been shown to be faster than spark
ignition or compression ignition combustion processes. "Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition" (HCCI)
combustion, in Europe is known as "Controlled Auto Ignition" (CAI) combustion, and in Japan as "Active
Thermo Atmosphere" (ATA) combustion. One of the main challenges towards the development of the HCCI
engine is to control the auto-ignition process and to achieve smooth energy release during the cycle.To
accomplish these goals, various techniques have been suggested as a means to control the ignition and
combustion processes. Among them, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) has been found to be an effective means
to reduce engine knock and to extend the operating range of the engine.

THE HCCI PRINCIPLE

HCCI means that the fuel and air should be mixed before combustion starts and that the mixture is
autoignited due to the increase in temperature from the compression stroke. Thus HCCI is similar to SI in the
sense that both engines use a premixed charge and HCCI is similar to CI as both purely on auto ignition for

combustion initiation. Numerous ignition points (specks) through out the mixture can ensure very rapid
combustion and enables low equivalence ratios i.e., lean mixtures.

HCCI FUNDAMENTALS
However, the combustion process is totally different for the three types. Figure 1 shows the difference
between (a) SI combustion and (b) HCCI. In the SI engine we have three zones, a burnt zone, an unburned zone
and between them a thin reaction zone where the chemistry takes place. This reaction zone propagates through
the combustion chamber and thus we have a flame propagation. With the HCCI process the entire mass in the
cylinder will react at once. The right part of Figure shows HCCI, Active Thermo-Atmosphere combustion
ATAC. We see that the entire mass is
active but the reaction rate is low both
locally and globally. This means that the
combustion process will take some time
even if all the charge is active. The total
amount of heat released, Q, will be the
same

for

faster

HCCI.Fig.2(a)&2(b)

burn

rate

shows

of
the

combustion phenomenon in SI and

HCCI combustion processes which are
Fig.1 The difference between SI and
HCCI processes

observed with Laser Diagnostics.

Fig.2(a) SI flame propogation

Fig. 2(b) HCCI combustion

REQUIREMENTS FOR HCCI

The HCCI combustion process puts two major requirements on the conditions in the cylinder:
(a) The temperature after compression stroke should equal the auto ignition temperature of the fuel/air
mixture.

(b) The mixture should be diluted enough to give reasonable burn rate.
The auto ignition temperature has some correlation with the fuelsresistance of knock in SI engines
and thus the octane number. This temperature can be reached in two ways, either the temperature in the cylinder
at the start of compression is controlled or the increase in temperature due to compression i.e. compression ratio
is controlled. It could be interesting to note that the auto ignition temperature is a very weak function of air/fuel
ratio. The change in auto ignition temperature for iso-octane is only 50K with a factor 2 change in dilution
rate(#).
Figure 3 also shows the normal rich and lean limits
found with HCCI. With a too rich mixture the reactivity
of the charge is too high. This means that the burn rate
becomes extremely high with richer mixtures. If an HCCI
engine is run too rich the entire charge can be consumed
within a fraction of a crank angle. This gives rise to
extreme pressure rise rates and hence mechanical stress
and noise. With a high auto ignition temperature like that
Fig. 3 Ignition Temperature Vs. Dilution Rate

of natural gas. it is also possible that formation of Nox can

be the load limiting factor. Figure 4 shows the NO formation as a function of maximum temperature. Very low
emission levels are measured with ethanol. If the combustion
starts at a higher temperature like with natural gas, the
temperature after combustion will also be higher for a given
amount of heat released.On the lean side, the temperature
increase from the combustion is too low to have complete
combustion Partial oxidation of fuel to CO can occur at
extremely lean mixtures.As a summary.HCCI is governed by
three temperatures. We need to reach the autoignition
temperature to get things started;the combustion should then incr-

Fig.4 NOx Vs. T max

-ease the temperature to at least 1400 K to have good combustion efficiency but it should not be increased to
more that 1800 K to prevent NO formation.

HCCI COMBUSTION PROCESS IN DETAIL

The HCCI combustion process can be of two types.viz., gasoline HCCI and diesel HCCI.
A possible solution for emission reduction however, could be HCCI. An important reason for the
increased efficiency of an engine running in HCCI mode comes from the reduction of pumping losses during

the intake stroke. Diesel engines operate unthrottled to start with, so Diesel HCCI operation does not have the
potential to improve the efficiency over the conventional Diesel engine as petrol engine based HCCI operation
does compared with conventional petrol engines. Diesel HCCI should therefore be considered mainly as a
possibility to reduce emissions, rather than fuel consumption. The main part of the conventional Diesel
combustion process can be described as diffusion combustion. The combustion occurs as soon as the injected
fuel spray has mixed with the air to within combustible limits. The local air-fuel ratio varies from rich to
slightly lean, where a rich mixture results in soot formation while a stoichiometric or slightly lean mixture
results in a high flame temperature and therefore high NOx formation.

(a) Compression

(d) Expansion

(b) Injection

(e) Exhaust

(c) Combustion

(f) Intake

Fig. 5 Working of ATAC Engine (HCCI engine)

A large part of the formed soot will oxidize in the latter part of the combustion phase or during the expansion,
but some will remain. The soot oxidation is largely temperature dependent, so attempts to reduce the soot
emissions typically result in increased NOx emissions. This problem is called the Diesel dilemma. Since the
mixture in HCCI mode is homogeneously distributed in the combustion chamber, there is no diffusion
combustion with a rich and high temperature combustion zone, which results in near zero levels of both soot
and NOx.

The HCCI process involves the following stages.

Intake : -

At first the charge (fuel and air

Fig 6. HCCI Working Process

mixture) is sent through the inlet manifold .The fuel easily injects into the cylinder
since there is vacuum inside the cylinder.The pressure in the cylinder is same as that
of the pressure associated with the charge

Compression : - The charge inside the cylinder is compressed by the piston until the pressure and
temperature rises to the peak values.The charge is divided into well defined specks
which are distributed through out the volume of the combustion chamber.Then the
charge will attain its auto-ignition points.

Combustion :-

When the charge attains its auto-ignition temperature the entire mass in the cylinder
will burn at once.Hence it avoids burn duration and flame propogation.Unlike in SI
engine there wont be stages of combustion.

Expansion

:-

As the charge burns the heat energy released will be converted into work energy and
pushes the piston downwards from TDC to BDC.

Exhaust

:-

The exhaust gases released will be left through the exhaust manifold due to the
pressure difference between the exhaust gases and the atmospheric air.

The some other processes involved in the DI diesel HCCI engine processes are pilot
injection,pilot fuel combustion and main fuel injection and the process goes on cyclically.

HCCI CHEMISTRY
Chemical kinetics plays a major role in the auto-ignition and fuel oxidation processes that
characterize HCCI combustion: Unlike in other engine types, diffusion and turbulence are of moderate
importance compared with chemistry. This is because the gas mixture in the cylinder prior to auto-ignition is
close to homogeneous. Besides this, ignition is initiated by other means than a spark and, hence, no turbulencedependent flame propagation occurs. Therefore, the aim is to reduce the size of the reaction mechanism as much
as possible while maintaining it as realistic as possible. This can be achieved by including the most relevant
intermediate species and reaction branches in the reduced mechanism. In general three types of reaction
mechanisms could be applied to HCCI modeling:
1. Detailed reaction mechanisms (~10,000 reactions and 1000 species)
2. Comprehensive mechanisms (~1000 reactions and 100 species)
3. Skeletal mechanisms (~50 reactions and 10 species)

The HCCI combustion process is assumed to start with a gradual decomposition of the fuel with well
distributed reactions. The reactions will become significantly exothermic when a critical temperature is
approached. At this critical condition the reaction rate will be very sensitive to the temperature of the charge.
Even the smallest variations in temperature will thus influence the reaction rates. As we will have random
variation in temperature in the cylinder, some locations will have more favorable conditions. In those locations,
sometimes denoted hot spots the reactions thus will start a bit earlier. As the exothermic reactions start the
temperature is increased and thus reactions become even faster. We thus have a local positive feedback in
temperature.

HCCI CONTROL
THE NEED FOR CONTROL
It can be sufficient to change the inlet temperature 2C to move from a very good operating point to a total
misfire..The main parameter to control for HCCI is the combustion timing i.e. when in the cycle combustion
takes place. With combustion before top dead center, TDC, the temperature will be increased both by the
chemical reactions and the compression due to piston motion. Thus for a given autoignition temperature,
combustion onset before TDC will result in faster reactions. With the conditions changed to give combustion
onset close to TDC, the temperature will not be increased by piston motion, the only temperature driver would
be the chemical reactions.
HOW TO CONTROL
The HCCI combustion control can be considered as a balance in temperature. With low temperature at TDC
the combustion will be late and with high temperature at TDC the combustion will start early. To control
temperature, three major parameters can be used. Inlet temperature and compression ratio will directly change
the TDC temperature. The third parameter is the amount of residual gas retained in the cylinder from the
previous cycle. A fourth possible way of controlling the process is to change the required auto ignition
temperature by adjusting the fuel quality.For the accurate control there should be a sensor.
COMBUSTION SENSOR
The most accurate and reliable signal for combustion is the in-cylinder pressure.The cylinder pressure
is a very stable and robust signal but the cost of such sensors is still too high for production engines. One
alternative could be an ion current measurement system. The ion current can be measured by applying a voltage
on the electrodes of a normal spark plug.

APPLICATIONS
Hydrogen Internal Combustion Electric Generator

 Automobiles
Heavy duty vehicles
Marine engines
Applications requiring faster rpm

ADVANTAGES

The fuel efficiency will increase from 15 to 30 % .

Reason: The entire mass of the charge will be distributed homogeneously through out the volume of the
chamber so the entire mass will burns at once and the unburnt fuel is nearly zero percent.

The NOx is normally less than 1/500 of the CI level and no PM is generated by combustion
Reason: The residence time of exhaust gases at TDC will be reduced.
The peak temperature rise rates are reduced. These two reasons will lead to reduction of NOx .
The oxidation of unburnt mixture is extremely less and hence no PM is generated.

No problems of flame propogation and burn duration.

Reason: Numerous ignition points through out the mixture ensure very rapid combustion.

There wont be Detonation(Knocking or Pinging)

Reason: In SI engines there will be auto-ignition and spark ignition from each side and leads to
detonation. But here unlike that there will be homogeneous combustion.

Very lean mixtures (low equivalence ratios (f ~ 0.3) )can be used.

Reason: There wont be no flame propogation.

DISADVANTAGES

The accurate control of combustion timing is somewhat difficult.

To solve this problem we should control temperature, which can be done by three major

parameters.Inlet temperature and compression ratio will directly change the TDC temperature. The third
parameter is the amount of residual gas retained in the cylinder from the previous cycle. But research is
going by introducing some combustion sensors which are described above.
ONGOING RESEARCH
To move HCCI out of the lab and onto the road, dual-mode engines will probably be necessary. That
will permit blending the benefits of this alternative combustion process with conventional operation for those
regimes were HCCI is less beneficial and/or impractical. Research indicates that direct injection and low
compression ratios will facilitate mode switching. In the diesel category, HCCI can eliminate the need for NOx
and PM aftertreatment during light-load operation. During high loads, the exhaust can be routed through

appropriate traps and reduction catalysts. Oxidation catalysts will still be necessary in both gas and diesel
engines for HC and CO mitigation.

CONCLUSIONS
Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) process is the hybrid of Spark and
Compression Ignition processes and superior to both.
It increases the fuel efficiency by 15 to 30% thereby saving the petroleum resources.
It reduces NOx emissions by 90%.
Complete removal of Particulate Matter(PM)
Variable compression ratios can be achieved.
No zones of combustion as in Spark ignition Process(burnt zone,unburnt zone and reaction zone)
No flame propogation as in SI engines.
No burn duration as in CI engines.
No Detonation or Knocking.
Very lean mixtures can be used(f~0.3)
It can be applied for both 4-stroke and 2-stroke engines.
Combustion Timing control is done by some sensors.

REFERENCES
1. J. Yang, T. Culp, T. Kenney, Development of a Gasoline Engine System Using HCCI Technology The
concept and test Results, SAE 2002-01-2832
2. S: Onishi, S. Hong Jo, K. Shoda, P Do Jo, S. Kato: Active Thermo-Atmosphere Combustion (ATAC)
A New Combustion Process for Internal Combustion Engines, SAE 790501
3. Hyvnen, J., Haraldsson, G. and Johansson, B.Supercharging HCCI to Extend the Operating Range in
a Multi-Cylinder Vcr-Hcci Engine, 2003-01-3214
4. Olsson, J-O, Tunestl, P. and Johansson, B.Closed-Loop Control of an HCCI Engine.SAE Technical
Paper 2001-01-1031, 2001