Environmental Assessment of a Diesel Engine Under Variable Stroke Length and Constant Compression Ratio

In the light of the energy crisis and the stringent environmental regulations, diesel engines are offering good hope for automotive vehicles. However, lot of work is needed to reduce the diesel exhaust emissions and give the way for full utilization of the diesel fuel's excellent characteristics. This paper presents a theoretical study on the effect of variable stroke length technique on the emissions of a four-stroke, water-cooled direct injections diesel engine with the help of experimentally verified computer software designed mainly for diesel engines. The emission levels were studied over the speed range (1000 rpm to 3000 rpm) and stroke lengths (120 mm to 200 rpm) and were compared with those of the original engine design. The simulation results clearly indicate the advantages and utility of variable stroke technique in the reduction of the exhaust emission levels. A reduction of about 10% to 75% was achieved for specific particulate matter over the entire speed range and bore-to-stroke ratio studied. Further, a reduction of about 10% to 59% was achieved for the same range. As for carbon dioxide, a reduction of 0% to 37% was achieved. On the other hand, a less percent change was achieved for the case of nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen oxides as indicated by the results. This study clearly shows the advantage of VSE over fixed stroke engines. This study showed that the variable stroke technique proved a good way to curb the diesel exhaust emissions and hence helped making these engines more environmentally friendly.