In collaboration with Volkswagen, Empa, ETH Zurich and Poznan University of Technology, Ricardo Software engineers are creating tools to enable the development of a new form of compact, lean-burn natural gas engine offering diesel-like power and performance and extremely low NOx.

Dr. Evgeniy Shapiro, Ricardo Software Development Manager for 3D fluid dynamics program VECTIS explains more. 

As part of the Horizon 2020 GasOn consortium, Ricardo Software has been developing new models, simulation methodologies and performing comparative analysis of combustion systems configurations. Within the work package a new pre-chamber light duty 2L gas engine has been developed based on CFD optimisation and VECTIS analysis. The engine delivers break engine efficiency of up to 45% in the range λ=1.4-1.7 and provides stable combustion up to λ=2.2.  

The work is also being presented at SAE WCX 2019 in Detroit:

• Numerical Study of Turbulence and Fuel-Air Mixing within a Scavenged Pre-Chamber Using RANS and LES SAE technical paper 2019-01-0198

• Numerical Simulations of Pre-Chamber Combustion in an Optically Accessible RCEM SAE technical paper 2019-01-0224

• Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Pre-Chamber Combustion Systems for Lean Burn Gas Engines SAE technical paper 2019-01-0260

This article was originally printed in RQ Q1 2019.