Original Article

Proc IMechE Part D:

J Automobile Engineering
1–12
Investigating the effect of the heat Ó IMechE 2015
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transfer correlation on the sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0954407015578047

predictability of a multi-zone pid.sagepub.com

combustion model of a hydrogen-

fuelled spark ignition engine

Touraj Tabatabaie, Mohammad Ali Ehteram and Vahid Hosseini

Abstract
Research on the heat transfer in hydrogen-fuelled spark ignition engines indicates that the two most common heat trans-
fer correlations, namely the Annand correlation and the Woschni correlation, cannot perfectly predict the heat flux dur-
ing the engine cycle. This questions the accuracy of thermodynamic hydrogen engine models because the heat transfer is
one of the important submodels in the development of a thermodynamic model. In addition, the Hohenberg correlation
and the Shudo–Suzuki correlation have not been evaluated for hydrogen engines. In this study, a thermodynamic model
of the closed cycle of a spark ignition engine is developed with a multi-zone combustion submodel to predict the pres-
sure and the heat flux traces and to compare the predicted values with the available experimental results. The effects of
implementing different heat transfer correlations in the prediction of the maximum pressure of the cycle, the total heat
transfer and the work are presented for two different compression ratios and two equivalence ratios with different igni-
tion timings. The results indicated that, although the implemented heat transfer correlations predicted the heat flux and
the heat transfer with a large percentage error, the fractal-based combustion model implementing the Annand correla-
tion and the Shudo–Suzuki correlations predicted the maximum pressure and the total work with less than 10% error.
Finally, a modified version of the Hohenberg correlation for predicting the total heat transfer in a hydrogen spark ignition
engine was presented.

Keywords
Hydrogen spark ignition engine, multi-zone combustion model, heat transfer correlation, fractal model

Date received: 30 October 2014; accepted: 25 February 2015

Introduction studies and prediction of the optimum settings of alter-

The rapid depletion of fossil fuels and the rigorous leg-
islation on polluting emissions have urged researchers
to investigate alternative fuels. Ethanol1, biodiesel2 and
hydrogen3 fuels are derived from resources other than
petroleum. Among these, the use of hydrogen for
powering engines is known to result in a high efficiency,
zero greenhouse gas emissions4 and near-zero noxious
gas emissions.5 In addition, hydrogen is characterized
by a high flame speed and a short ignition delay.6
Blends of hydrogen and other fuels such as natural gas
and methane are used to decrease the cycle-to-cycle var-
iations and to increase the thermal efficiency and the
power output.7, 8
Development of a thermodynamic model provides
an inexpensive and fast tool which facilitates parametric
native fuel engines.9. These models consist of submodels
the constants of which are usually calibrated at one
operating point. The heat transfer submodel influences
predictions of the efficiency, the emissions and the per-
formance.10 Owing to the complexity of heat transfer
modelling, several correlations have been developed pri-
marily for fossil fuels with combustion properties which
are different from those of hydrogen. Hydrogen has a
School of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran,
Iran
Corresponding author:
Vahid Hosseini, School of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of
Technology, Azadi Avenue, Azadi Street, Tehran 11365-11155, Iran.
Email: vhosseini@sharif.edu
2 Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering

higher flame speed, a shorter quenching distance and a 1. The cylinder content during compression and in
higher thermal conductivity.4 Heat flux measurements the unburned zone of combustion is frozen, and it
of hydrogen-fuelled spark ignition (SI) engines are very has uniform temperature and uniform properties.
rare in the literature,11 and evolution of the two most 2. In the burned zone of combustion and during
popular correlations, namely the Annand12 correlation expansion, the cylinder content has a uniform tem-
and the Woschni13 correlation, have failed to predict perature, a uniform composition and uniform
the heat flux accurately.3 properties, with the composition being in chemical
Wei et al.14 measured the heat flux of an SI engine equilibrium.
and found that the Woschni equation underestimates 3. The burned and unburned zones are separated by a
the heat flux but that the Annand equation yields rea- spherically propagating flame front, and there is no
sonable results. Shudo and Suzuki15 also concluded heat exchange between the two zones.
that the Woschni correlation underestimates the heat 4. Heat transfer takes place through the external sur-
flux and proposed a new correlation based on the faces of the combustion chamber.
Woschni equation by modifying the speed term. The 5. The pressure is uniform throughout the cylinder at
most recent and detailed published experimental work all times.
is that of Demuynck et al.11 They measured the in- 6. The contents of the cylinder are ideal gases.
cylinder pressure, the heat flux and the wall tempera- 7. Crevice effects and leakage from the cylinder are
tures at different positions inside a cooperative fuel negligible.
research (CFR) engine under motored conditions and
fired conditions. They evaluated both the Annand cor- By applying the first law of thermodynamics, the
relation and the Woschni correlation and concluded conservation of mass and volume, the equation of state
that these correlations failed to predict accurately the and the above-mentioned assumptions, the following
heat transfer inside the engine. first-order differential equations can be derived
The present work is part of a research project which (detailed derivations have been given by Verhelst and
aims to develop a simple accurate SI combustion model Sheppard19).
for predicting the heat transfer processes, the knock During compression and expansion,
phenomenon and the pollutant emissions. The objec-  
tive of this study is to develop an accurate heat transfer dp 1 R dQ dV
=  kp ð1Þ
submodel. Hitherto developed heat transfer correla- du V Cv du du
tions do not function accurately with given experimen-  
dT 1 dV 1 dp
tal results. A thermodynamic model of the closed cycle =T + ð2Þ
du V du p du
of a hydrogen-fuelled SI engine is developed. Accurate
submodels of the gas properties, the gas composition During combustion,
and the flame geometry are developed for achieving
better responses. In addition to the Annand correlation dp 1
= 

and the Woschni correlation, the Hohenberg16 correla- du Cv, u Cp, u Vu  Cv, b Ru Rb Cp, u + ðCv, b =Rb ÞV
 
tion and the Shudo–Suzuki17 correlation are implemen- Cv, b dV dQ
ted in the model. The parameter values obtained using 3 1+ p 
Rb du du
the developed model are then compared with the avail-   
Cv, b Ru dmb
able experimental data. Finally, a modification to the + ðub  uu Þ  Cv, b Tb  Tu
Rb du
Hohenberg correlation is presented for predicting the   
heat flux accurately. Cv, u Cv, b Ru dQu
+ 
Cp, u Rb Cp, u du
ð3Þ
Thermodynamic SI engine model
dTu Vu dp 1 dQu
A thermodynamic model developed for simulating an = + ð4Þ
du mu Cp, u du mu Cp, u du
SI engine was applied to the closed part of the engine 
cycle, between intake valve closing (IVC) and exhaust dTb p dV Rb Tb  Ru Tu dmb Ru Vu dp
=  
valve opening (EVO). The cylinder content formed a du mb Rb du p du pCp, u du

single zone during compression and expansion. During Ru dQu V dp
combustion, the chamber was divided into two zones:  + ð5Þ
pCp, u du p du
burned and unburned. The two zones were separated
from each other by an infinitesimally thin flame. This Solving these equations necessitates the use of the
multi-zone combustion model accounted for the cham- mass burning rate, the heat transfer and the gas prop-
ber geometry and the presence of burned and unburned erty submodels. Given that this study aims to assess the
gases. The following assumptions were made during most well-known heat transfer models, the heat trans-
model development.18 fer correlations will be reviewed in detail.
Tabatabaie et al.
Mass burning rate
Fluid flow in an internal-combustion engine is turbu-
lent, and the turbulence structure influences the com-
bustion process significantly. Consequently, an
appropriate model of flame development and turbu-
lence interaction is necessary. In this article, the mass
burning rate was calculated using the flame sheet
model
dmb
= ru Af ut ð6Þ
dt
In the flame sheet model, it is assumed that turbu-
lence induces wrinkles in the flame, thereby increasing
its surface area. Gouldin20 first proposed the use of
fractal geometry to predict the fractional increase in
the surface area. Therefore, these effects are considered
for determining the turbulent velocity, as expressed by
 
Lmax D3 2
ut = ul ð7Þ
Lmin
where Lmin is the minimum flame wrinkling scale and
Lmax is the maximum flame wrinkling scale and, as sug-
gested by Matthews and Chin,21 the best assumption
for their ratio is the ratio of the maximum turbulence
length scale to the minimum turbulence length scale:
Lmax/Lmin = LI/LK ’ Re0:75t .
The constant D3 is the fractal dimension of a rough
surface in three-dimensional topological space, which
characterizes the degree of flame wrinkling. Liou et
al.22 predicted the fractal dimension using their heuris-
tic model. They assumed that turbulent convective
motion wrinkles the flame, while combustion opposes
this wrinkling. Their model represents a weighted aver-
age of these effects between the two limiting fractal
dimensions according to
u0 uL
D3 = CD3 2:35 + 2:00 0 ð8Þ
u0 + uL u + uL
where u# and uL characterize the turbulent convective
motion and the combustion process respectively, and
the constant CD3 , which was proposed by Verhelst and
Sierens,9 is a calibration factor.
The integral length scale was set to be the flame
radius until the flame reached the instantaneous piston-
to-head clearance gap.21
The turbulence intensity was estimated using a sim-
ple turbulence model for CFR engines.23 Given that a
CFR engine was used for validating the simulations in
this study, this model is appropriate. The decay rate of
turbulence intensity is given by
 
u  360
u0 = u0TDC 1  ð9Þ
90
where u0TDC is taken as 0.75 times the mean piston
speed, and the crank angle (CA) start point is at the
top dead centre (TDC) of the induction stroke.
3
A laminar flame velocity correlation must be imple-
mented for closure of the mass burning rate submodel
(the flame area calculation is described in the follow-
ing). This correlation was proposed by Gerke et al.24
under engine-like conditions by considering the effects
of the flame stretch and the instabilities at high
pressures.
Cylinder gas composition and properties
Accurate calculation of the gas composition and the
properties during simulations is important for predict-
ing correctly the engine cycle. The nine most important
species in chemical equilibrium are considered as the
combustion products. The method of calculation and
the mole fractions of the combustion products at
u = 0.5, 1 and 1.5 as functions of the temperature are
given in Appendix 2.
McBride et al.25 presented libraries of the thermody-
namic and transport properties of individual species in
the form of least-squares coefficients for the tempera-
ture range 300–5000 K.
Flame geometry model
Precise calculation of the areas and volumes inside the
combustion chamber will increase the accuracy of the
thermodynamic model. In this study, the engine used
for validation has a side-ignition disc-shaped chamber
with a flat piston crown (see the section on available
experimental data). The area and volume of the burned
zone and the flame front area are calculated exactly by
integrating the perimeter and area of the cross-section
of planes parallel to the cylinder head. Interaction
between the piston position and the flame radius results
in different cases, which have been described in detail
by Curto-Risso et al.26 This is a simplified approach for
flame shape modelling, and geometry details have not
been included. The results obtained using this approach
are shown in Figure 1.
Heat transfer models (an overview)
The dominant mode of heat transfer on the gas side of
a combustion chamber is forced convection with a small
radiation component. Because the radiative transfer is
only 3–4% of the total heat transfer in SI engines, it can
be neglected.10 Moreover, the heat transfer inside the
combustion chamber is not steady and varies cycli-
cally.12 By assuming a quasi-steady state, the heat trans-
fer can be calculated at any instant using the Newton
law of cooling according to
Q_ = hA(Tg  Tw ) ð10Þ
Owing to the complexity of heat transfer, several
correlations have been developed and improved stea-
dily by researchers. These correlations can be classified
4 Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering
Figure 1. (a) Normalized flame areas and (b) burned volumes of the disc-shaped side ignition of the CFR engine (Table 2).
CFR: cooperative fuel research.
into two groups: free convection-based correlations and
forced convection-based correlations.
The earliest developed correlations are based on nat-
ural convection. Nusselt27 measured the heat flux inside
cylindrical bombs and arrived at a correlation.
Brilling28 and Eichelberg29 followed with modifications
to the Nusselt equation based on the results of experi-
mental tests on internal-combustion engines. Annand12
reviewed these correlations and stated that, because
these equations are not dimensionally consistent, they
can scarcely be relied on for extrapolation to conditions
far from those in the experiments on which the above
correlations are based.
The correlations of the second group are based on
the assumption that the relationships between the
Reynolds number, the Prandtl number and the Nusselt
number follow those found for turbulent flow in pipes
or over flat plates,10 as given by
Nu = a Rem Prn
By introducing the Nusselt number Nu = hLch/k and
the Reynolds number Re = rVchLch/m into equation
(11), the convection coefficient can be calculated as
 
k rVch Lch m
h=a ðPrÞn ð12Þ
Lch m pr Vr
The characteristic length and the characteristic velo-
city should be defined for calculating the Nusselt num-
ber and the Reynolds number using equation (12).
The Annand correlation. Annand12 used the cylinder bore
and the mean piston speed as the characteristic length
and the characteristic speed respectively. He considered
radiation heat transfer as well, and his proposed corre-
lation is
a0 k T4g  T4w
h= ðReÞm + c
B Tg  Tw
Annand fitted his model to the available experimen-
tal data and concluded that the parameter a# is around
0.35–0.8, m is equal to 0.7 and c is equal to 4.3 3 10–
9
W/m2 K–4. The parameter a# can be set to fit to spe-
cific engines because it depends on the engine geometry
and the charge motion. He considered the cylinder con-
tent as a mixture of air, fuel and residual gases before
combustion and a mixture of burned gases after
combustion.
The Woschni correlation. Woschni13 assumed that nitro-
gen is predominant in burned and unburned mixtures
and that the transport properties vary as k}T0.75 and
m}T0.62 for nitrogen. Moreover, by considering the
ideal-gas law (r = p/RT), he rewrote equation (12) as
h = CLm1 m m 0:751:62m
ð14Þ
ch p Vch Tg
where he assumed that the Prandtl number equals 0.74
ð11Þ
and included it and the gas constant in the parameter
C. Woschni used the cylinder bore as the characteristic
length and expressed the average cylinder gas velocity
as
Vd Tr
w = C1 Vmp + C2 (p  pm ) ð15Þ
where the term p – pm is used for considering the effects
of combustion on the increase in the gas velocity, and
the subscript r refers to a reference state (say, IVC or
start of combustion). Finally, the Woschni correlation,
with the exponent m equal to 0.8, is expressed as
h = 0:0129B0:2 p0:8 w0:8 T0:53 ð16Þ
g
The constants C1 and C2 in equation (15) were deter-
mined by fitting the correlation to time-averaged mea-
surements of the heat transfer for a wide range of
ð13Þ operating conditions of the engine. Their values are
listed in Table 1.
Tabatabaie et al. 5

Table 1. Coefficients C1 and C2 for the Woschni correlation. First, all the correlations were evaluated at the bulk
gas temperature of the cylinder, which is defined as
Period C1 (–) C2 (m/s K)
pV
Gas exchange 6.18 0 Tg = ð20Þ
Compression 2.28 0 mR
Combustion–expansion 2.28 3.24 3 10–3 Second, the Woschni correlation and the Hohenberg
correlatiion were developed for a direct-injection diesel
engine, the combustion principle and operating range
of which differ from those of an SI engine. However,
they have been used by researchers30–32 to estimate the
heat transfer in SI engines. Because this study aims to
assess different correlations, these equations are evalu-
ated as well.
Third, although the heat transfer in internal-
combustion engines is non-uniform, these correlations
have been derived on the assumption of a uniform dis-
tribution of the temperature and the convection coeffi-
Figure 2. Cross-section of the CFR engine.11 cient in the cylinder. Therefore, these equations are
EV: exhaust valve; IV: intake valve; P1: spark plug postion; P2, P3, P4: used to predict the instantaneous locally averaged heat
sensor positions.
flux.

The Shudo–Suzuki correlation. On the basis of the Available experimental data

Woschni correlation, Shudo and Suzuki17 proposed a
correlation for hydrogen engines. They compared the
heat transfer prediction result of the Woschni equation
with that of the heat release equation and concluded
that the Woschni equation predicts a lower heat transfer
rate. Therefore, they modified the gas velocity term as
Tr dQ
w0 = Vmp + C01
pr Vr dt
where dQ/dt is the apparent rate of heat release given
by
 
dQ dp dV pV dg
= V + gp (g  1) 
dt dt dt (g  1)2 dt
Moreover, they increased the parameter C in the
Woschni equation and defined values of the coefficients
C and C01 (m/K) as functions of the ignition timing and
the excess air ratio respectively. For stoichiometric mix-
tures, the value of C01 was constant and equal to 0.8772,
and the value of C was a variable between 0.12 and 0.2
determined by advancing spark timing from TDC.
The Hohenberg correlation. The Woschni equation was
examined in detail by Hohenberg16 on the basis of
experimental data. To produce better predictions he
modified the characteristic length, the characteristic
velocity and the exponent of the temperature terms as

0:8
h = C1 V0:06 p0:8 T0:4
g Vmp + C2 ð19Þ
where the pressure is in bars, and the mean values of C1
and C2 are 130 and 1.4 m/s respectively.
Three remarks should be made about the reviewed
correlations.
The experimental work of Demuynck et al.11 was used
for assessing the developed thermodynamic model. The
heat flux, the in-cylinder pressure and the wall tem-
perature of a disc-shaped side-ignition CFR engine
were measured under motored conditions and fired
conditions. Specifications of the single-cylinder engine
operated at a constant speed of 600 r/min are given in
ð17Þ
Table 2, and its cross-section is shown in Figure 2.
The spark plug was located at P1, and the pressure
was measured at P2. The measured heat fluxes at P3
and P4 were compared with the results of the correla-
tions, which predict the instantaneous locally aver-
aged heat transfer rates. The heat flux traces were
averaged over 35 measurement cycles, thus account-
ð18Þ
ing for the effect of cycle-to-cycle variations. In addi-
tion, owing to the fast burn rate of hydrogen, fewer
spatial and cyclic variations were observed11 in com-
parison with the data for fossil fuels.
As shown in Figure 2, the two heat flux sensors are
mounted at the same height, but far from each other,
on the circumference of the cylinder. Each sensor con-
sists of a thermopile and a resistance temperature
detector. A thermopile is a series connection of thermo-
couple pairs, which measure the temperature difference
over a very small resistance layer11 and allows the heat
flux to be obtained directly. The flame first arrives at
the position closest to the spark plug. This causes the
initial rise in the heat flux trace. As the flame passes
over the position which is further away, a second peak
is observed. As the equivalence ratio increases, the
flame speed increases. This causes the two peaks in the
heat flux trace to come closer to each other. The results
of the experimental work and the details of the mea-
surement tools used have been explained in detail by
Demuynck et al.11
6 Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering

Table 2. CFR engine specifications. charge mass was determined from the measured fuel
and air mass flows. The temperature at IVC was calcu-
Bore 82.55 mm lated using the measured pressure and the ideal-gas
Stroke 114.2 mm
Connecting-rod length 254 mm law. The wall temperature was the average of the tem-
Swept volume 611.7 cm3 peratures measured by the three sensors, which vary
Compression ratio Variable (6–10) between 10 °C and 20 °C.
IVO 17 °CA ATDC The test cases investigated in this study are summar-
IVC 26 °CA ABDC
ized in Table 3. The spark timing was set to the
EVO 32 °CA BBDC
EVC 6 °CA ATDC maximum brake-torque timing, the throttle was wide
open and the engine speed was maintained constant at
IVO: intake valve opening; IVC: intake valve closure; EVO: exhaust valve 600 r/min.
opening; EVC: exhaust valve closure; CA: crank angle; ATDC: after top
As described in the section on mass burning rate,
dead centre; ABDC: after bottom dead centre; BBDC: before bottom
top dead centre. only CD3 needs to be calibrated in the mass burning rate
submodel. This constant was set to 0.95 by using the
Annand12 correlation, which is of the order of unity, as
Table 3. Study test cases. proposed by Verhelst and Sierens.9 To observe the
influence of different heat transfer correlations, the
Case Compression Equivalence Ignition timing same constant value was used in all the examined corre-
ratio (–) ratio (–) (deg CA ATDC) lations. For tracking the experimental pressure, the
constant in the Annand correlation is set to 0.7 during
1 8 1 6
2 8 0.5 24 compression and combustion, and to 0.5 during expan-
3 9 1 14 sion under a compression ratio of 8 and an equivalence
4 9 0.5 0 ratio of 1.
CA: crank angle; ATDC: after top dead centre.

Table 4. Values of the calculated total experimental work, heat
and Pmax.
Case Work (J) Heat (J)
1 373.4 577.2
2 286.4 198.4
3 374.1 579.8
4 282.9 198.4
Results and discussion
Model validation
When developing a thermodynamic model, the model
constants are calibrated with experimental data to track
the pressure–CA trace under one operating condition.9,
33, 34
Predicting the pressure traces accurately is very
important, since it affects the work calculation and,
therefore, the performance parameters such as the mean
effective pressure, the specific fuel consumption and the
thermal efficiency of an engine. In addition, because the
response time of the pressure is longer than that of the
temperature, it is a good indicator of other engine losses
such as blow-by.
The mass of unburned mixture (air, fuel and resi-
duals), the pressure, the temperature at IVC and the
wall temperature must be known for integration of
equations (1) to (5). Because there is no valve overlap
(see Table 2), the residual mass was calculated using
the ideal-gas law, and the measured pressure and exit
temperature at exhaust valve closure (EVC). The fresh
Simulation results
The simulation results predicting the heat flux and the
pressure traces under two different compression ratios
and two different equivalence ratios with different igni-
Pmax (bar)
tion timings are shown in Figure 3. In addition, the
41.84 percentage errors in the maximum pressure, the total
27.88 work and the heat prediction are shown in Figure 4
38.91 with respect to the experimental results in Table 4. The
26.89 operating conditions of the examined cases are sum-
marized in Table 3.
The implemented correlations were developed and
based on the heat transfer correlation for turbulent
flow in pipes or over flat plates (see equation (11)).
Annand12 proposed a correlation with a variable coeffi-
cient (as a function of the engine geometry and the
charge motion) for tracking the heat flux. Woschni13
used the relations k}T0.75 and m}T0.62 for nitrogen to
simplify equation (12) and proposed a constant coeffi-
cient in his correlation. Hohenberg16 examined the
Woschni correlation in detail and modified his correla-
tion. In addition, he proposed a constant coefficient in
his model. Shudo and Suzuki17 expanded the Woschni
equation and proposed a variable coefficient as a func-
tion of the excess air ratio and the ignition timing to
track the pressure traces in their model. They did not
compare their results with the heat flux traces.
As shown in Figure 3, each correlation has the same
trend in predicting the heat flux trace at the same
equivalence ratio. As the equivalence ratio changes,
they show different trends. The following conclusions
are derived from a comparison of the implemented heat
transfer correlation results and the experimental data.
Tabatabaie et al. 7

Figure 3. Comparison of the pressure and the heat flux traces with the experimental data at compression ratios of 8 and 9 and
u = 0.5 and 1.
WOT: wide-open throttle; CR: compression ratio; CA: crank angle.

The Annand correlation. This correlation proposed vari- expansion for tracking the experimental pressure
able coefficients for calibration. The calibration con- traces; it was maintained constant under the examined
stant a# in equation (13) was set to 0.7 during conditions. This model predicted the pressure traces,
compression and combustion, and to 0.5 during Pmax and the work with good accuracy (with an error
8 Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering
Figure 4. Percentage errors in the prediction of Pmax, the total heat transfer and the work using different correlations.
of less than 5%). Overall, this correlation overesti-
mated the heat flux during compression. Moreover, it
overestimated the total heat transfer and the heat flux
during combustion and expansion at u = 0.5 and
underestimated them at u = 1.
The Woschni correlation. This correlation predicted a
lower heat flux during compression, leading to overesti-
mation of the pressure values. This is because it is
assumed that the thermal conductivity varies as k}T0.75
for nitrogen, which is lower than the thermal conduc-
tivity of the air–hydrogen mixture, as shown in
Appendix 3. During combustion, the heat flux predic-
tion increased because the velocity term was propor-
tional to the pressure difference (see equation (24)).
For the stoichiometric mixture, this correlation pre-
dicted a lower heat flux during expansion but, at
u = 0.5, it overestimated the heat flux. This correlation
predicted a lower value of the total heat transfer and
overestimated it for a rich mixture (u = 0.5). It over-
predicted the pressure traces in the simulated cases, and
the maximum errors in predicting Pmax and the work
were less than 17%.
The Hohenberg correlation. This correlation predicted the
heat flux accurately during compression and during
combustion at u = 0.5. For the stoichiometric mixture,
the heat flux was underestimated during combustion
and expansion. Overall, the correlation underestimated
the heat transfer at u = 1 but overestimated it at
u = 0.5. The pressure trace was over-predicted in the
simulated cases, and the maximum errors in predicting
Pmax and the total work were less than 21%.
The Shudo–Suzuki correlation. This correlation predicted
a higher heat flux in the examined cases and, therefore,
a higher total heat transfer. The coefficients proposed
for tracking the heat flux were determined using the
first law of thermodynamics and not using the heat flux
measurements. As a result, the pressure trace was pre-
dicted accurately, and the maximum errors in Pmax and
the work calculations were less than 9%.
Modification of the Hohenberg correlation
The results indicate that, although the Annand12 corre-
lation and the Shudo–Suzuki17 correlation predict a
higher heat flux during compression, they predict the
pressure trace accurately. Because the first law of ther-
modynamics was applied to relate the heat loss and the
pressure change (see equation (1)), the above results
indicate the importance of using a submodel for other
losses such as blow-by.
Among the implemented correlations, the
Hohenberg correlation yielded better results in tracking
the heat flux, especially at the lower equivalence ratio
Tabatabaie et al.
Figure 5. Heat flux traces of the modified Hohenberg correlation for predicting the total amounts of heat transfer accurately at
compression ratios of 8 and 9 and u = 0.5 and 1.
WOT: wide-open throttle; CR: compression ratio; CA: crank angle.
(u = 0.5). The constant C1 in equation (19) was set to
143 during compression and to 125 during combustion
and expansion to predict the total heat transfer with an
error of less than 3%, which is lower than the errors
shown in Figure 4 for the examined cases. At u = 1,
this correlation predicted a lower heat flux during com-
pression and expansion. Because this correlation was
developed on the basis of the Woschni equation, the
speed term was modified to C2 + Vmp + CVdTr(p–
pm)/prVr to include the effect of the pressure rise on the
in-cylinder gas speed. At this equivalence ratio, the
value of C1 in equation (19) was kept constant at 113
throughout the simulations, while C was 1.8 3 10–3
during compression and 2.27 3 10–3 during combustion
to predict the total heat transfer accurately. The results
are shown in Figure 5.
9
Conclusions
In this article, a thermodynamic model of a hydrogen-
fuelled SI engine was developed using a fractal-based
combustion model. After calibration, the developed
model was used to predict the pressure and the heat flux
traces at two different compression ratios and two dif-
ferent equivalence ratios with different ignition timings.
Four different heat transfer correlations were imple-
mented and it was concluded that all these correlations
failed to predict the heat flux traces accurately. Among
the examined correlations, the Annand correlation and
the Shudo–Suzuki correlation yielded better results
when predicting the maximum in-cylinder pressure and
the work with less than 10% error. In addition, a modi-
fication to predict the total heat transfer accurately was
presented. Possible future work would be to implement
10
an emission submodel to investigate the effect of the
heat transfer correlation on the emissions prediction. In
addition, a submodel for considering the effect of blow-
by could be implemented in the developed model.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank sincerely Sebastian
Verhelst and his co-workers at Ghent University for
providing the required experimental results.
Declaration of conflict of interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any fund-
ing agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit
sectors.
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Appendix 1 SI spark ignition
TDC top dead centre
Notation WOT wide-open throttle
A area (m2)
B cylinder bore (m) Appendix 2
C constant Computation of the composition of the burned gas
Cv constant-volume specific heat (J/kg K)
Cp constant-pressure specific heat (J/kg K) If we consider that the unburned mixture consists of
D3 fractal dimension air, fuel and residuals, then the combustion reaction for
h convection coefficient (W/m2 K) 1 mol of unburned mixture is written as
k specific heat ratio (–)  
MWAFR 1
K thermal conductivity (W/m K) (1  f) H2 + ðO2 + 3:76N2 Þ
MWAF 2u
L length (m)
LI integral scale of turbulence (m) MWAFR 0
+f (a H2 O + a02 H2 +    )
LK Kolmogrov scale of turbulence (m) MWAF 1
m mass (kg) ! a1 H2 O + a2 H2 + a3 O2 + a4 N2 + a5 H
Nu Nusselt number (–) + a6 O + a7 N + a8 OH + a9 NO
p instantaneous cylinder pressure (Pa)
pm motoring pressure (Pa) where it is assumed that the residual composition is
Pr Prandtl number (–) known and that air and fuel are mixed homogeneously.
Q heat (J) Atom balancing for nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen
R specific gas constant (J/kg K) yields three equations. Given that nine species are con-
Re Reynolds number (–) sidered as the combustion products, the other six equa-
T temperature (K) tions are obtained from the equilibrium constant
u specific internal energy (J/kg) method.35 The six chemical dissociation equilibriums
u burning velocity (m/s) considered in this article are
u# turbulence intensity (m/s)
uL laminar burning velocity (m/s) N2
2N, N2 + O2
2NO
t time (s) O2
2O, 2H2 + O2
2H2 O
V volume (m3) H2
2H, H2 + 2OH
2H2 O
Vd displaced volume (m3)
Vmp mean piston speed (m/s) If the equilibrium reaction is shown in the form
aA + bB
cC + dD, the equilibrium constant Kp
u crank angle can be expressed as
r density (kg/m3)
u fuel-to-air equivalence ratio (–) (x A p)a (xB p)b
Kp = ð21Þ
(xC p)c (xD p)d
Subscripts
where x A is the mole fraction of the species in the
b burned burned mixture and p is the cylinder pressure measured
ch chamber in atmospheres. The value of the equilibrium constant
f flame is computed from the Gibbs free-energy change36
g in-cylinder gas according to
12 Proc IMechE Part D: J Automobile Engineering

Table 5. Initial values of the species for iteration. Appendix 3

Comparison of the thermal properties of air and the
Species Initial value for the following u
air–hydrogen mixture
u\1 F=1 u.1
All the reviewed correlations, except for the Annand
H2O 1 1 1/u correlation, assume that nitrogen is dominant in burned
H2 0 0 1–1/u and unburned mixtures and that the thermal conductiv-
O2 (1–u)/2u 0 0
N2 3.76/2u 3.76/2 3.76/2u
ity varies as k } T0.75. As given by equation (11), the
heat transfer rate has a linear relationship with the ther-
mal conductivity. The thermal conductivities of hydro-
gen, nitrogen, water and oxygen are plotted in Figure 7
using the polynomial functions given by McBride et
 
DG0T al.25 Hydrogen has a higher thermal conductivity than
Kp = exp  ð22Þ that of nitrogen. Moreover, the variations in the ther-
Ru T
mal conductivities of air, the air–hydrogen mixture and
The non-linear system of nine equations is solved their combustion products as functions of the tempera-
using the iterative Newton–Raphson method, as ture at two equivalence ratios are plotted and compared
explained by Turns.36 This method needs the initial val- with the relationship k } T0.75. As the equivalence ratio
ues of species for iteration, which are expressed as func- increases, the mole fraction of hydrogen in the
tions of the equivalence ratio in Table 5. unburned mixture increases, which leads to a higher
The computational results for the combustion prod- thermal conductivity of the mixture. This trend is the
ucts in equilibrium at different equivalence ratios are same for the thermal conductivity of the combustion
plotted against temperatures from 1000 K to 3500 K in products, as shown in Figures 6 and 7.
Figure 6.

Figure 6. Mole fractions of the combustion products at (a) u = 0.5, (b) u = 1 and (c) u = 1.5 with p = 30 bar.

Figure 7. Thermal conductivities of (a) the species, (b) the unburned mixture and air and (c) the combustion products (at p = 30
bar) as functions of the temperature at two different equivalence ratios.