Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Appending empirical modelling to numerical solution for behaviour T

characterisation of microalgae biodiesel
Satishchandra Salam, Tikendra Nath Verma
⁎

Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Manipur, 795004, India

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: With impending economical concerns and fuel crisis, biodiesel produced from microalgae has been proposed as a
Microalgae biodiesel potential substitute for petroleum fuel. But experimental characterisation of combustion, performance and
Diesel-RK emission behaviour of biofuel operating under different operating conditions would be resource consuming.
ANN Even numerical modelling using computational fluid mechanics methods would be computationally consuming
Redundancy analysis
when combinatorics of all operating conditions are considered. In this study, we append empirical modelling to
Empirical modelling
numerical modelling to derive industry feasible solutions. An artificial neural network was trained with re-
sponses at limited operating conditions obtained from a software Diesel-RK. Various variables representing
combustion, performance and emission behaviour of IC engine were predicted accurately with average r-value of
0.9801 ± 0.0146 for operating conditions defined by blending, loading and fuel injection pressure. Redundancy
amongst the system variables was also observed thus indicating to possible reduced empirical models.

1. Introduction be operated at optimal combustion conditions constrained to maximum

Accounting for a large portion of total energy consumption, trans-
portation continues to be a key factor both in energy consumption and
growth of a nation. A large portion of transportation is achieved
through the vehicles operated by internal combustion (IC) engines.
Having undergone several modifications and improvisations for nearly
150 years since its introduction, researches seeking for engineering
solutions for this engine still continue. With economical requirement
for the engine to deliver maximum performance, and ecological re-
quirement to release minimum harmful emission, performance and
emission standards evolve mandating up to par operation of commer-
cially released IC engines [1]. As exploitation of getting better perfor-
mance out of operating with petroleum fuels gets saturated with pro-
gress in research and technology, the need for non-petroleum
alternative fuels becomes eminent.
One such alternative fuel which has accumulated potential and in-
terest in the last few decades is the large class of fuels based on vege-
table oil or animal fat. Generally referred as biodiesels, despite their
higher cetane rating and excellent lubricant properties, they cannot
directly operate with diesel engines; but when mixed with diesel –
through blending – they can operate on the already existing diesel
engine without modification, and have proven to be cleaner and better
alternative fuel. This opens up to the lookout for best alternative fuel to
performance and minimum emission. Consequently, extensive re-
searches for variants of biodiesel extracted from various plant sources
have been conducted in the last few decades (recently reviewed by [2]),
and parallel studies have been conducted to find the optimal operating
conditions either through experimental, computational (reviewed in
[3]) or statistical methods.
As such a list of alternatives is not exhaustive and easily not char-
acterisable, it is a paramount requirement to be able to predict the
associated behaviour of these fuels. Global optimisation of operating
conditions demands for numerical models which can be solved con-
veniently as compared against experimental methods which would be
largely involving with a lot of engineering resources. But as such is the
problem, it is still necessary to predict the behaviour of combustion,
performance and emission of variants of biofuels while operating at
different conditions.
1.1. Computational methods
As for predicting the associated behaviour, numerical solutions
derived using computational fluid dynamics are capable of providing
detailed fluid interaction up to very small length and time scales; but
they largely remain computationally expensive and infeasible for quick
industry solutions. Analytical methods, while pure to their core, are

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: tikendra.me@nitmanipur.ac.in (T.N. Verma).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2018.11.014
Received 28 August 2018; Received in revised form 5 November 2018; Accepted 7 November 2018
Available online 13 November 2018
0196-8904/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Salam, T.N. Verma Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510

Nomenclature NaN not a number

NO2 nitrous dioxide
ANN artificial neural network NOx oxides of nitrogen
B0 100% diesel – 0% microalgae P pressure
B20 80% diesel – 20% microalgae SE scavenging efficiency
B40 60% diesel – 40% microalgae SFC (BSFC) (brake) specific fuel consumption
B100 0% diesel – 100% microalgae SIT spark ignition timing
bTDC before top dead center SoE summary of emission
BTE brake thermal efficiency SPM (PM) (suspended) particulate matter
CFD computational fluid dynamics T temperature
CI compression ignition UHC unburnt hydrocarbons
CN cetane number A/F air to fuel ratio
CO carbon monoxide dm/dt rate change of mass
CO2 carbon dioxide A0, A1, A2 empirical factors
CPP cylinder peak pressure dx/dτ heat release rate
CPT cylinder peak temperature l EFM distance from injector’s nozzle
CR compression ratio lm EFM penetration distance
DI direct injection mf cycle fuel mass
Dout or Dout outer mean diameter of injected droplet Pb brake power
EFM elementary fuel mass injected Qht heat transfer
EGT exhaust gas temperature Sg net generation rate
FIP fuel injection pressure U, Uo velocity (initial)
HC, UHC hydrocarbon, unburnt Vc, Vk cylinder volume at TDC, swept volume
HRR heat release rate Y Stoichiometric coefficient
ICE internal combustion engine ρ density
ID ignition delay Ω molar rate of production
IE indicated efficiency α A/F Equivalence ratio
IMEP indicated mean effective pressure σud fraction of fuel evaporated during ID
ME methyl ester σu fraction of fuel evaporated upto current
MRPR maximum rate of pressure rise τ time
MSE mean square error ϕ crank angle

limited to idealised configurations as approximation error compounds
with complexity, thereby rendering solutions derived through it almost
meaningless for real-life problems. Statistical methods could provide
empirical solutions which could be a good pragmatic substitute for
problems operating within limited ranges. Moreover, recent advances
in machine learning have provided algorithms which can seek patterns
in the large dataset and eventually provide numerical solutions as an
empirical compromise.
For the CFD modelling of IC engine, a recently developed software is
the Diesel-RK which can simulate full thermodynamic cycle of IC en-
gine. Employing a multi-zone diesel spray mixture formation and zero
dimensional combustion model, it can account for piston geometry, fuel
properties, physico-chemical fluid interaction and detailed chemistry
[4]. And as various studies have reported (Table 1), Diesel-RK have
established itself as a reliable and convenient tool for the numerical
analysis for a large variety of fuels operating at various conditions.
Here, while such an environment will provide solutions at only
predefined operating conditions at certain computational cost, it alone
cannot efficiently generalise the behaviour across the complete range of
operation. For problems such as finding globally optimal operating
conditions, it is still necessary to conveniently predict the behaviour
throughout the range of operation. This problem further graven when
complexity and non-linearity of interactions of variables of IC engines
are all considered.
1.2. Artificial neural network
Inspired by how biological networks of neuron are able to learn
features and generalise them to new situations, Artificial Neural
Network (ANN) has find extensive applications in artificial intelligence
and machine learning. Originally proposed to study the biological
mechanisms through which networks of neurons conform to patterns of
the input [16], ANN can be successfully implemented for classification,
prediction, etc., especially when large dataset is available to train the
network. As a form of supervised machine learning, ANN, in essence, is
a mapping from the input to the labels developed as the network learns
iteratively from the difference in the predicted outcome and the ex-
pected outcome. This endows the algorithm to ‘see patterns’ in any
‘large enough’ dataset thereby substantiating its predictive capability.
But since the network employs summation functions and activation
functions — which are arbitrarily chosen and does not offer any ana-
lytical insights to actual pattern in the data, the algorithm thus only
works as a black-box model. But given the lack of unified analytical
relationships and the real system being complex as it is, ANN has been
shown to provide accurate prediction for modelling IC engines (sum-
marised in Table 2).
Getting back to the quest for best alternative fuel, when it comes to
the class of biodiesels, biofuel extracted from microalgae has been a
long-standing potential substitute for petroleum largely because of its
non-toxicity and biodegradability. The hydrocarbon rich algae have
been discussed for its utility as a fuel because of their large lipid
storages [28] in addition to their detoxification ability [29]. Even
across different species of microalgae, at least 15–50% of its dry weight
is stored as lipids available for extraction. But with the ever-increasing
concern about global warming and fuel crisis, even as evidenced by US
Energy Department report [30], microalgae has gathered attention and
potential in the last few decades. Proven to be more energy conversion
efficient [31], the rapid growth and survivability of these species all-
year-round over waste water has only added to its renewability and
sustainability even more than bioethanol [32–34]. On the other hand,
quite uncomfortably, highly quantitative analyses such as water foot-
print and nutrient balance in microalgae based biofuel [35], energy
expenses for its production [36] raise possible concerns about the
economic energy efficiency. Even then, very recent reviews [37–39,52]

497
S. Salam, T.N. Verma Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510

have clarified the economic and technological bottlenecks and have

Rajak et al.a [13]

Al-Dawody et al.

Al-Dawody et al.

Rajak et al. [14]

Yasin et al. [12]
Datta et al. [10]

Datta et al. [11]

consolidated the use of microalgae based biofuel as a highly possible
Sakhrieh et al.

Hamdan et al.

Paul et al. [9]

replacement for petroleum.
Reference

Realising the potential of microalgae biodiesel as an alternative fuel,

it is very much necessary to have convenient and pragmatic solutions
[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]
for the engine behaviour while operating with it. But as there are cer-

Engine behaviour with various biodiesel was

Jatropha biodiesel blend increases BSFC and

Vegetable oil blends increases NOx increase,

tain feasibility concerns with experimental studies, non-experimental

EGT, but increases SFC and other emissions

Soybean methyl ester blend reduces smoke

Methanol and ethanol blend increases BTE

various efficiencies and BSFC, and reduces
Soybean methyl ester blend reduces Bosch

Palm biodiesel with EGR reduces NOx and

but decrease PM, smoke and summary of

Ethanol blend increases SFC and thermal

approaches to characterise its behaviour would be worth investigating.

reported to show that they are potential

Methanol and ethanol blend increases
Emulsified diesel increases BSFC and

opacity and CO, but increases BSFC With the methodology to be presented in this paper, engine behaviour
smoke number but increases NOx

with high blends can also be studied with relative convenience. Thus, in
this study, combustion, performance and emission behaviour of a diesel

and BSFC, and reduces NOx

engine operated with microalgae based biodiesel have been char-
NOx, but decreases BTE

acterised for load, blending and injection pressure. Using numerical

solutions obtained at limited operating conditions from software Diesel-

alternative fuels
RK, an ANN have been trained to derive empirical patterns in the da-
decreases NOx

most emission
Key finding

taset. The responses were then calculated using the empirical model
efficiency

emission
thus derived at a smaller resolution within the ranges of operation to
achieve the response surface of the various variables under study. High
non-linearlities, trade-offs and complex interactions among the re-
rate, BTE, BSFC, Bosch smoke number, NOx, SPM
Cylinder pressure and temperature, heat release

BTE, BSFC, EGT, cylinder pressure, heat release

crank angle and volume, NOx, CO2, PM, smoke

sponses substantiate the need for such industry feasible empirical

Brake torque, BTE, BSFC, cylinder pressure vs

Brake power, BTE, NOx, BSFC, EGT, cylinder

CPP, HRR, BTE, MRPR, ID, EGT, combustion

Brake torque, brake power, BSFC, BTE, EGT;

Combustion pressure, IMEP, BTE, BSFC; CO,

models at reduced computational cost. Significant correlation was also

rate, ignition delay, NOx, CO2, PM, smoke

observed across those variables indicating the redundancy in the se-

Torque, power, SFC, thermal efficiency

lected response variables.

BSFC, EGT; CO, NOx, UHC, CO2

2. Methods
CO2, HC, O2, NOx, smoke

NOx, smoke, SPM, SoE

pressure, SPM, Smoke

In a previous study, Rajak et al. [13] have conducted numerical

Variables of interest

analysis using Diesel-RK for combustion, performance and emission for

various biodiesel including this currently studying microalgae based
biodiesel. In that study, numerical results obtained from the software
NOx, CO2

duration

Diesel-RK were cross-validated with the experimentally obtained results

for pure diesel, for which the engine specifications are shown in
Table 3. Thus, the validation for the computational model against ex-
Pure diesel, Jatropha ME, soybean ME, rapeseed ME, tallow ME,
palm stearin biodiesel, linseed ME, cotton seed oil biodiesel, ethyl

edible and non-edible vegetable oil, waste animal fats, waste oil

perimental result for pure diesel is not included here.

Among a few controllable parameters of ICE operation, the oper-
ating parameters and their corresponding ranges as shown in Table 4
have been selected. While this list is not exclusive, they are known to
significantly affect ICE behaviour. Although we are interested in com-
plete behaviour characterisation of microalgae biodiesel, based on both
Diesel and blends of soybean methyl ester

Diesel and blends of soybean methyl ester

importance and feasibility of these parameters in ICE study, we have

Alcohol blends of palm stearin biodiesel
Summary of recent researches using Diesel-RK for the numerical analysis of IC engines.

limited the study to these parameters and range. Thus, for the operating
Diesel-ethanol, diesel-ether mixtures

conditions listed in Table 4, the associated combustion, performance

Pure diesel and emulsified diesel

ester fish oil, microalgae oil ME

and emission characteristics were simulated. It was performed with

Diesel and jatropha biodiesel

injection timing of 23.5° before top dead centre (bTDC) with a spray
Alcohol blends of diesel

angle of 70° while running at a speed of 1500 rpm. A compression ratio

of 17.5:1 was maintained for all conditions. The physical and chemical
properties for different blending ratio of the microalgae-based biofuel
Palm biodiesel

and alcohol

are shown in Table 5 with properties of pure diesel as reference. Spe-

cific fuel combustion (SFC, in kg/kWh), brake thermal efficiency (BTE,
Fuel

in %), indicated efficiency (IE, in %), scavenging efficiency (SE, in %),

exhaust gas temperature (EGT, in kelvin) were used to characterise
Kirloskar AF-1, 4 stroke diesel engine, single cylinder,

Kirloskar AF-1, 4 stroke diesel engine, single cylinder,

Legion brothers, single cylinder 4 stroke DI CI engine

Legion brothers, single cylinder 4 stroke DI CI engine

performance; cylinder peak pressure (CPP, in bar), cylinder peak tem-

4 Cylinders, swirl combustion chamber, 22.4:1 CR
Kirloskar 2 cylinder 4 stroke CI engine, 1500 rpm,

Kirloskar single cylinder 4 stroke direct injection,

Kirloskar single cylinder 4 stroke direct injection,

perature (CPT, in kelvin), maximum rate of pressure rise (MRPR, in bar

per degree), outer mean diameter of drop (Dout, in micron), and ignition
3.5 kW @1500 rpm, 87.5 mm × 110 mm

3.5 kW @1500 rpm, 87.5 mm × 110 mm

delay (ID, in degree) for combustion; and Hartridge smoke unit (HSU,
17.5 CR, 220 bar injection pressure

17.5 CR, 220 bar injection pressure

in HSU), smoke, suspended particulate matter (SPM, in g/kWh), carbon

4 Cylinder, DI, water cooled, 21.5 CR

4 Cylinder DI water cooled, 21.5 CR

dioxide (CO2, in g/kWh), oxides of nitrogen (NOx, in ppm), summary of

emission (SoE) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2, in g/kWh) for emission.

2.1. Diesel-RK model

80 mm × 110 mm
Engine specifications

The software Diesel-RK is a full-cycle thermodynamic engine si-

mulation software that uses a multi-zone fuel spray mixture formation
and combustion model based on first thermodynamic law. Even though
Table 1

a few key model equations are presented here, they are not be sub-
stituted for the vast background and detailed working mechanism.

498
 S. Salam, T.N. Verma

Table 2
Summary of recent researches employing ANN to study IC engine behaviour.
Engine specifications Fuel Input Output Key finding Reference

Light duty 4 cylinder DI diesel engine
Ruggerini diesel engine, 2 cylinder,
85 mm × 95 mm, 18:0 CR, 23.4 hp @
3000 rpm
Fiat Tofas 4 stroke 4 cylinder, 7.8:1 CR,
76 mm × 71.5 mm
4 stroke single cylinder, 12–18:1 CR, 3.2 kW @
1500 rpm 87.5 mm × 110 mm
Ford-escort 4 stroke 4 cylinder, 8:1 CR,
Diesel
Blends of waste cooking oil
Gasoline
Blends of waste cooking oil
(a) Methanol blends
Engine speed, Fuel mass injected, air mass, EFR, NOx, PM, CO, HC, BSFC ANN model used to reduce Alonso et al. [17]
injection pressure, start of pilot injection, intake emission using GA
temperature, water temperature
Speed, blending Brake power, torque, BSFC, CO, HC Various ANN architecture design Ghobadian et al. [18]
emissions for predicting torque, SFC, CO, HC
Spark advance, throttle position, engine speed Torque, BSFC ANN model to predict torque and Togun et al. [19]
BSFC
Load, blend, CR, injection timing BTE, BSEC, EGT, NOx, smoke, UHC ANN model developed to predict Pai et al. [20]
BTE, BSEC, EGT and emissions
(a) Engine speed, torque, fuel flow, intake (a) Effective power, Average effective Various ANN model were capable Cay et al. [21–23]

499
81 mm × 63 mm
4 Stroke single cylinder DI diesel engine,
87 mm × 100 mm, 17.5:1 CR
Single cylinder 22:1 CR, 69 mm × 80 mm
Vidhata 4 stroke CRDI single cylinder,
120 mm × 139.7 mm, 18:1 CR
Kirloskar 4 stroke single cylinder,
87.5 mm × 110 mm, 12–18 CR
(b) Gasoline
(c) Methanol blends
Veg fried oil, non-veg fried
oil derived methyl esters
Blends of Palm ME, soy ME,
coconut ME with diesel
Diesel
Blends of honne oil methyl
ester with diesel
manifold mean temperature, cooling water pressure, EGT, BSFC
entrance temperature (b) EGT, Effective power, BSFC
(b) Engine speed, torque, Intake manifold mean (c) CO, HC, BSFC, Air-fuel ratio
temperature
(c) Fuel type, engine speed, torque, fuel flow
Brake power, blend BSFC, BTE, CO, smoke, NOx, HC
Engine speed, torque, Mf, fuel type CO, CO2, HC, NO, maximum and
location of pressure, heat release rate,
and cumulative heat release
Load, Fuel injection pressure, EGR, fuel injected BSFC, BTE, CO2, NOx, PM
CR, SIT, FIP, Load, blend BTE, BSEC, EGT, CO2, CO, HC, NOx,
smoke
of characterising engine behaviour.
ANN model coupled with Sharon et al. [24]
SIMULINK to predict fuel emission
and performance
Certain emission and combustion Ismail et al. [25]
parameters were predicted
Special statistical error and Roy et al. [26]
performance metrics introduced
Different ANN model developed for Channapattana et al.
predicting performance and [27]
emission
Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510
S. Salam, T.N. Verma Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510

Table 3 Table 5
Technical specifications of experimental test engine. Physical and chemical properties of microalgae spirulina biodiesel and pure
diesel [15].
Parameter Value
Property B0 (Diesel) B20 B40 B100 (Biodiesel)
Make Legion Brothers
Engine type Single cylinder, 4 stroke, direct injection, Density (kg/m3) 815–837.7 832.1 838.3 860
compression ignition Viscosity (mm2/s) at 40 °C 2.4–4.59 3.66 4.26 5.66
Bore × stroke 80 mm × 110 mm Heating value of fuel (MJ/kg) 42.5–45 41.4 40.9 41.36
Fuel injection pressure 180–260 bar Flash point (°C) 52–65 61 78 130
Standard injection timing 23.5 deg bTDC Cetane number 48 48.6 49.2 51
Rated speed 1500 rpm
Connecting rod length 235 mm
Compression ratio Variable
Combustion chamber Direct injection with bowl in piston
Maximum power 3.7 kW
Dynamometer Eddy current
Method of cooling Water cooled
Nozzle type Multi Hole
Nozzle hole 3
Orientation Vertical
Valve orientation Overhead

In the model, the compression ratio is defined as (Eq. (1)):

Fig. 1. Schematic representation of the injected spray. The physical quantities
Vc + Vk associated with an elementary fuel mass (EFM) are defined to model the spray.
=
Vc (1)

where Vc is cylinder volume at top dead centre, and Vk is the swept (A / F ) (ma / m f )
1 = =
volume. (A/ F )s (ma / mf )s (6)
The mass conservation equation (Eq. (2)), on mass fraction basis, is
Also, brake specific fuel consumption is computed as (Eq. (7)):
described as: within an open system, the rate change of mass is the net
flux of mass across the system boundaries, i.e., mf
BSFC =
Pb (7)
dm
= mj
dt j (2)
2.1.1. Spray evolution
In Eq. (3), with stoichiometric coefficients, Yi = mi/m for each re- In the Disel-RK model, for an elementary fuel mass (EFM) injected
actant or product of mass mi: to the combustion chamber (Fig. 1), its current position and velocity
d (mYi ) during small time-step and moving from injector to spray tip are related
= mj Yi j + Sg as:
dt j (3)
3/2
U l
where Sg is the net generation rate. =1
U0 lm (8)
So, species conservation is as (Eq. (4)):
where l is the current distance between the injector’s nozzle and EFM;
mj i Wmw
Yi = (Y rj Yip) + U = dl/dτk is the current velocity of the EFM; τk is the travel time for the
j
m (4) EGM to reach a distance l from the injector’s nozzle; Uo is the initial
velocity and lm is the penetration distance of EFM.
where m is the total mass inside the combustion chamber, and Yip Y rj
represents for stoichiometric coefficients on reactant and product side
respectively, is i molar rate of production, and is density. 2.1.2. Spray model for calculating heat release
The governing equation on conservation of energy is given by (Eq. The RK model divides the injected fuel spray into the following
(5)): seven characteristic zones [4] (Fig. 2). Before the jet impingement,
there are: (1) dense conical core, (2) dense forward front, (3) dilute
d (mu) dv dQht outer sleeve. And after jet impingement, zones of (4) axial conical core
= p + + mj h j
dt dt dt j (5) of near wall flow (NWF), (5) dense core of NWF on piston bowl surface,
(6) dense forward front of NWF, and (7) dilute outer zone of NWF will
which indicates that net sum of rate of displacement work (1st term), be formed.
heat transfer rate (2nd term) and enthalpy flux (3rd term) equals to the And to model the different phases of combustion in ICE, the RK
change of energy within the system (LHS). model uses the following governing equations for the calculation of
Further, the ratio of actual air-fuel ratio to the stoichiometric ratio is heat release.
defined as the air-fuel mixture equivalence ratio (Eq. (6)). With auto ignition delay period calculated as:

Table 4
Operating conditions of the engine.
Variables Levels Number of levels

Load (as percentage of rated power for maximum torque) 25, 50, 75, 100 4
Blend (as percentage of biofuel to diesel in volume/volume basis) 0, 20, 40, 100 4
Injection pressure (in bar) 180, 200, 220, 240, 260 5

500
S. Salam, T.N. Verma Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510

Fig. 2. Characteristic zones of diesel spray. The combustion zones are divided into characteristic zones before and after the wall impingement.

Fig. 3. Experimental validation of Diesel-RK. A representative experimental validation from Rajak et al. [20] shows good agreement between the Diesel-RK solution
and the experimental solution.

T Ea 70
= 3.8 10 6 (1 1.6 10 4 . n) exp
P 8.312T CN + 25 (9)

During premixed combustion phase period, heat release is modelled

as:

dx mf d u
= 0 A0 ( ud x 0 ) (0.1 ud + x 0) + 1
d vf d (10)

During mixing controlled combustion phase, heat release is calcu-

lated as:

dx d ud mf
= 1 + 2 A2 ( u x) ( x)
d d vf (11)

And in late burning phase period, heat release is calculated as:

dx
= 3 A3 KT (1 x )( x)
d (12)
Fig. 4. Neural network architecture. A single hidden layer containing 10 neu- Further, this spray model used for calculating heat release in Diesel-
rons was used to project non-linear relationships from the 3 neurons of input RK model have been experimentally validated [9,13,14]. Fig. 3 shows a
layer to the 17 neurons of output layer. representative experimental validation conducted by Rajak et al. [20].
Of the validation including crank angle vs. cylinder pressure and heat

501
S. Salam, T.N. Verma Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510

Fig. 6. Pairwise comparison: Scatter plot between the normalised generated

output and Diesel-RK output shows close agreement.

Fig. 5. Flowchart of predicting the behaviour. Results from numerical analysis

using Diesel-RK were used to train the ANN.

release, load vs. Bosch smoke number, crank angle vs. NOx conducted
by Rajak et al. [20], Fig. 3 shows a representative experimental vali-
dation for crank angle vs cylinder pressure and heat release.

2.2. Design of ANN

While the software Diesel-RK provided numerical solutions at spe-

cified operating parameters at certain computational cost, the ANN is
used to fit empirical patterns in the observed dataset. This will enable
the network to predict the behaviour throughout the entire range of
operation with which the network was trained with. Using the archi-
tecture shown in Fig. 4, input parameters of load, blending and fuel
injection pressure were used to predict the associated combustion, Fig. 7. Pearson correlation: A linear polynomial is fitted between the regression
performance and emission characteristics. of ANN output to Diesel-RK output. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to
Simulation of the engine for different operating conditions of 4 quantify the prediction accuracy.
loading levels with 4 blending ratios at 5 fuel injection pressures yields
to a total of 80 unique operating conditions. Of these 80 conditions, MATLAB function dividerand.
70% (56 conditions) were used to train the network where the network
weights and biases are adjusted according to the error in the predicted
output. And 15% (12 conditions) were used to validate for measuring 2.2.1. Normalisation
network generalisation and to stop training when generalisation stops Another variable of interest is the computational efficiency which is
improving. Another 15% (12 conditions) which had no effect on known to be affected by spread in the dataset. A large spread in the
training were used to test the performance of the network after training. empirical values across the elements itself is known to slow down the
The division of the targets into those three sets was performed using the training and render less accurate fitting. A method for overcoming this

Table 6
Settings of ANN training.
Parameter Value MATLAB function/syntax

Network type feed-forward back-propagation feedforwardnet(hiddenSizes,trainFcn)

Hidden layer neurons (h) 10 –
Topology 3-10-17 fitnet(10)
Data division (in %) 70-15-15 dividerand
Data division (in data points) 56-12-12 –
Adaptation learning function Gradient descent with momentum weight and bias learning function learngdm
Performance function Mean square error MSE
Training function Levenberg Marquardt algorithm net.trainFcn=‘trainlm’;
Transfer function Hyperbolic tangent sigmoid in hidden layer; linear in output layer tansig in hidden layer; purelin in output layer

502
S. Salam, T.N. Verma
Fig. 8. Prediction accuracy for all response variables. (a) r and r_squared. The r
and r_squared value for all response variables was: 0.97353 ± 0.024597 (as
mean ± standard deviation) (b) MAPE. Average of mean absolute percentage
error for all response variables was: 0.0781 ± 0.1156% (as mean ± standard
deviation).
issue is to scale all values within a limited range before feeding the data
to the network. This process is called normalisation during which all the
samples of an element are scaled to a value between 0 and 1.
A variant of normalisation is the min–max normalisation where all
Fig. 9. Response of SFC: The response for SFC within the operating range is shown for blends of only B0 (blue), B20 (red), B40 (yellow) and B100 (purple).
503
Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510
the values are fitted in the range of [0, 1] with 0 corresponding to
minimum value and 1 to maximum value. This can be achieved with the
linear transformation of the random variable as shown in Eq. (13):
Xi Xmin
Xn = (b a) +a
Ximax Xmin (13)
where Xn is the normalised value of Xi; Xmin and Xmax are minimum and
maximum value of the variable in the dataset respectively, a and b are
limits of normalised values.
Further, instead of using the range of (0, 1), range of (0.05–0.95)
was used: (1) to avoid possible arithmetic operations such as dividing
by zero for which the computational environment will return as ‘not a
number’ (NaN), and (2) to achieve faster training since it avoids
transformations for extremely small values [40]. This enabled the net-
work to avoid computing activation functions of extreme values
without compromising the empirical accuracy.
And to get the original value, rearranging Eq. (13):
(Xmax Xmin )·(Xn a)
Xi = Xmin +
(b a ) (14)
The architecture of the current network had 3 nodes in the input
layer and 17 nodes in the output layer. It had a single hidden layer
which helps projects non-linear relationship from the input layer to the
output layer. The performance of the network was tested for a few
different number of nodes in hidden layer. The absolute number of
nodes in the hidden layer is not stated exactly because of the stochas-
ticity inherent to the network performance in consequence to the
random sampling of data points for training, validation and testing.
This implies that different training will yield empirically different
performance. In addition to having found desired prediction perfor-
mance with 10 nodes in hidden layer, with an objective to reduce
computational cost, the analysis was proceeded with 3-10-17. After
picking 10 hidden layer neurons based on a few thumb rules [41,42],
training the network with too many different architectures would only
incur additional computational cost. And having found desired pre-
diction performance with 10 nodes in hidden layer, the analysis with 3-
10-17 architecture have been reported here. Also since Levenberg-
Marquardt back propagation algorithm converges faster to the solution
in less number of iterations with minimum mean square error as
compared against widely used other training algorithm [43], the
function trainlm available in Neural network toolbox MATLAB 2016a
was used to train the network. In addition, using Jacobians as ap-
proximation for Hessian matrices requires the network to perform lesser
computation.
Fig. 5 summarises the methodology adopted for this empirical
study. After deciding the operating conditions either with design of
experiments and/or domain knowledge, the simulation was executed in
S. Salam, T.N. Verma
Fig. 10. Response of performance variables: (a) BTE, (b) IE and (c) SE.
Responses are shown for blends of only B0 (blue), B20 (red), B40 (yellow) and
B100 (purple).
the software Diesel-RK. The various output variables of the engine
operation were then preprocessed before feeding the dataset to the
ANN. This involved variable-wise normalisation of both input and
output data using Eq. (13). The network is then trained with training
settings shown in Table 6. Predicted values of the network are then
scaled as an inverse operation to the normalisation conducted earlier
using Eq. (14). These values represent the ultimate prediction made by
this methodology.
2.3. Behaviour characterisation
The empirical model derived from the trained network is used to
calculate all responses at different combinations of operating conditions
within the range of operating conditions adopted in Table 4. For
504
Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510
visualisation purpose, the range was discretised into 20 points and the
solutions from these combinations were linearly interpolated to plot the
response surfaces using surf function in MATLAB 2016a.
3. Results and discussion
The adopted ANN with architecture of 3 input – 10 hidden – 17
output nodes using the neural network toolbox in MATLAB 2016a
generated satisfactory prediction results. The network was trained to
derive empirical patterns on the combustion, performance and emission
characteristics generated for the limited number of operating condi-
tions defined by loading, blending and fuel injection pressure. It was
able to predict performance behaviour characterised by specific fuel
combustion (SFC), brake thermal efficiency (BTE), indicated efficiency
(IE), scavenging efficiency (SE), exhaust gas temperature (EGT); com-
bustion behaviour by cylinder peak pressure (CPP), cylinder peak
temperature (CPT), maximum rate of pressure rise (MRPR), outer mean
diameter of drop (Dout), and ignition delay (ID); emission behaviour by
Hartridge smoke unit (HSU), smoke, suspended particulate matter
(SPM), carbon dioxide (CO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), summary of
emission (SoE) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
3.1. Network performance
Fig. 6 shows value-by-value comparison between the network gen-
erated output and Diesel-RK generated output. It should be noted that
X-axis does not represent a series and hence the comparison should be
made only element wise. This same result can be alternatively re-
presented as Fig. 7 where the linear regression of the network output
against the Diesel-RK output can be directly observed. Here, BTE which
has a range of 0–100 in percentage units has been chosen to highlight
the transformation of response variable in range as indicated by Eqs.
(13) and (14) during the prediction process. As evidenced by very high
Pearson correlation coefficient (0.9654 for representative variable of
SFC), prediction accuracy is very high. It is further supported by slope
of the linear polynomial fitted to the scatter data points being almost
equal to 1 (0.98). It could be noted that a slope of 1 would imply that
the network predicted value would be exactly equal to Diesel-RK pre-
diction.
The prediction accuracy by the network for all the output variables
is summarised in Fig. 8 where the mean and standard deviation of r-
value and r2-value are presented. The network was able to predict all
the variables satisfactorily. For all the 17 output variables, r-value, r-
squared value and MAPE were 0.9801 ± 0.0146, 0.9608 ± 0.0284,
and 0.0781 ± 0.1156% (as mean ± standard deviation) respectively.
3.2. Behaviour characterisation
Having established that the empirical model adopted here can
provide reliable prediction, the responses at different combinations of
operating conditions within the adopted range were computed at dis-
cretised values and were linearly interpolated to plot the response
surfaces. To avoid the complicacy in data visualisation due to large
dimensionality of variables involved in the study, the response surfaces
have been shown for each response variable for blending ratios of only
B0, B20, B40 and B100.
As for the fuel injection pressure adopted as a control variable for
the study, large enough pressure differentials between fuel injection
and combustion chamber are required to facilitate (1) atomisation of
air-fuel mixture, and (2) supply of fuel throughout combustion chamber
in time to allow homogenous mixture available for less turbulent
combustion. This renders FIP to influence various output variables. In
addition to employing a small injector hole and optimum fuel viscosity,
good atomisation can be achieved with high FIP. At a very fundamental
level, when FIP is not high enough, the injected atomised fuel particles
becomes larger and this increases the ignition delay which eventually
S. Salam, T.N. Verma Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510

Fig. 11. Response of performance variables: (a) EGT, (b) CPP, (c) CPT, (d) MRPR, (e) Dout, (f) ID. Responses are shown for blends of only B0 (blue), B20 (red), B40
(yellow) and B100 (purple).

leads to decreased fuel efficiency and performance. across different blends occurs below FIP of 210 bar. Similar complex
interacting responses can be observed in other response variables as
well.
3.2.1. Performance behaviour
In addition, high enough FIP is required to facilitate good atomi-
SFC: (Brake) specific fuel consumption indicates the rate of fuel
sation of air-fuel mixture into the combustion chamber for efficient
consumption for every unit of power produced. This power specific
combustion. And when high enough FIP is not used, the quality of
definition endows the variable to be directly comparable across dif-
atomisation is reduced. This increases the ignition delay and conse-
ferent engines. As it can be observed from Fig. 9, empirically, the effects
quently reduces combustion quality and engine performance. This ex-
of loading, blending or FIP on SFC are complex, and (to our knowledge)
pected trend can be observed in Fig. 9 where, for fixed blending and
it has not been captured by any fundamental analytical models. In
loading, SFC marginally reduces with increasing FIP. And also with
addition to non-linear trends, trade-offs can be observed as well,
increased loading, more power is needed to be delivered and hence
thereby consolidating the need of empirical models to derive global
more fuel is consumed. This is reflected as increased SFC with loading
solutions. For instance, at fixed loading, strong variation of SFC wrt FIP

505
S. Salam, T.N. Verma Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510

Fig. 12. Blending ratio specific response for emission variables: (a) HSU, (b) Smoke, (c) SPM, (d) CO2, (e) NOx, (f) SoE, (g) NO2. Responses are shown for blends of
only B0 (blue), B20 (red), B40 (yellow) and B100 (purple).

506
S. Salam, T.N. Verma
Fig. 13. Correlation matrix for all the associated variables. Correlation was
calculated for the predictions of ANN model. Significant correlations were ob-
served between various variables.
for fixed FIP and blending. Similar observations have also been reported
[44,45]. This will result in decrease in performance at too high FIP, and
the observed trade-off in the SFC response could be largely due to this.
BTE: Another indicator of engine performance is the brake thermal
efficiency which quantifies the heat converted from fuel to mechanical
energy by the engine. Even though combustion efficiency is largely
influenced by fuel properties such as heating value, density and visc-
osity, FIP dictates how well atomisation can be achieved. While BTE
decreases with increased amount of microalgae biodiesel added to the
Fig. 14. Linear regression of (a) Dout, (b) SoE, (c) CO2, (d) Smoke with SFC. The representative variable SFC can substitute for those variables which has high
correlation with it.
507
Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510
mixture, FIP does not affect it until the trade-off is observed around
180–200 bar FIP (Fig. 10a), which is also the range around which SFC
also starts exhibiting strong non-linear complex behaviour. This could
be primarily due to the increased amount of higher viscous component
added to the fuel mixture and thereby reducing the quality of spray
characteristics [46]. Also, in all operating conditions, BTE consistently
increases with increased loading.
IE: To account for the various energy losses and inefficiencies across
the power delivery system, indicated (thermal) efficiency measures the
amount of work available for transmission for the amount of heat en-
ergy being released during combustion. It can be observed from
Fig. 10b that while the response surfaces are complex, increased
blending consistently improves IE. Mostly, FIP and loading marginally
affects IE except at too large FIP and heavy loadings. Moreover, the
similar trade-off can also be observed at around 180–200 bar FIP.
SE: Performance of an IC engine is directly influenced by stoichio-
metric air-fuel composition, and thus is affected by how efficiently the
piston can clear off the burnt mixture from the combustion chamber.
Scavenging would refer to how the intake charge (air in diesel engine)
could successfully evacuate the burnt charges from the combustion
chamber between the valve overlap of exhaust stroke and suction stroke
in 4-stroke operation. Here, scavenging efficiency measures the ratio of
air volume at beginning of compression to swept volume. A 100%
scavenging efficiency (SE) would refer to the scenario where the burnt
mass has been successfully evacuated with the intake of air inside the
combustion chamber. Fig. 10c shows that SE usually improves with
blending and loading. With blending, the viscosity and density of the
injected fuel increases and this may lead to reduction in the turbulence
within the combustion chamber. Possibly due to better combustibility
of the fuel with increase in blending, the burnt masses may readily
escape the combustion chamber with the intake of fresh air during the
S. Salam, T.N. Verma
valve overlapping of exhaust and suction stroke. This may be re-
sponsible for the observed increase in SE with blending. But at low FIP
of around 180–200 bar, similar trade-off can be observed as with earlier
performance variables. Also, as it will be further discussed in Section
3.3, SE has high correlation with EGT, CPP and CPT thereby hinting to
possible strong cause-and-effect relationship between them. It is highly
plausible that optimal combustion characteristics enhances SE. In ad-
dition, a closer inspection shows that SE higher than 100% has also
been predicted by the ANN model at certain FIP range. It could be due
to the model failing to deliver acceptable empirical compromise over
certain ranges with limited information. This substantiates the need for
domain knowledge and careful interpretation of the results.
3.2.2. Combustion behaviour
Thermodynamic indicators: Exhaust gas temperature is the tem-
perature of the burnt gas mixture released from the combustion
chamber, and hence it can be used as an indicator of thermodynamic
combustion quality. The measured EGT is a manifestation of at least a
few interacting physico-chemical processes. With improper atomisation
resulted from heterogeneous air-fuel mixture across the combustion
chamber, incomplete combustion releases less heat energy. The loss of
heat energy from the chamber and impingement of the atomised dro-
plets against the cylinder walls leads to reduced temperature observed
at the exhaust port [47]. This leads to gradual increase in EGT with
loading and FIP (Fig. 11a) except at too low FIP of 180–200 bar where a
sharp increase and trade-off with blending also occurs.
Cylinder peak pressure is another indicator to quantify the turbu-
lence of combustion inside the combustion chamber. Too turbulent
combustion generates shocks and disrupts the smooth operation of the
engine thereby negatively affecting the performance of engine.
Thermodynamic coordinates yielded from the chosen operating condi-
tions results to similar response as EGT. Fig. 11b shows that the effect of
operating conditions is almost similar to EGT. As it can be observed,
blending marginally affects CPP probably because of high physical and
chemical coherence between diesel and microalgae biodiesel.
Similarly, cylinder peak temperature is another thermodynamic
variable that can indicate the turbulence and quality of combustion
inside the chamber. And maximum rate of pressure rise is also a com-
bustion quality indicator very similar to CPP where the sharpness of the
turbulence can be quantified since it measures the rate change of cy-
linder pressure. Here, in all these thermodynamic indicators of EGT,
CPP, CPT and MRPR, similar response behaviour can be observed
Fig. 11a–d. It simply could be due to the reason that they all are
manifestations of the same thermodynamic process. It can be further
substantiated from these observations that the analytical relations
across these thermodynamic variables (such as ideal gas equation,
Boyle’s Law, Charles’s Law) are supported empirically as well. Also, the
specific range of FIP (observed as 180–200 bar in this study) may be
optimally appropriate for high quality combustion.
Dout: Outer mean diameter of droplets is a physical indicator of
atomisation. By directly measuring the size of the injected droplets, this
variable could measure the quality of atomisation. A good atomisation
should inject fine droplets of air-fuel mixture and should provide small
Dout. But here, a very low Dout is observed at the FIP range around
180–200 bar which is contradicting to the fundamental operation me-
chanism that atomisation should improve, and consequently Dout
should decrease, with increasing FIP. This should be another manifes-
tation of the model failing to capture the true behaviour even as an
empirical compromise.
ID: Ignition delay is the lag in time from which the combustion
starts after the injection of fuel into the combustion chamber. It could
be due to both physical delay in the injection system and chemical
delay of combustion process. Although ID is observed to be influenced
by a lot of key operating parameters, for the operating configuration
under study, ID decreases with blending (Fig. 11f). Fundamentally, ID
could increase with blending due to larger chemical delay derived from
508
Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510
longer pre-combustion processes for heavier fuels. It could also increase
with increased viscosity with blending thus reducing the quality of
spray characteristics. But when compensated by higher oxygen content
in biodiesel compared against diesel (about 10–12%, [48]), quicker
combustion of air-fuel mixture (provided, temperature higher than
flash point is provided) and the observed shorter ID can be explained. It
can be noted that the sharp increase can also be observed around
180–200 bar.
3.2.3. Emission behaviour
Fig. 12a–f shows the various emission responses within the range of
operating conditions. Setting 0 for complete transparency and 100 for
complete opacity, Hartridge smoke unit conveniently measures the
emission characteristics based on the optical properties of the smoke.
The drastic increase in indicators of emission quality of both HSU and
Smoke responses at low FIP could be due to the fuel rich zones formed
at the early stages of combustion. The inferior atomisation thus resulted
from poor mixing at low FIP could be the primary reason for the in-
creased emission of smoke around FIP of 180–200 bar (Fig. 12a, b).
Corollarily, the fine atomisation at higher FIP should promote com-
bustion quality and this could result into reduced HSU and Smoke re-
sponses as observed.
In addition, suspended particulate matter and CO2 shows similar
complex responses; (Fig. 12c, d). Here, the consistent increase in CO2
emission with blending before the trade-off at low FIP could be because
of the higher hydrocarbon and oxygen content in biodiesel as compared
against diesel. This should stoichiometrically release more CO2. But at
low FIP, fuel rich zones should be formed at early phases of combustion.
And with the observed increase in ID in that FIP range, more rapid
combustion should occur which could result into the reduced CO2
emission.
Excluding the responses around FIP of 180–200 bar at which sharp
increase in NOx is observed, NOx emission gradually increases with
loading (Fig. 12e). This could be only a proportional increase in emis-
sion with increased power demand. But for the sharp increase around
180–200 bar FIP, it could be due to multiple reasons including in-
creased fuel viscosity and density, the associated chemical incoherence,
and consequent inferior atomisation. Moreover, the higher oxygen
content in biodiesel could also lead to higher NOx emission [49,50].
This could reduce combustion efficiency and reflect on combustion and
performance behaviour. Summary of emission has been used as another
comprehensive indicator of emission which considers both specific
particulate matter and NOx concentration (Eq. (15), with J = 0.15,
L = 7, [51]).
SPM NOx
SoE = CSPM + CNOx
J L (15)
It was observed that both SoE and NO2 also exhibit very similar
responses while operating within these ranges of blending, loading and
FIP (Fig. 12f, g).
3.3. Computational implication
As it can be observed from the behaviour discussed here, highly
non-linear relationship exists across the response variables. The re-
sponse surfaces have been developed to account for the multivariate
interactions across all variables under study at higher dimensions. And
it is evidenced that such interactions are complex and largely non-
linear. In addition, within the range of variables under study, trade-off
relationships can be observed. Such complex relationships consolidate
the need of deriving complete response surfaces for solving problems
such as optimisation problem where obtaining global solution and not
local solution is of paramount importance.
But despite the non-linear complex interactions observed across the
response variables in the preceding section, significant correlations
were observed across them (Fig. 13) thereby implicating empirical
S. Salam, T.N. Verma
redundancy within themselves. Such correlated responses can be sub-
stituted by one another to reduce the computational cost of modelling
and prediction.
For instance, for the response variable SFC, it has strong correlation
with Dout, CO2, SoE and NO2. As shown in Fig. 14, such linear de-
pendencies can be harnessed to reduce the computational cost while
deriving numerical solutions as in CFD based methods. Depending on
the desired accuracy of the predicted responses, a group of redundant
responses can be substituted by only one representative response vari-
able.
4. Conclusion
While CFD solutions alone are largely resource consuming and in-
feasible for industry requirements, complete characterisation of IC en-
gine behaviour can be achieved at more efficient computational cost
when CFD models are coupled with empirical models. By training an
ANN with limited solutions derived from Diesel-RK, associated beha-
viour can be characterised as an empirical compromise. Such solutions
are practical and could provide convenient and feasible solutions for
industry problems.
• The employed network can predict the behaviour very accurately.
The average r-value for all 17 response variables 0.9801 ± 0.0146.
• Complex responses are observed for all the response variables
thereby emphasising the need for pragmatic industry feasible solu-
tions as an empirical compromise.
• Significant correlations are observed across the selected variables
under study implicating the redundancy among response variables.
• A group of redundant variables can be substituted by a re-
presentative variable to reduce the computational cost while de-
riving numerical solutions.
• Prediction of all operating conditions using ANN within the estab-
lished range can be achieved at reduced computational cost com-
pared to the conventional CFD based methods.
Appendix A. Supplementary material
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2018.11.014.
References
[1] Zelenka Paul, Cartellieri Wolfgang, Herzog Peter. Worldwide diesel emission stan-
dards, current experiences and future needs. Appl Catal B 1996;10(1–3):3–28.
[2] Knothe Gerhard, Razon Luis F. Biodiesel fuels. Prog Energy Combust Sci
2017;58:36–59.
[3] Shi Yu, Ge Hai-Wen, Reitz Rolf D. Computational optimization of internal com-
bustion engines. Springer Science & Business Media; 2011.
[4] Diesel RK is an engine simulation tool. http://diesel-rk.bmstu.ru/Eng/index.php.
[5] Sakhrieh A, Fouad RH, Yamin JA. Experimental study of using emulsified diesel fuel
on the performance and pollutants emitted from four stroke water cooled diesel
engine. AIP conference proceedings. AIP; 2009.
[6] Hamdan MA, Khalil Runa Haj. Simulation of compression engine powered by bio-
fuels. Energy Convers Manage 2010;51(8):1714–8.
[7] Al-Dawody Mohamed F, Bhatti SK. Experimental and computational investigations
for combustion, performance and emission parameters of a diesel engine fueled with
soybean biodiesel-diesel blends. Energy Procedia 2014;52:421–30.
[8] Al-Dawody Mohamed F, Bhatti SK. Optimization strategies to reduce the biodiesel
NOx effect in diesel engine with experimental verification. Energy Convers Manage
2013;68:96–104.
[9] Paul Gaurav, Datta Ambarish, Mandal Bijan Kumar. An experimental and numerical
investigation of the performance, combustion and emission characteristics of a
diesel engine fueled with jatropha biodiesel. Energy Procedia 2014;54:455–67.
[10] Datta Ambarish, Mandal Bijan Kumar. Impact of alcohol addition to diesel on the
performance combustion and emissions of a compression ignition engine. Appl
Therm Eng 2016;98:670–82.
[11] Datta Ambarish, Mandal Bijan Kumar. Engine performance, combustion and
emission characteristics of a compression ignition engine operating on different
biodiesel-alcohol blends. Energy 2017;125:470–83.
[12] Yasin Mohd Hafizil Mat, et al. Study of a diesel engine performance with exhaust
gas recirculation (EGR) system fuelled with palm biodiesel. Energy Procedia
509
Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510
2017;110:26–31.
[13] Rajak Upendra, et al. Numerical investigation of performance, combustion and
emission characteristics of various biofuels. Energy Convers Manage
2018;156:235–52.
[14] Rajak Upendra, Verma Tikendra Nath. Effect of emission from ethylic biodiesel of
edible and non-edible vegetable oil, animal fats, waste oil and alcohol in CI engine.
Energy Convers Manage 2018;166:704–18.
[15] Rajak Upendra, Verma Tikendra Nath. Spirulina microalgae biodiesel–a novel re-
newable alternative energy source for compression ignition engine. J Clean Prod
2018;201:343–57.
[16] McCulloch Warren S, Pitts Walter. A logical calculus of the ideas immanent in
nervous activity. Bull Math Biophys 1943;5(4):115–33.
[17] Alonso Jos M, et al. Combining neural networks and genetic algorithms to predict
and reduce diesel engine emissions. IEEE Trans Evol Comput 2007;11(1):46–55.
[18] Ghobadian Barat, et al. Diesel engine performance and exhaust emission analysis
using waste cooking biodiesel fuel with an artificial neural network. Renew Energy
2009;34(4):976–82.
[19] Togun Necla Kara, Baysec Sedat. Prediction of torque and specific fuel consumption
of a gasoline engine by using artificial neural networks. Appl Energy
2010;87(1):349–55.
[20] Pai P Srinivasa, Shrinivasa Rao BR. Artificial neural network based prediction of
performance and emission characteristics of a variable compression ratio CI engine
using WCO as a biodiesel at different injection timings. Appl Energy
2011;88(7):2344–54.
[21] Cay Yusuf, et al. Prediction of engine performance for an alternative fuel using
artificial neural network. Appl Therm Eng 2012;37:217–25.
[22] Cay Yusuf, et al. Prediction of engine performance and exhaust emissions for ga-
soline and methanol using artificial neural network. Energy 2013;50:177–86.
[23] Cay Yusuf. Prediction of a gasoline engine performance with artificial neural net-
work. Fuel 2013;111:324–31.
[24] Sharon H, et al. Biodiesel production and prediction of engine performance using
SIMULINK model of trained neural network. Fuel 2012;99:197–203.
[25] Ismail Harun Mohamed, et al. Artificial neural networks modelling of engine-out
responses for a light-duty diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel blends. Appl Energy
2012;92:769–77.
[26] Roy Sumit, Banerjee Rahul, Bose Probir Kumar. Performance and exhaust emissions
prediction of a CRDI assisted single cylinder diesel engine coupled with EGR using
artificial neural network. Appl Energy 2014;119:330–40.
[27] Channapattana SV, Pawar Abhay A, Kamble Prashant G. Optimisation of operating
parameters of DI-CI engine fueled with second generation bio-fuel and development
of ANN based prediction model. Appl Energy 2017;187:84–95.
[28] Nagle Nick, Lemke Pete. Production of methyl ester fuel from microalgae. Appl
Biochem Biotechnol 1990;24(1):355–61.
[29] Sawayama Shigeki, et al. CO2 fixation and oil production through microalga.
Energy Convers Manage 1995;36(6–9):729–31.
[30] Sheehan John, et al. Look back at the US department of energy's aquatic species
program: biodiesel from algae; close-out report No. NREL/TP-580-24190 Golden,
CO (US): National Renewable Energy Lab.; 1998.
[31] Schenk Peer M, et al. Second generation biofuels: high-efficiency microalgae for
biodiesel production. Bioenergy Res 2008;1(1):20–43.
[32] Chisti Yusuf. Biodiesel from microalgae. Biotechnol Adv 2007;25(3):294–306.
[33] Chisti Yusuf. Biodiesel from microalgae beats bioethanol. Trends Biotechnol
2008;26(3):126–31.
[34] Mata Teresa M, Martins Antonio A, Caetano Nidia S. Microalgae for biodiesel
production and other applications: a review. Renew Sustain Energy Rev
2010;14(1):217–32.
[35] Yang Jia, et al. Life-cycle analysis on biodiesel production from microalgae: water
footprint and nutrients balance. Bioresour Technol 2011;102(1):159–65.
[36] Petkov Georgi, et al. A critical look at the microalgae biodiesel. Eur J Lipid Sci
Technol 2012;114(2):103–11.
[37] Wu Xiaodan, et al. Current status and prospects of biodiesel production from mi-
croalgae. Energies 2012;5(8):2667–82.
[38] Wu Horng-Wen, Zhan-Yi Wu. Investigation on combustion characteristics and
emissions of diesel/hydrogen mixtures by using energy-share method in a diesel
engine. Appl Therm Eng 2012;42:154–62.
[39] Tüccar Gökhan, Aydın Kadir. Evaluation of methyl ester of microalgae oil as fuel in
a diesel engine. Fuel 2013;112:203–7.
[40] Kumar Satish. Neural networks: a classroom approach. Tata McGraw-Hill
Education; 2004.
[41] Sheela K Gnana, Deepa Subramaniam N. Review on methods to fix number of
hidden neurons in neural networks. Math Problems Eng 2013;2013.
[42] Panchal G, Panchal Mahesh. Review on methods of selecting number of hidden
nodes in artificial neural network. Int J Comput Sci Mobile Comput
2014;3(11):455–64.
[43] Moré Jorge J. The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm: implementation and theory.
Numerical analysis 1978:105–16.
[44] Yehliu Kuen, Boehman André L, Armas Octavio. Emissions from different alter-
native diesel fuels operating with single and split fuel injection. Fuel
2010;89(2):423–37.
[45] Gumus Metin, Sayin Cenk, Canakci Mustafa. The impact of fuel injection pressure
on the exhaust emissions of a direct injection diesel engine fueled with biodie-
sel–diesel fuel blends. Fuel 2012;95:486–94.
[46] Suh Hyun Kyu, Roh Hyun Gu, Lee Chang Sik. Spray and combustion characteristics
of biodiesel∕ diesel blended fuel in a direct injection common-rail diesel engine. J
Eng Gas Turb Power 2008;130(3):032807.
[47] Han Park, Su, Yoon Seung Hyun, Lee Chang Sik. Effects of multiple-injection
S. Salam, T.N. Verma
strategies on overall spray behavior, combustion, and emissions reduction char-
acteristics of biodiesel fuel. Appl Energy 2011;88(1):88–98.
[48] Mutyalu KB, Das VC, Srinivasa Rao K. Effect of fuel injection pressure on perfor-
mance and emission characteristics of DI-CI engine with shea olein biodiesel. Mater
Today: Proc 2018;5(1):494–500.
[49] Sun Jiafeng, Caton Jerald A, Jacobs Timothy J. Oxides of nitrogen emissions from
biodiesel-fuelled diesel engines. Prog Energy Combust Sci 2010;36(6):677–95.
[50] Lešnik Luka, et al. Numerical and experimental study of combustion, performance
510
Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019) 496–510
and emission characteristics of a heavy-duty DI diesel engine running on diesel,
biodiesel and their blends. Energy Convers Manage 2014;81:534–46.
[51] Northrop William F, et al. Comparison of filter smoke number and elemental carbon
mass from partially premixed low temperature combustion in a direct-injection
diesel engine. J Eng Gas Turbines Power 2011;133(10):102804.
[52] Rajak Upendra, Nashine Prerana, Verma Tikendra Nath. Assessment of diesel en-
gine performance using spirulina microalgae biodiesel. Energy 2018.