Biofuels

ISSN: 1759-7269 (Print) 1759-7277 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tbfu20

Experimental investigation on the effects of

compression ratio on performance, emissions and
combustion characteristics of a biodiesel-fueled
automotive diesel engine

R. Balasubramanian & K. A. Subramanian

To cite this article: R. Balasubramanian & K. A. Subramanian (2019): Experimental investigation

on the effects of compression ratio on performance, emissions and combustion characteristics of a
biodiesel-fueled automotive diesel engine, Biofuels, DOI: 10.1080/17597269.2018.1558840

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/17597269.2018.1558840

Published online: 01 Feb 2019.

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BIOFUELS
https://doi.org/10.1080/17597269.2018.1558840

Experimental investigation on the effects of compression ratio

on performance, emissions and combustion characteristics
of a biodiesel-fueled automotive diesel engine
R. Balasubramanian and K. A. Subramanian
Engines and Unconventional Fuels, Laboratory, Centre for Energy Studies, IIT Delhi, New Delhi, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The present study examines the effects of compression ratio (CR; 19:1 base, 17:1 and 21:1) on per- Received 9 August 2018
formance, emissions and combustion characteristics of a 5.5-kW direct-injection automotive diesel Accepted 13 November 2018
engine fueled with biodiesel (B100). The results show that increasing CR improves the thermal effi-
KEYWORDS
ciency of the engine. The change in CR from 19:1 to 21:1 for the biodiesel enhanced the brake
Compression ratio;
thermal efficiency by about 9.5% and 4.63% at full load with engine speeds of 2200 (power output automotive diesel engine;
of 3.9 kW at 17 Nm torque) and 3000 rpm (4.9 kW at 15 Nm), respectively, compared to the base CR biodiesel;
of 19:1. However, emission of oxides of nitrogen increased from 8.71 and 7.73 g/kWhr with CR of combustion; emissions
19:1 to 9.25 and 8.92 g/kWhr with increased CR of 21:1 at speeds of 2200 and 3000 rpm, respect-
ively. But the NOx emission at 2200 rpm can be reduced to 7.34 g/kWhr with 3
crank angle
retarded injection timing. A biodiesel-fueled engine with increased CR (21:1) and retarded injection
timing could give improved performance and emissions compared to base diesel and biodiesel
with base CR (19:1).

Introduction will increase. It may be noted that NOx emission, which is a

Diesel engines are used for a range of applications such as
highway transportation, power generation, and non-road
functions like agriculture, building machinery, etc. A major
consumer of diesel is the transport sector which accounts
for 70% of the diesel sales in India [1]. The projected oil
consumption for India is 8 million barrels per day by the
year 2035, but crude oil reserves are depleting at a faster
rate and are expected to vanish by the year 2067 [2].
Therefore, alternative fuels need to be explored. Among
alternative fuels, biodiesel receives significant attention due
to its desirable fuel qualities such as a higher cetane num-
ber (CN: 58) compared to petrodiesel (CN: 50) [3]. A bio-
diesel-fueled engine could emit lower levels of carbon
monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), and smoke emissions
compared to base diesel. However, NOx emission and spe-
cific fuel consumption increase significantly [4]. Therefore,
these issues need to be addressed. The fuel consumption
of a biodiesel-fueled engine is higher as compared to base
diesel because of the lower calorific value of biodiesel; a
greater amount of fuel must be injected into the cylinder
to obtain the same power [5]. The higher fuel consumption
of biodiesel leads to lower brake thermal efficiency of a
biodiesel-fueled diesel engine. The NOx emission is higher
because of the automatic advancement in the injection
timing (IT) due to the high bulk modulus of the biodiesel,
the high in-cylinder pressure and the oxygen content (11%
by volume) of the biodiesel. These problems of lower effi-
ciency and high NOx emission need to be solved to utilize
biodiesel in compression ignition (CI) engines. An increase
in compression ratio (CR) will increase the thermal effi-
ciency of a CI engine; however, nitric oxide (NO) emission
problem at higher CR values, can be reduced by retarding
IT with a negative impact on thermal efficiency. Therefore,
a combined strategy of enhanced CR and retarded IT needs
to be studied to address the issues of high NOx emission.
Raheman and Ghadge [6] carried out performance tests
on a Ricardo E6 engine using mahua oil biodiesel with
varying CR (18:1–20:1) and IT (35–45
BTDC) values. The
brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and exhaust gas
temperature increased while the brake thermal efficiency
(BTE) decreased slightly at all CR and IT values with
increased biodiesel blends. With increased CRs and
advanced IT the BTE was increased and BSFC was reduced.
The BTE results were almost the same for diesel and B100.
Jindal et al. [7] investigated the effect of injection pressure
(IP) and CR in a diesel engine running on jatropha methyl
ester. The CR varied from 16:1 to 17:1 and 18:1 and the IP
varied from 150 to 200 and 250 bar. The results established
that the dual effect of increase in IP and CR increases the
BTE (10%) and reduces the BSFC (8.9%) with reduced emis-
sions at the optimum CR of 18:1 with IP of 250 bar. It was
recommended to fuel engines with biodiesel with high CR
and higher IP. Pesic et al. [8] analyzed the advantages and
challenges of variable compression ratio (VCR) diesel
engines. They investigated four CRs between 12:1 and
17.5:1 and found with the increase in CR, exhaust gas tem-
perature was decreased. The NOx emission increased with
CR increase at all loads. The specific HC and CO emissions
were the lowest for high CR of 17.5:1. Sayin and Gumus [9]
examined the impact of injection parameters and CR. The
tests were carried with different CRs, ITs and IPs. BTE
increased with increased CR and IP and original IT. NOx

CONTACT K.A. Subramanian subra@ces.iitd.ac.in Engines and Unconventional Fuels, Laboratory, Centre for Energy Studies, IIT Delhi, New Delhi, India
ß 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 R. BALASUBRAMANIAN AND K. A. SUBRAMANIAN
Nomenclature
aBDC After bottom dead center
aTDC After top dead center
bBDC Before bottom dead center
BP Brake power (kW)
BS Bharat stage
BDC Bottom dead center
BSEC Brake specific energy consumption
BSFC Brake specific fuel consumption (g/kWh-h)
bTDC Bottom top dead center
BTE Brake thermal efficiency (%)
CA Crank angle
CAD Crank angle degree
CI Compression ignition
CO Carbon monoxide
CR Compression ratio
CRDI Common rail direct injection
CV Calorific value (kJ/kg)
DI Direct injection
HC Hydrocarbon
HP Horsepower
IP Injection pressure
IT Injection timing
emission increased with increased CR and decreased with
retarded IT. Muralidharan and Vasudevan [10] compared
the performance, emission and combustion characteristics
of a variable CR engine using methyl esters of waste cook-
ing oil and diesel blends. The experiments were conducted
with different CRs of 18:1 to 22:1 at 1500 rpm. The test
results proved that the BTE, exhaust gas temperature and
brake power are dependent on CR and the biodiesel blend.
It was observed that the optimum CR was 21:1, which
gives the maximum brake power of 2.07 kW with a B40
blend. The temperature of the exhaust gas decreases with
higher CR for blends. Muralidharan et al. [11] studied the
performance, emission and combustion levels of waste
cooking oil biodiesel–diesel blends at CR 21:1. It was
observed that the maximum BTE was 38.46%, which was
4.1% higher than diesel. The BSFC values for B20 and B40
were 3.80 and 3.88 kg/kWh, respectively, when compared
to diesel which was 3.97 kg/kWh. Jindal [12] investigated
the effect of CR and IP in a diesel engine with karanja
methyl ester. The experiments were conducted with differ-
ent CRs and IPs. It was demonstrated that an increase in
CR and IP improves the performance of the engine. The
best performance was at 250 bar IP and CR of 18:1. The
BSFC was improved by 2.94% and the BTE by 8.2%, for all
combinations of CR and IP. HC, NOx, smoke emission and
exhaust gas temperature were lower with biodiesel com-
pared to diesel. Amartnath and Prabakaran [13] investi-
gated the performance characteristics and emission
characteristics of a VCR engine running on karanja bio-
diesel. With an increase in load, IP and CR it was found
that fuel consumption decreased for all blends. The BTE for
B100 was lower by 2.92%; with an increase in CR from 14:1
to 18:1 the BTE value increased to 7%. The results show
that the optimum values of CR and IP were 18:1 and 247
bar. Debnath et al. [14] evaluated the impact of CR and IT
on performance characteristics of a diesel engine operated
with palm oil methyl ester. The maximum value of BTE
achieved was at CR 17.5:1 and 18:1 with retarded IT 20

BTDC. With increased CR the NOx emission was reduced by
LHR Low heat rejection
LTC Low-temperature combustion
NOx Oxides of nitrogen
PM Particulate matter
SI Spark ignition
TDC Top dead center
VCR Variable compression ratio
Symbols
A Pre-exponential factor
Ea/Ru Activation temperature (K)
T Temperature (K)
CxHy Fuel concentration
O2 Oxygen concentration
sid Ignition delay
EA Apparent activation energy
A Constant
n Constant
R Universal gas constant
Vswept Swept volume (cm3)
Vclearance Clearance volume (cm3)
B Cylinder bore (cm)
46%. Higher CR and retarded IT reduced the CO emissions
by 45%, CO2 emissions by 19%, and HC emissions by 40%.
Kassaby and Nemit Allah [15] studied the impact of CR
and blending ratio on the performance of a diesel engine.
Increasing the CR increased the BTE of B10, B20, B30 and
B50 by 18.39% 27.48%, 18.5% and 19.82%, respectively.
CO2 and NOx emissions increased by 14.28% and 36.28%.
CO and HC were reduced by 37.5% and 52%. When the CR
increased from 14:1 to 18:1 the ignition delay decreased by
13.95%. Increasing CR improved the performance and cylin-
der pressure of the engine and produced more benefits
with biodiesel than with pure diesel.
Hirkude and Padalkar [16] investigated the effect of
change in CR on performance characteristics and emission
of a CI engine operated with a fired oil–biodiesel blend.
The increase in CR improved the BTE for all blends. At high
CR the improvement in performance characteristics of bio-
diesel was better compared to diesel with increased NOx
emission, reduced CO and particulate matter (PM). Bora
et al. [17] studied the effect of CR on performance, com-
bustion and emission characteristics of a dual-fuel diesel
engine. The experiments were conducted at CR values
from 16:1 to 18:1 and at IT 23
BTDC under full load condi-
tions. The BTE increased from 16.42% to 20.04% while the
CR increased from 16:1 to 18:1. However, the NOx and CO2
increased, by 66.65% and 27.18%.
Amarnath et al. [18] investigated the thermal perform-
ance and emission characteristics of jatropha and karanja
methyl esters on a VCR diesel engine. It was observed that
the BTE decreased by 4.4% for karanja biodiesel, and by
4.5% for jatropha biodiesel, when compared to diesel at
full torque of 20 N-m. The CO and HC emissions were con-
siderably less when compared to base diesel. The NOx
emission was higher at full torque when compared to die-
sel. The results show that the performance of karanja bio-
diesel is superior to that of jatropha or mahua biodiesel.
Sharma and Murugan [19] studied the effects of varying
CR at optimal IT and nozzle opening pressure on a diesel
engine with a blend of biodiesel and oil from tire pyrolysis.
The diesel engine was tested with different CRs (16.5:1,
 BIOFUELS 3

Table 1. Summary of compression ratio variation in diesel engines in the literature.

Ref. Engine details Compression ratio Fuel used BTE increase (%)
Raheman and Ghadge [6] Ricardo E6 VCR engine, 1500 rpm 18:1–20:1 Mahua biodiesel 41.7
Jindal et al. [7] Kirloskar VCR engine, 1500 rpm 16:1–18:1 Jatropha methyl ester 8.9
Sayin and Gumus [9] Lombardini 6 LD 400, 2200 rpm 17:1–19:1 Biodiesel Improved
Muralidharan and Vasudevan [10] VCR engine, 1500 rpm 18:1–22:1 Waste cooking oil biodiesel Improved
Amarnath and Prabhakaran [13] Kirloskar VCR engine, 1500 rpm 14:1–18:1 Karanja biodiesel 7
Debnath et al. [14] Research VCR engine, 1500 rpm 16:1–18:1 Palm oil methyl ester Increased
Kassaby and Allah [15] VCR engine, 1000–2000 rpm 14:1–18:1 Waste cooking oil biodiesel 18.5
Hirkude and Padalkar [16] Kirloskar (3.78 kW) VCR engine, 1500 rpm 14.5:1–17.5:1 Waste fried oil biodiesel 7.25
Sharma and Murugan [19] Kirloskar (4.4 kW) VCR engine, 1500 rpm 16.5:1–18.5:1 Pyrolysis oil biodiesel 8
Ramalingam et al. [20] Kirloskar VCR engine, 1800 rpm 16.5:1–20.5:1 Annona methyl ester Improved
Hariram and Shangar [21] Kirloskar (3.5 kW) VCR engine, 1500 rpm 16:1–18:1 Diesel 13
Gnanamoorthi and Devardjane [22] Kirloskar (5.2 kW) VCR engine, 1500 rpm 17.5:1–19.5:1 Ethanol–diesel blend 10–15
BTE: Brake thermal efficiency; VCR: Variable compression ratio.

Table 2. Technical specifications of the automotive diesel engine.

Parameter Value
Type 4-stroke, single-cylinder,
air-cooled diesel engine
Bore  stroke (mm) 86  75
Displacement volume (cc) 435
Compression ratio 19:1
Rated power (kW) 5.5
Rated speed (rpm) 3600
Nozzle opening pressure (bar) 250
17.5:1 and 18.5:1). At full load operation the BTE was
improved by about 8% at 18.5:1 CR compared to the base
CR of 17.5:1. The HC, CO and smoke emissions were
reduced about 32%, 10.5% and 17.4%, respectively. The
brake specific nitric oxide emission was increased by 20%.
Senthil et al. [20] investigated the combined effects of
CR and IT on performance, emission and combustion char-
acteristics of an annona methyl ester-fueled diesel engine.
The experiments were carried out with different CR (16.5:1
to 20.5:1) and IT (24, 27, 30, 33
BTDC). A CR of 19.5:1 with
an IT of 30
BTDC gave better performance and combus-
tion and lower emissions compared to the standard CR
of 17.5:1.
Hariram and Vageshshangar [21] evaluated the effect of
CR on performance and combustion characteristics on a
single-cylinder diesel engine. The tests were carried out
with CRs of 18:1, 17:1 and 16:1. A reduction in BSFC of
about 30% and a 13% increase in BTE were observed when
CR increased from 16:1 to 18:1 at full load conditions.
Gnanamoorthi and Devaradjane [22] investigated the influ-
ence of CR on performance, combustion and emission
characteristics of a diesel engine. BTE was found to
increase at full load at maximum CR. With the increase in
CR combustion improved, which in turn improved the
performance.
From the above literature review, it cn clearly be seen that
the BTE of a biodiesel-fueled engine can be enhanced using
increased CR. However, NOx emission, which is a major prob-
lem in biodiesel fueled engine, will also increase. A combined
strategy of increased CR and retarded IT could address the
problem of NOx emission without affecting the thermal effi-
ciency. Many investigations have been carried out in different
engines fueled with blends of biodiesel from different origins.
The effects of different parameters on performance, emission
and combustion characteristics of biodiesel blends have been
highlighted in several studies. However, studies on the impact
of CR on automotive diesel engines fueled with biodiesel are
scanty. The present study is aimed at investigating the effect
of different CRs on engine performance, emission and com-
bustion characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with karanja
biodiesel. A summary of the effects of different CRs on BTE of
diesel engines is given in Table 1. Table 1 shows that the BTE
is improved with increasing CR for biodiesel–diesel blends,
but most of the experiments were conducted on a constant-
speed engine. Therefore, the present study is aimed at
studying the effects of different CRs and ITs on performance,
combustion and emissions characteristics of an automotive
CI engine.
Experimental setup
A 5.5-kW rated power output air-cooled automotive diesel
engine was used for this study. Table 2 gives the technical
specifications of the engine. A schematic diagram of the
experimental setup is shown in Figure 1. Loading was done
using an eddy current dynamometer coupled to the engine
which was operated by a dynamometer controller. The air
flow was measured with an air flow meter based on the lam-
inar flow principle, and the flow rate of fuel was measured
with a Coriolis digital mass flow meter. Exhaust and lubricant
temperatures were measured using thermocouples (K type). A
piezoelectric transducer with sensitivity of 45 pC/bar was fit-
ted on the cylinder head and used to measure the in-cylinder
pressure. A crank angle (CA) encoder was mounted on the
engine output shaft to measure the rotation of the crank-
shaft. The pressure–CA data was stored in the computer to
carry out the combustion study. The engine emissions of HC,
CO and NOx were measured with an Nondispersive Infrared
(NDIR)-based exhaust gas analyzer (AVL 4000 Light) and the
smoke emission was measured with a smoke opacity meter
(AVL model 437). Fuels used in the experiments were BS-IV
diesel and karanja biodiesel. Karanja biodiesel prepared in the
laboratory was used in the experiments. Karanja oil is non-
edible. Table 3 shows the measured fatty acid content of the
biodiesel (karanja methyl ester) used in the experimental
tests. A photographic view of the experimental setup is
shown in Figure 2.
Methodology adopted for variation of CR of the
test engine
CR reduction was achieved using a copper washer with
higher thickness than standard copper washers. In this case
a copper washer with a thickness of 1 mm was machined
and used to reduce the CR by increasing the clearance vol-
ume. There was a limitation to reducing the thickness of
4 R. BALASUBRAMANIAN AND K. A. SUBRAMANIAN
Figure 1. Layout of experimental setup.
the copper washer for increasing the CR. The minimum
thickness of copper washer available was 0.5 mm. So, for
increasing the CR, a copper washer with its extended inner
diameter was specially machined in such a way that the
clearance volume was reduced. In this case the higher CR
is achieved by considering the maximum possible inner
diameter of the copper washer. The calculation for the
reduction and increase of CR is given in Appendix A.
Figure 3 shows the copper washer for standard (19:1)
and increased (21:1) CR. The tests were conducted with a
reduced CR of 17:1, base CR of 19:1 and increased CR of
21:1. Table 4 gives the details of the accuracy and uncer-
tainty of measurements. The properties of diesel and bio-
diesel (B100) are summarized in Table 5.
Experiments with retarded IT to reduce the
NOx emission
The retarded IT is achieved with the addition of timing
shims between the mounting and the injection pump
body. In this study, an extra shim of 0.25 mm thickness
was added to retard the IT. The experiments were carried
out with the retarded IT for the biodiesel and base diesel
to reduce the NOx emission from the engine.
Results and discussion
Effect of CR on BTE
Figure 4 shows the BTE variation with CR at 2200 rpm
engine speed with biodiesel (B100) and diesel. The results
show that with the increase in CR, the BTE of the engine
increased. This enhanced efficiency is because of better
combustion at high CR and higher quality of heat energy.
With an increase in CR, the engine in-cylinder pressure
increased, which causes higher in-cylinder temperature
leading to improved combustion and higher BTE. However,
Table 3. Fatty acid content of karanja methyl ester.
S. No. Fatty acid Percentage
1 Palmitic acid 12.11
2 Oleic acid 53.67
3 Stearic acid 9.21
4 Ricinoleic acid 2.71
5 Eicosenoic acid 2.60
6 Eicosanoic acid 3.33
7 Behenic acid 7.01
8 Lignoceric acid 2.90
the BTE is lower in the case of biodiesel than the base die-
sel. The decrease in BTE of biodiesel is largely because of
the automatic advancement of the start of combustion.
This advance occurred because of the decrease in ignition
delay caused by the higher CN of biodiesel than the base
diesel. The BTE improved from 27.2% to 29.92% for diesel
and B100 from 25.43% to 27.84% when the CR increased
from the base CR of 19:1 to 21:1. At a CR of 21:1, the effi-
ciency increased by about 9.9% for base diesel and 9.5%
for B100 compared to the base CR of 19:1 at an engine
speed of 2200 rpm.
The increase in CR increases the reaction rate. Reaction
rate is a function of activation energy, temperature of
reactant, concentration of oxygen and fuel, as shown in
Equation (1).
 
d½Cx Hy  Ea 
¼  A exp  CxHym ½O2 n (1)
dt RuT
where A is the pre-exponential factor, Ea/Ru is the acti-
vation temperature, CxHy is the fuel concentration, O2 is
the oxygen concentration, and m and n are constants. The
effect of the temperature of the reactant on the reaction
rate is significantly greater compared to the other factors
such as concentration of oxygen and concentration of fuel.
This leads to better combustion which gives a high rate of
heat release and high quality of heat. This enhanced max-
imum heat release rate leads to a high temperature in the
cylinder and improved Carnot efficiency. Improved effi-
ciency implies that a higher amount of available heat
energy is converted into useful work. Carnot efficiency at
an engine speed of 2200 rpm increased from 52.55% at
base CR to 54.69% with 21:1 CR. The quality of heat
increases with increase in in-cylinder temperature and pres-
sure, and this is one of the main reasons for the higher
thermal efficiency at higher CR compared to the base case.
Figure 5 shows the variation of BTE with CR at 3000 rpm
engine speed for biodiesel (B100) and base diesel. The results
show that the BTE at 3000 rpm follows a similar trend to
that for an engine speed of 2200 rpm. The BTE improved
from 25.3% to 26.49% for diesel and from 24.5% to 25.95%
for B100 when the CR increased from the base value 19:1 to
21:1 at an engine speed of 3000 rpm. The efficiency
increased by about 4.62% for base diesel and 4.63% for B100
at 21:1 CR compared to the 19:1 base CR. This lower effi-
ciency at 3000 rpm was attributed to the poor conversion of
heat energy into work when compared to the conversion at
2200 rpm. Apart from the above reasons, the degree of con-
stant-volume combustion increases with increase in CR.
The effect of CR on NOx emission
NOx emissions that form in a CI engine directly depend on
in-cylinder pressure, in-cylinder temperature and the
 BIOFUELS 5

Figure 2. Photographic view of experimental setup.

Table 4. The accuracy, range and uncertainty of the measurements.

S. No. Parameter Range Accuracy Uncertainty values (%)
1 NOx emission 0–10,000 ppm < 1000 ppm ± 5 ppm 2.3
> 1000 ppm ± 5% of value
2 HC emission 0–5000 ppm ± 10 ppm 2.7
3 CO emission 0–10% by volume ± 0.03% 3.9
4 Smoke emission 0–100% opacity ± 1% of value 1.5
HC: Hydrocarbon.

Table 5. Properties of diesel and biodiesel blends [23]. 28 Speed 3000 rpm
Property Diesel Biodiesel 27 Load : 100%
Calorific value (MJ/kg) 44.05 40.75 26
Viscosity (cSt) 2.64 5.8
Density (kg/m3) 821.5 893.6 25
BTE (%)

Pour point (
C) 3.1 6.7 24

Cloud point (
C) 6.5 13.6 Diesel
Flash point (
C) 76 147 23
B100
22

21

20
17 19 21
Compression ratio

Figure 5. Variation of brake thermal efficiency (BTE) with compression ratio

at 3000 rpm.

base diesel. The results show that NOx emissions of the

engine increase with an increase in CR.
The increase in CR enhances the engine in-cylinder pres-
sure and in-cylinder temperature. Hence, with increased CR,
Figure 3. Copper washer for base and increased compression ratio (CR)
the NOx emission also increases for both biodiesel and
of 21:1. base diesel at an engine speed of 2200 rpm. The NOx emis-
sion for diesel increased to 8.48 g/kWh from 8.04 g/kWh.
32 For B100, the NOx emission increased from 8.71 g/kWh to
Speed 2200 rpm
Load : 100%
9.25 g/kWh when the CR increased from the base CR value
30 of 19:1 to 21:1. The NOx emission increased by about
28 5.47% for base diesel and 6.19% for B100 when the CR was
increased to 21:1 from the base value of 19:1 at an engine
BTE (%)

26
Diesel speed of 2200 rpm. The other cause of the increase in NOx
24 emission is the content of oxygen in the biodiesel which
B100
increases the in-cylinder temperature, resulting in high NOx
22
emissions [25]. It may be noted that the adiabatic flame
20 temperature of biodiesel (B100) is higher (2432
C) than
17 19 21 that of base diesel (2196
C). Also, with the increase in CR,
Compression ratio
the number of intermediate products formed during the
Figure 4. Variation of brake thermal efficiency (BTE) with compression ratio. combustion process was reduced because of better com-
bustion, resulting in higher NOx emission formation.
Figure 7 shows the NOx emission variation with an
concentration of oxygen inside the cylinder. Figure 6 shows increase in CR at an engine speed of 3000 rpm. At this
the variation in NOx emissions with different CR at an speed, when the CR increased, the NOx emission increased
engine speed of 2200 rpm for both biodiesel (B100) and for both biodiesel and base diesel. The NOx emission for
6 R. BALASUBRAMANIAN AND K. A. SUBRAMANIAN

10 Speed 2200 rpm with increasing CR. Smoke emission is a function of equiva-
Load : 100%
9 lence ratio, oxygen content, temperature and mixing rate
8 of air and fuel. The major cause for smoke emission is
7
incomplete combustion of the fuel. For biodiesel, the
NOx (g/kW-h)

6
molecular content of oxygen led to an enhancement in the
5
4
Diesel fuel/oxygen ratio locally during combustion, reducing the
3 B100 smoke opacity. When there is a decrease in the rich-mix-
2 ture region locally the formation of smoke is limited by the
1 oxygen content. The increase in CR increases the peak tem-
0 perature, which results in superior burning of fuel, and this
17 19 21
Compression ratio reduces the smoke emission. Smoke emission for biodiesel
Figure 6. NOx emission variation with compression ratio at 2200 rpm. was lower when compared to diesel due to the presence
of oxygen which enhances the oxidation of fuel. Smoke
emission decreased by 10% for diesel and 27.5% for B100
10 Speed 3000 rpm
Load :100% when the CR was increased from 19:1 to 21:1 due to more
9
complete combustion as a result of high in-cylinder
8
7
temperature.
Figure 9 shows the smoke emission variation with CR
NOx (g/kW-h)

6
5
increase at a speed of 3000 rpm. At this speed, the smoke
Diesel emission decreases with the increase in CR. Smoke emis-
4
B100
3
sion decreased by 42.5% for diesel and 53.3% for B100
2 because of the increase in the CR from 19:1 to 21:1.
1 Compared to 2200 rpm, the smoke reduction at 3000 rpm
0 was higher because of higher in-cylinder temperature
17 19 21 which increases the fuel oxidation, leading to a major drop
Compression ratio
in smoke emission.
Figure 7. NOx emission variation with compression ratio at 3000 rpm.

65 Effect of CR on HC and CO emissions

Speed 2200 rpm
Load : 100% HC emissions consist of unburned or partially burned
55
hydrocarbons from the fuel. Figure 10 shows the variation
Smoke (% opacity)

45
35
25
15
5
17 19
Compression ratio
Figure 8. Smoke variation with compression ratio at 2200 rpm.
diesel increased to 8.73 g/kWh from 7.63 g/kWh and for
B100 and the increase was to 8.92 g/kWh from 7.73g/kWh
when the CR increased from base CR 19:1 to 21:1. The NOx
emission increased by about 14.41% for base diesel and
15.39% for B100. NOx emission is a function of residence
time, temperature and equivalence ratio. The percentage
increase in NOx emission was higher at an engine speed of
3000 rpm compared to 2000 rpm because of the higher in-
cylinder temperature. With the engine speed at 3000 rpm,
the cycle time decreases from 54.5 milliseconds to 40 milli-
seconds, resulting in a decrease in the residence time of
the products of combustion inside the cylinder. So, the
NOx emission decreases with an engine speed of 3000 rpm
compared to a speed of 2200 rpm.
Effect of CR on smoke emission
Figure 8 shows the variation of smoke emission with CR at
2200 rpm for biodiesel (B100) and base diesel. It can be
observed that the smoke emission of the engine decreases
in HC emissions with varying CR at a speed of 2200 rpm
for diesel as well as biodiesel (B100). It can be seen from
Diesel
the figure that the increase in CR leads to an increase in
B100 the HC emission for both diesel and B100. HC emissions
increased due to the increase in CR. The accumulation of
fuel in the cylinder causes the higher HC emission. A slight
21 increase in HC emission may be correlated with the reduc-
tion in CO with an increase in CR. However, the HC emis-
sion is lower for B100 at all CR values, compared to base
diesel. The HC emission at CR of 17:1, 19:1 and 21.1 was
0.0077, 0.0088 and 0.0095 g/kWh, respectively, for diesel.
The HC emission for B100 decreased to 0.0056, 0.0059 and
0.0087 g/kWh compared to base diesel.
Figure 11 shows the variation in HC emissions with CR
for both diesel and biodiesel at a speed of 3000 rpm. With
the CR increase the HC emission increased. The HC emis-
sions at CR 19:1 and 21:1 were 0.0076 and 0.0091 g/kWh,
respectively, for diesel. For B100, the HC emission values
were 0.0064 and 0.0072 g/kWh when CR was increased.
The percentage of CO emission decreases due to proper-
ties of the fuel, rising temperature in the combustion cham-
ber, lack of oxygen at high speed, air:fuel ratio and less time
available for complete combustion. CO emissions reflect the
amount of unburned fuel, mixture temperature, decompos-
ition rate of fuel and rate of oxidation. If sufficient oxygen is
available, the CO emissions can be converted to CO2. Figure
12 shows the variation of CO emission with CR at 2200 rpm
for diesel and biodiesel (B100). It can be seen from Figure 12
that CO emission decreased with higher CR. The cause for
this trend is that increasing the CR leads to an increase in the
temperature of the reactant, resulting in complete
 BIOFUELS 7

80 Speed 3000 rpm 10 Speed 3000 rpm

70 Load : 100% 9 Load : 100%
8
60
Smoke (% opacity)

7
50

CO (g/kW-h)
6
40 5
Diesel Diesel
30 4
B100 B100
20 3
2
10
1
0
0
17 19 21
17 19 21
Compression ratio
Compression ratio
Figure 9. Variation of smoke with compression ratio at 3000 rpm.
Figure 13. CO emission variation with compression ratio at 3000 rpm.

0.01 Speed 2200 rpm Figure 13 shows the variation of CO emission with CR at
Load : 100%
3000 rpm for biodiesel (B100) and base diesel. The CO emis-
0.008
sion at CR values of 19:1 and 21.1 was 6.99 and 3.55 g/kWh,
respectively, for diesel. The CO emission for B100 was 3.96
HC (g/kW-h)

0.006
and 2.84 g/kWh at CR values of 19:1 and 21.1, respectively.
Diesel
0.004
B100

0.002
Combustion analysis
The pressure–CA data is used to evaluate the combustion
0
17 19 21 process of the engine because the in-cylinder pressure
Compression ratio affects the performance parameters as well as the emis-
Figure 10. Hydrocarbon (HC) emission variation with compression ratio sions of the engine. Figure 14 shows the in-cylinder pres-
at 2200 rpm. sure with CR of 17:1, 19:1 and 21:1 for base diesel and
B100 at a speed of 2200 rpm. The peak pressure mainly
0.01 Speed 3000 rpm depends on combustion in the premixed combustion
Load : 100% stages. It also depends on the amount of fuel burned in
0.008 the premixed combustion stage. If CR is increased, there is
an increase in the in-cylinder pressure. This is because of
HC (g/kW-h)

0.006
the volume reduction in the cylinder with an increase in
0.004 Diesel CR. The peak pressure of B100 is higher than that of diesel
B100 at all CRs due to a lower ignition delay. The decrease in
0.002 ignition delay makes the combustion early, leading to ele-
vated peak pressure. Because of the lower calorific value of
0
17 19 21
biodiesel during the premixed combustion, a large amount
Compression ratio of fuel needs to be burned. This also leads to higher peak
Figure 11. Hydrocarbon (HC) emission variation with compression ratio pressure. The peak pressure observed for diesel was 57.49,
at 3000 rpm. 69.29 and 71.97 bar at CR values of 17:1, 19:1 and 21:1,
respectively, and for biodiesel the peak pressure was 64.56,
25 Speed 2200 rpm 69.74 and 72.65 bar, respectively. The pressure is higher
Load : 100% because of the fast and complete combustion of biodiesel.
20
CO (g/kW-h)

15 Ignition delay
Ignition delay is measured in
CA from the start of injection
10 Diesel
to the start of combustion. It is a function of parameters
B100 such as the duration of injection, fuel quality, in-cylinder
5
pressure, IP, speed of the engine and CR. The ignition delay
with activation energy of the fuel ignition process is shown
0
17 19 21 in Equation (2):
Compression ratio  
n EA
Figure 12. Variation of CO emission with compression ratio at 2200 rpm. sid ¼ A p exp (2)
RT
where sid is the ignition delay, EA is the apparent activation
combustion of fuel and leading to a decrease in the CO emis- energy, R is the universal gas constant, and A and n are
sion [24]. The CO emission at CR of 19:1 and 21.1 was 4.14 constants dependent on the fuel. With high-CN fuel, the
and 2.04 g/kWh, respectively, for diesel. The CO emission for ratio of EA/R e is lower.
B100 was 1.57 g/kWh and 1.02 at the respective CR values. Figure 15 shows the variation of ignition delay with CR
The CO emission is lower for B100 at all CR values compared at a speed of 2200 rpm. It was found that when the CR
to diesel. increases, the delay period decreases for both base diesel
8 R. BALASUBRAMANIAN AND K. A. SUBRAMANIAN

80 higher than that of base diesel. Another reason is the oxy-

Speed 2200 rpm
70
Load : 100% gen present in the biodiesel and the cracking of higher
level biodiesel molecules such as high fatty acid esters into
60
lower level molecules during injection advance the start of
50 CR 17 D
Pressure (bar)

combustion, causing earlier ignition. The ignition delay

CR 17 B100
40
CR 19 D
recorded at a CR of 21:1 for biodiesel was 8.5
CA, com-
30 CR 19 B100 pared to 8.9
CA at the base CR of 19:1.
CR 21 D Figure 16 shows the variation of ignition delay with CR
20
CR 21 B100 at a speed of 3000 rpm. The figure indicates that when the
10 CR increases, the delay period decreases for base diesel
0 and B100 at a speed of 3000 rpm. The ignition delay
-10 0 10
Crank angle (degrees)
20 30
recorded at a CR of 21:1 for biodiesel was 8
CA, compared
to 8.5
CA at a CR of 19:1, at 3000 rpm.
Figure 14. In-cylinder pressure variations with respect to crank angle (CA)
for different compression ratios (CR).

Combustion duration
12
Speed 2200 rpm Combustion duration is defined as the time between the
Load : 100% beginning of the heat release and the end of the heat
10
Ignition delay (Deg CA)

release where the combustion process reaches 90% of its

8
mass fraction burned. Figure 17 shows the variation of
6 combustion duration with CR at a speed of 2200 rpm. It
Diesel can be observed from the figure that the combustion dur-
4
B100 ation decreases with CR for biodiesel and base diesel
2 engine at a speed of 2200 rpm. The injection duration
increased with B100 as compared to the base diesel
0
17 19 21
because an additional quantity of fuel was injected into
Compression ratio the cylinder to maintain the engine speed and load condi-
Figure 15. Variation of ignition delay with compression ratio at 2200 rpm. tion. However, combustion duration was higher for B100
compared to the base diesel at any given CR. The
12
increased combustion duration causes an increase in pres-
Speed 3000 rpm
Load :100 %
sure and temperature. At lower CR values, combustion dur-
10 ation is longer for B100, and at high CR values it is shorter.
Ignition delay (Deg CA)

8
The combustion duration was 57, 56 and 54
CA for base
diesel and 60, 58 and 55
CA for B100 at CR values of 17:1,
6 19:1 and 21:1, respectively, at an engine speed of
Diesel
4 2000 rpm.
B100
Figure 18 shows the variation of combustion duration
2 with CR at a speed of 3000 rpm. It can be noted from the
0 figure that the duration of combustion decreases with
17 19 21 enhanced CR for both base diesel and B100 at 3000 rpm.
Compression ratio
The reasons for this were already explained above.
Figure 16. Variation of ignition delay with compression ratio at 3000 rpm. However, with the increase in speed, the combustion dur-
ation increased compared to the results with an engine
61 speed of 2200 rpm. The combustion duration was found to
Speed 2200 rpm
60 be 60, 59 and 55
CA for base diesel and 63, 60 and 57
CA
Combustion duration (Deg CA)

Load : 100%
59
for B100 at CR of 17:1, 19:1 and 21:1, respectively, at an
58
engine speed of 3000 rpm.
57
56
Diesel
55
Peak heat release rate
54 B100
53
The variation of peak heat release rate with the increase in
52 CR is given in Figure 19. The peak value of heat release
51 rate is the maximum for base diesel compared to biodiesel.
17 19 21 This is because of the higher calorific value of base diesel.
Compression ratio
Because the ignition delay of base diesel is more than that
Figure 17. Combustion duration variation with compression ratio
of biodiesel, a greater amount of fuel is accumulated. The
at 2200 rpm.
amount of fuel burned in the premixed phase increases,
causing a high rate of heat release. The combustion start is
and B100. The reason for this is that the increase in CR advanced because of higher bulk modulus of B100 result-
increases the air temperature in the cylinder which advan- ing in a change in the combustion pattern of biodiesel,
ces the start of combustion, resulting in reduced ignition leading to a decrease in the peak heat release rate. The
delay. The high CN of biodiesel is one reason for the peak heat release rate increases with lower CR, whereas it
reduced ignition delay. The CN of biodiesel (CN: 58) is decreases with higher CR. The peak heat release rate of
 BIOFUELS 9

Combustion duration (Deg CA) 64 Speed 3000 rpm

62 Load :100 %
60

58

56 Diesel
54 B100
52

50
17 19 21
Compression ratio
Figure 18. Combustion duration variation of with compression ratio
Figure 22. Maximum rate of pressure rise variations with compression ratio
at 3000 rpm.
at 3000 rpm.

140 Speed 2200 rpm release rate was high at lower CR values and low at higher
Peak heat release rate (J/ deg

120 Load : 100% CR values. The maximum heat release rate at 21:1 CR for
100 B100 was 74.85 J/
CA compared to 66.45 J/
CA at the base
80 CR of 19:1 at an engine speed of 3000 rpm.
CA)

The maximum rate of pressure rise variation with

60 Diesel
change in CR value is shown in Figure 21. The rate of pres-
40 B100 sure rise is higher for diesel compared to biodiesel due to
20 the longer ignition delay with shorter combustion duration
0 for diesel. The maximum pressure rise rate increases with
17 19 21
Compression ratio
the increase in CR at 2200 rpm. The maximum pressure
rise rate at full load for diesel was 7.9 bar/
CA, and for
Figure 19. Variation of peak heat release rate with compression ratio
at 2200 rpm. B100 it was 6.1 bar/
CA, at a CR of 21:1. The increase in
the maximum pressure rise rate at higher CR occurred
140 because of complete combustion due to the high tempera-
Speed 3000 rpm
Peak heat release rate (J/ deg CA)

Load :100 % ture. The values for maximum pressure rise rate at CR val-
120
ues of 17:1, 19:1 and 21:1 are 6.2, 6.5 and 7.9 bar/
CA for
100
diesel and 5.5, 5.6 and 6.1 bar/
CA for B100, respectively, at
80 an engine speed of 2200 rpm. The maximum pressure rise
60 Diesel rate in the engine cylinder has the greatest effect on the
B100 maximum in-cylinder pressure and smooth operation of
40
the engine.
20

0
17 19 21 Maximum pressure rise rate
Compression ratio
The maximum rate of pressure rise variation with different
Figure 20. Variation of peak heat release rate with compression ratio CR values is shown in Figure 22. The maximum pressure
at 3000 rpm.
rise rate at CR values of 17:1, 19:1 and 21:1 was 5.2, 6.2
and 6.8 bar/
CA for diesel and 4.8, 4.4 and 3.98 bar/
CA for
9 Speed 2200 rpm
B100 at 3000 rpm.
Maximum rate of pressure rise

8 Load : 100%
7
(bar/ deg CA)

6 Effect of IT on NOx emission

5
4 Diesel
3 speed of 2200 rpm for biodiesel (B100) and base diesel.
2 B100
1
0
17 19 21
Compression ratio
Figure 21. Variation of maximum rate of pressure rise with compression ratio
at 2200 rpm.
B100 was lower compared to that of base diesel at all CR
values [26]. The peak heat release rate for B100 at a CR of
21:1 was 72.07 J/
CA compared to 78.69 J/
CA at the base
CR of 19:1 at an engine speed of 2200 rpm.
The variation of peak heat release rate with different
CRs at 3000 rpm is shown in Figure 20. The peak heat
Figure 23 shows the variation in NOx emission with IT at a
When IT was advanced, the NOx emissions for base diesel
and biodiesel increased notably, because of the high in-
cylinder temperature caused by more mixture being
burned in the premixed combustion phase due to
increased ignition delay. The retardation of IT reduces the
NOx emissions from both base diesel and biodiesel. The
reason for the decrease in NOx emissions was the
decreased peak pressure because of the retardation, result-
ing in lower in-cylinder temperature. The residence time
also decreased with IT retardation. In general, NOx emission
from biodiesel is always greater than from base diesel for
all conditions. The NOx emission decreased from 8.48 to
7.15 g/kWh for base diesel and from 9.25 to 7.34 g/kW for
10 R. BALASUBRAMANIAN AND K. A. SUBRAMANIAN

Table 9. Comparison of results with different injection timings (IT) at

3000 rpm.
Compression ratio 21:1
IT/3000 Diesel B100
ADV STD RETD ADV STD RETD
BTE 27.11 26.18 24.27 26.93 25.95 23.93
NOx 9.79 8.73 7.01 10.07 8.92 7.41
Smoke 20 25 28 17 19 24
HC 0.008 0.009 0.01 0.006 0.007 0.008
CO 2.19 3.55 4.2 1.56 2.84 3.54
Color code: Advantage Disadvantage
BTE: Brake Thermal Efficiency; NOx: Oxides of Nitrogen; HC: Hydrocarbons;
CO: Carbon monoxide
Figure 23. NOx emission variations with injection timing at 2200 rpm.
biodiesel at an engine speed of 2200 rpm with IT
retardation.
The effect of IT on NOx emission at CR 21:1 for base die-
sel and biodiesel at speed of 3000 rpm is shown in Figure
24. It can be observed from the figure that the NOx emis-
sion decreased with IT retardation for both base diesel and
biodiesel. At 3000 rpm, with retardation the NOx emission
was reduced from 8.73 to 7.01 g/kWh with standard IT for
base diesel, and for biodiesel the values were 8.92 and 7.41
g/kWh at the same speed.
Table 6 shows the comparative performance and emis-
sions results with different CRs at an engine speed of
2200 rpm.
Table 6 gives the details of the performance and emis-
Figure 24. Variation of NOx emission with injection timing at 3000 rpm.
sions at CR 17:1, 19:1 and 21:1 for diesel and B100 at 2200
rpm. It can be observed from the table that the BTE is
Table 6. Comparison of results with different compression ratios
at 2200 rpm. highest (27.84%) for B100 at CR 21:1. CO and smoke emis-
Speed 2200 CR17 CR17 CR19 CR19 CR21 CR21
sions are the lowest for B100 at CR 21:1. The NOx emissions
Diesel B100 Diesel B100 Diesel B100 are the highest at this CR, which is the only drawback
BTE 24.5 23.94 27.2 25.43 29.92 27.84 observed from the table.
NOx 6.66 7.78 8.04 8.71 8.48 9.25 Table 7 shows the comparative performance and emissions
Smoke 55 35 30.1 20 27 14.5
HC 0.007 0.005 0.008 0.006 0.009 0.008 results with different CRs at an engine speed of 3000 rpm.
CO 20.4 14.2 4.14 1.5 2.04 1.02 Table 7 gives comprehensive details of the performance
BTE: Brake thermal efficiency; HC: Hydrocarbon. and emissions characteristics of the biodiesel-fueled diesel
Color code: Advantage Disadvantage engine with different CR at 3000 rpm. It can be observed
from the table that the BTE is highest (25.95%) for B100 at
Table 7. Comparison of results with different compression ratios CR 21:1. The NOx emission is the highest at this CR, which
at 3000 rpm. is the only disadvantage at 3000 rpm.
Speed 3000 CR17 CR17 CR19 CR19 CR21 CR21 Table 8 shows the comparative performance and emis-
Diesel B100 Diesel B100 Diesel B100 sions results at CR 21:1 with different IT values at an
BTE 23.48 22.39 25.3 24.5 26.49 25.95
NOx 6.01 6.33 7.63 7.73 8.73 8.92 engine speed of 2200 rpm.
Smoke 70 58.5 43.5 30 25 14 It is clear from Table 8 that the IT retardation gives the
HC 0.006 0.006 0.007 0.006 0.009 0.007 lowest NOx emissions; however, the advancement of IT
CO 8.96 7.65 6.99 3.96 3.55 2.84
increases the NOx emission for B100. It can also be
BTE: Brake thermal efficiency; HC: Hydrocarbon.
Color code: Advantage Disadvantage observed that the emissions of HC, CO and smoke
increased with IT retardation, and the BTE of the engine
decreases with the retarded IT.
Table 9 shows the comparative performance and emis-
sions results for CR with different IT at an engine speed of
Table 8. Comparison of results with different injection timings (IT) at 3000 rpm. Table 9 gives the comprehensive details of IT
2200 rpm.
advancement and retardation at 3000 rpm for B100. At the
Compression ratio 21:1 retarded IT, the NOx emission was the lowest. However,
IT/2200 Diesel B100 other emissions such as HC, CO and smoke were increased
ADV STD RETD ADV STD RETD with the retarded IT. The BTE also decreased with retarded
BTE 31.50 29.92 28.96 27.84 26.84 25.61
NOx 10.27 8.48 7.15 11.06 9.25 7.34
IT as compared to the standard IT.
Smoke 25.1 27 32 18 20 25
HC 0.0075 0.0095 0.011 0.0061 0.00879 0.0104
CO 1.62 2.04 2.52 0.9 1.12 1.60 Conclusions
Color code: Advantage Disadvantage
BTE: Brake Thermal Efficiency; NOx: Oxides of Nitrogen; HC: Hydrocarbons; In this experimental study the effects of compression ratio
CO: carbon monoxide on engine performance, emissions and combustion

characteristics of a single-cylinder automotive diesel engine
fueled with biodiesel were investigated by increasing CR
from 17:1 to 21:1. Based on the experimental results, con-
clusions are drawn as follows:
 The increase in CR of the engine enhances the in-
cylinder temperature, resulting in higher Carnot effi-
ciency and BTE. The BTE of the engine at all loads
increases with increasing CR. BTE increased from
25.43% and 24.5% at the base CR (19:1) to 27.84%
and 25.95% at a CR of 21:1 for B100 at 2200 and
3000 rpm engine speed, respectively.
 The NOx emission increases with an increase in CR
because of higher in-cylinder temperature. The NOx
emission increased from 8.71 to 9.25 g/kWh and from
7.73 to 8.92 g/kWh at a CR of 21:1 compared to 19:1 for
B100 at 2200 and 3000 rpm engine speed, respectively.
 Smoke emission decreases with an increase in CR
because of the increase in peak temperature. The
smoke emission decreased from 20% opacity to
14.5% opacity and from 30% opacity to 14% opacity
at a CR of 21:1 compared to 19:1 for B100 at 2200
and 3000 rpm engine speed, respectively.
 HC emissions increased marginally with an increase
in CR due mainly to an increase in the surface area-
to-volume ratio in the combustion chamber. The HC
emission increased from 0.0059 to 0.0087 g/kWh and
0.0064 to 0.0072 g/kWh for biodiesel at speeds of
2200 and 3000 rpm, respectively, when CR was
increased from 19:1 to 21:1.
 CO emission decreases with increased CR because of
high in-cylinder temperature. With the enhancement
in CR (19:1 to 21:1) the CO emission was reduced
from 1.57 to 1.02 g/kWh and from 3.96 to 2.84 g/
kWh at speeds of 2200 and 3000 rpm, respectively.
 A higher peak in-cylinder pressure was observed with
increased CR for biodiesel compared to base diesel. The
peak pressure was 72.65 bar at 21:1 CR compared to
69.74 bar at the base CR of 19:1 at 2200 rpm.
 The ignition delay decreased from 8.9 to 8.5
CA and
combustion duration decreased from 58 to 55
CA at
CR 21:1 compared to the base CR of 19:1 at an
engine speed of 2200 rpm.
 The peak heat release rate for biodiesel decreased
from 78.69 to 72.07 J/
CA when the CR was
increased to 21:1 compared to the base CR of 19:1 at
an engine speed of 2200 rpm.
 The maximum pressure rise rate was lower for bio-
diesel at all CR values, which means smooth oper-
ation under full load conditions.
 The peak in-cylinder pressure decreases with retarded
IT, which results in lower in-cylinder temperature and
hence lower NOx emission. Retarding the IT decreased
the NOx emission from 9.25 to 7.34 g/kWh at 2200
rpm and from 8.92 to 7.41 g/kWh at 3000 rpm for
B100 compared to the standard IT. However, there is a
decline in BTE from 27.84% to 25.61% at 2200 rpm
and from 25.95% to 23.93% at 3000 rpm.
In order to utilize the biodiesel in an automotive diesel
engine, a higher CR with retarded IT is suggested for
improved performance with reduced NOx emission.
BIOFUELS 11
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
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4
biodiesel–diesel blends on injection, spray, combustion, per- (11)
formance, and emission characteristics of a diesel engine. Fuel. p
2015; 39:537–545. Volume of copper washer 1 ¼ B2 ðCopper gasket1 thicknessÞ
4
[24] Dinesh K, Tamilvanan A, Vaishnavi S, et al. Biodiesel production (12)
using Calophylluminophyllum (Tamanu) seed oil and its com- p
patibility test in a CI engine. Biofules. 2016; 7:1–7. http://dx. Volume of copper washer 2 ¼ B2 ðCopper gasket2 thicknessÞ (13)
4
doi.org/10.1080/17597269.2016.1187543. p
[25] Patel RL, Sankhavara CD. Investigation of performance and Volume of copper washer 3 ¼ B2 ðCopper gasket3 thicknessÞ (14)
4
emissions of diesel engine run on biodiesel produced from kar-
The following engine details were taken from the Original Equipment
anja oil in a single-step transesterification process using hetero-
Manufacturer (OEM) data to calculate the engine CR.
geneous catalyst (lithium-impregnated calcium oxide). Biofules.
2016; 8:1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17597269.2017. Cylinder bore ¼ 8:6cm
1370883.
Stroke length ¼ 7:5cm
[26] Kumar A, Subramanian KA. Experimental investigation on
effects of karanja biodiesel (B100) on performance, combustion, Clearance gap height ¼ 0:05cm
and regulated and GHG emissions characteristics of an automo- Volume of the bowl ¼ 18cm3
tive diesel engine. Biofuels. 2017; 8:1–12. http://dx.doi.org/10. Displacement volume ¼ 435:58cm3
1080/17597269.2017.1358948.
Clearance ðgapÞ volume ¼ 2:90 cm3
Volume of copper washer 1 ¼ 3:194cm3
Volume of copper washer 2 ¼ 5:8cm3
Appendix A
Volume of copper washer 3 ¼ 2:902  2:327 ¼ 0:575cm3
A.1. Calculation for compression ratio (CR) variation Clearance volume 1 Vclearance;1 ¼ 24:09cm3
The CR variation by addition of a copper gasket could be calcu-
Clearance volume 2 Vclearance;2 ¼ 26:7cm3
lated using Equations (1–14):
Clearance volume 3 Vclearance;3 ¼ 21:47cm3
Compression ratio ¼ Total volume=Clearance volume (1)
Compression ratio 1ðCR1 Þ ¼ 1 þ ð435:58=24:09Þ ¼ 19
Compression ratio  ðCRÞ ¼ ðVswept þ Vclearance Þ=Vclearance (2)
Compression ratio 2ðCR2 Þ ¼ 1 þ ð435:58=26:7Þ ¼ 17:3
Compression ratio – ½CR ¼ 1 þ ðVswept þ Vclearance Þ (3)
Compression ratio 3ðCR3 Þ ¼ 1 þ ð435:58=21:47Þ ¼ 21:2