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Energy Reports 7 (2021) 798–803

www.elsevier.com/locate/egyr

Tmrees, EURACA, 28 to 30 May 2021, Athens, Greece

Direct water injection and combustion time in SI engines

Michael Fratitaa ,∗, Florin Popescua , Jorge Martinsb ,∗, F.P. Britob , Tiago Costab
a University “Dunarea de Jos”, Galaţi, Romania
b University of Minho, Mechanical Engineering and Resource Sustainability Centre (MEtRICs), Guimarães, Portugal
Received 16 July 2021; accepted 21 July 2021

Abstract
Over time, internal combustion engines were profoundly developed becoming more reliable, more economical and less
polluting. Even if the current trend is headed towards hybrid and electric vehicles, the development of these engines continues
by optimizing its operation with alternative fuels and innovative technologies. Water injection in internal combustion engines
is one important way towards engine optimization. This study aims to experimentally determine the effects of direct water
injection on the combustion duration of spark-ignition engines. As the thermal processes in internal combustion engines are
very complex, the shape of the combustion chamber and other factors, such as the direct water injection timing has a direct
influence on the results. This paper explores the potential for such a system in terms of combustion duration showing that the
water injection can be beneficial. The concept was applied to a side-valve engine, as this design has a broader potential for
injector location and aim.
⃝c 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Tmrees, EURACA, 2021.

Keywords: Spark ignition engine; Direct water injection; Side valve engine; Combustion time; Experimental data

1. Introduction

The combustion process is one of the most complex phenomena in Internal Combustion Engines (ICE). Water
injection in ICE has been used throughout the years [1,2] and has a direct impact on the combustion and heat transfer
processes [3,4]. Depending on the location of the water injector, two different injection strategies and/or systems
can be used. The simplest is when the water is injected into the intake manifold [5]. This injection system works
at low pressures between 3 to 6 bar, using components similar to those of conventional multi point fuel injection
systems [6]. Reliability, low component costs and simple operation are the main advantages of this system. On the
other hand, this water injection system can only spray water during the inlet process, allowing water to enter the
cylinder within the air–fuel mixture. The second water injection strategy consists on water being injected inside the
combustion chamber during the compression, combustion, gas expansion and/or exhaust processes, and a direct

∗ Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: michael.fratita@ugal.ro (M. Fratita), jmartins@dem.uminho.pt (J. Martins).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2021.07.061
2352-4847/⃝ c 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Tmrees, EURACA, 2021.
M. Fratita, F. Popescu, J. Martins et al. Energy Reports 7 (2021) 798–803

water injection (DWI) system must be used [7,8]. This system is more complex and works at pressures from 90 to
150 bar.
Costa et al. [9] assessed the potential for wall heat removal with water injections that may be applied to the
study of DWI in ICEs. Water injections of 3 ms were made at 130 bar and impacted on a pressurized (from 1 to 30
bar) heated wall that was initially at typical engine wall temperatures (140 o C to 280 o C). Upon injection, cooling
fluxes arose above 400 W/cm2 over a time span of 8 ms, peaking around 1200 W/cm2 . At the moment, there is
still a lack of experimental data in literature assessing this kind of systems applied to running ICE. Therefore, the
present study assesses experimentally the impact of DWI on the ignition delay and combustion duration of a small
side-valve Spark Ignition (SI) engine. A gasoline injector from a direct fuel injection stock engine has been used
to perform the DWI. Due to the high mass flowrate of liquid sprayed by this injector, it was decided to plug (weld)
5 spray holes out of a total of 6. A high-pressure water circuit was adapted to the experimental stand. Since the
direct injector needs to be electronically controlled, a bespoke electronic control was developed and connected to
the injector unit.
The main advantages of this system (side-valve engine and direct injection system) are the potential for water
injection at any moment of the engine cycle (inlet–compression–combustion–expansion–exhaust) and the potential
for placing the injector in different locations in the combustion chamber, aiming at the piston crown, exhaust valve
or elsewhere.

2. Data and methodology

2.1. The experimental layout

As referred, a small side-valve internal combustion engine was used in this study. Due to the cylinder head
design, the compression ratio can be easily altered and the aiming and location of the direct water injector can also
be straightforwardly changed. For these tests the injector was positioned so that the jet would spray onto the piston
head [10], but different locations inside the combustion chamber could be selected. Fig. 1 shows the diagram of
the water injection system of the engine. Also, an indirect water injection was positioned in front of the inlet valve,
but its results are not reported here.
The experimental setup for this set of experiments consisted on a direct water injection (DWI) system spraying
the water directly onto the piston head. The system could be pressurized up to 150 bar. Tests were performed
with and without the high-pressure DWI system. The engine speed was controlled by an electric brake and was set
always at 3000 rpm. The engine torque/power was controlled by the throttle plate and the fuelling was set always
at stoichiometric. Ignition and port fuel injection were controlled by a commercial control unit (EcuMaster EMU)
and the overall system (fuel and water injections) were managed by an open-source electronic computer software.
All parameters could be tracked and changed in real time [11].
High speed data acquisition cards were used [12] for the monitoring of the pressure in the combustion chamber,
the position of the crankshaft, the TDC position and the pressure in the intake manifold [13,14]. An optical pressure
sensor from Optrand [15] was used for continuously measure the pressure in the combustion chamber.
All these data were used to calculate the indicated work by computing the pressure–volume values along the
engine cycle. Therefore, the pressure signal synchronization with the position of the crankshaft can provide direct
information about combustion, heat transfer and the amount of heat released [16], depending on the position of the
crankshaft.

2.2. Working methods

The data were processed and calibrated according to the literature [3,4]. For the determination of the burning time,
graphical and analytical methods may be used. Among the simplest methods is the Marvin’s graphical method [3,14],
which is illustrated in Fig. 2.
This method involves plotting the volume–pressure diagram on a logarithmic scale. This enables the calculation
of the value for the polytropic coefficient during compression and expansion which leads to the information about
the beginning and end of combustion, as explained in continuation. Using this method, the percentage of burned
mass, the start and the end of the combustion process can be graphically estimated. The processes of compression
of the fresh mixture and the expansion of the burned gas are considered to have a constant polytropic evolution,
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Fig. 1. Schematic of water injection system.

Fig. 2. (a) PV diagram [3]; (b) Marvin’s graphical method [14].

pV n . Fig. 2 shows the deviation of the pressure line (red line) from the straight line (theoretical compression or
expansion processes — black lines) point to the start of combustion (SOC — point s, on the right-hand side of
Fig. 2). Similarly, the end of combustion (EOC — point e, on the right-hand side of Fig. 2) point can also be
identified.
The inflection points on the chart can also be determined analytically by using equation no. 1.
d 2 (log P)
=0 (1)
d(log V )2
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M. Fratita, F. Popescu, J. Martins et al. Energy Reports 7 (2021) 798–803

3. Results and discussions

The direct water injection (DWI), and consequently the originated water vapour, may create changes on the time
required to start the ignition (ignition delay) and may also alter the burning time of the air–fuel mixture. These
effects were measured in the referred side valve engine, set with a compression ratio of ε = 7.5. The aforementioned
method was used for the calculation of the burning time.
The first test was carried out without water injection, thus being a reference for the other tests. A constant speed
of 3000 rpm was used for all the tests, as well as similar fuel injection (6.5 ms) and ignition advance (9 Crank
Angle Degrees Before Top Dead Centre — CAD BTDC). The events are shown in Fig. 3. It can be observed that
the time required to ignite the air–fuel mixture (ignition delay) is approximately 0.5 crank angle degrees (CAD)
and the combustion takes place for 69.5 CAD.

Fig. 3. (a) Timing map — No water injection (b) p–V diagram.

The next test used water injected onto the piston crown with a water/fuel ratio of 1.3:1 and timed at the start
of the compression stroke (at 80 CAD BTDC). Fig. 4 shows that, when the DWI into the cylinder is carried out
at the start of the compression process, the delay for the ignition of the mixture increases from the previous 0.5 to
2.3 CAD and the combustion duration is shortened from 69.5 to 62 CAD.

Fig. 4. (a) Timing map — DWI at 80 CAD BTDC (b) p–V diagram.

On the other hand, when the direct water injection (DWI) is carried out later on the compression process (at 30
CAD BTDC), with a small advance compared to the spark discharge (at 9 CAD BTDC), the combustion start delay
is shortened slightly to 2 CAD but the total burning time was extended to 75 CAD, as illustrated in Fig. 5.
If the water injection is started when the piston is at TDC, during the combustion period, it can be observed
that the total combustion time is shortened to 58 CAD, being the shortest combustion duration so far. As shown in
Fig. 6(a), the water was sprayed after the initial flame development, so the combustion delay is unchanged.
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Fig. 5. Timing map — DWI at 30 CAD BTDC.

Fig. 6. Timing map (a) DWI at TDC (b) DWI 30 ATDC.

When the water injection is carried out 30 degrees After Top Dead Centre (ATDC), the combustion ends shortly
after the water injection has been carried out. In this case the combustion time is very short, lasting only 46.5 CAD,
as it can be observed in Fig. 6(b).
Although the short length of this paper does not allow for a proper explanation, it is clear that the DWI so late
in the combustion period may “freeze” the combustion slightly after it occurs. Probably a similar effect was already
happening when the injection took place at TDC. In both cases a slight reduction of torque was identified, being
more important for the late injection.

4. Conclusions

According to the experimental results, it was noticed that the water injection directly influences the burning
time of the mixture in the cylinder. Injecting the water before the start of the combustion delays the start of the
combustion by up to 2.3 crank angle degrees and alters the combustion time. When the water was injected well
before ignition, the combustion is slightly shortened, but when the injection took place right before ignition, the
combustion was significantly extended.
On the other hand, if the water injection is carried out during combustion, the combustion duration is shortened.
In these cases, obviously, the combustion delay is similar to the case without DWI. When the DWI occurs later
during the combustion, the combustion will end shortly after the end of the water injection.
Therefore, the water injection has a direct influence on combustion duration, flame quenching, heat release and
wall temperature, so further detailed research related to these outcomes should be carried out.
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Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could
have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the LaMoTA team from Portugal for their support and collaboration. This study
was partially supported by MEtRICs — Mech. Eng. and Resource Sustainability Centre through FCT, Portugal
(UIDB/04077/2020).

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