Int. J.

Hydrov, en Ener9) V~q 4, P r 315-325 0360-3199¢~o 0801-0 q 5 SI 2 (~ (,

Pergamon Press Ltd 1979 Printed in Greal Britain
Internattonal Association for Hydrogen Energ3

H Y D R O G E N - F U E L E D DIESEL E N G I N E WITHOUT TIMED

IGNITION

H. S. HOMAN*
Cornell University. Ithaca. NY 14853. U.S.A.

R. K. REYNOLDS
Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Pasadena. CA 91109. U.SA.
and
P. C. T. DE BOER and W. J. MCLEAN
Cornell University. Ithaca, NY 14853. U.S.A

(Receivedfor publication 15 February 1979)

Abstraet--Experimems were carried out to investigate the feasibility of converting a diesel engine to hydrogen-
fueled operation without providing a timed ignition system. Use was made of a glow plug and a multiple-strike
spark plug. The work was done with an ASTM-CFR engine, the diesel head of which was modified l,~ resemble
the geometry of a D399 series Caterpillar diesel engine. Engine speed was 1240 rev/min The glo~ plug was found
to provide reliable ignition and smooth engine operation. It caused the hydrogen to ignite almost immediately
upon the start of injection. Indicated mean effective pressures were on the order of 1.3 4' MPa for equivalence
ratios ¢ between 0.1 and 0A at a compression ratio of 18. This is significantly higher than the corresponding
result obtained with diesel oil (about 0.6 (h MPa for 0.3 < (0 < 0"9t. Indicated thermal efficiencies were on the
order of 0.4 for hydrogen and 0.20-0.25 for diesel oil. Operation with the multiple-strike spark system yielded
similar values for IMEP and efficienc3, but gave rise to large cycle-to-cycle variations in the delay between begin-
ning of injection and ignition. Large ignition delays were associated with large amplitude pressure waves in the
combustion chamber. The measured NO concentrations in the exhaust gas were of the order of 50-I00 ppm
This is significantly higher than the corresl~ondin~ results obtained with premixed hydrogen and air at low equiva-
lence ratios. Compression ignition could not be achieved even at a compression ratio of 29.

INTRODUCTION
AN INTmGVING possibility regarding hydrogen as a fuel is its use in c o n v e n e d diesel engines. The high
compression ratio of such engines is beneficial for achieving high thermal efficiency and m a x i m u m
power output. Thermal efficiency can be made especially high at light loads by leaving the air flow
unthrottled while regulating the power output by controlling the fuel flow rate ("mixture quality
regulatlon"i. This avoids the engine pumping losses associated with the alternative method of"mixture
quantity regulation". At light loads, the latter losses can absorb about half of the power output of the
engine (see, for example, [1, ch. 6]).
There are three principal problems that arise from the use of hydrogen in high compression r a u o
engines. These are pre-ignition, knock, and flashback to the carburetor. All three of these can be solved,
at least in principle, by injecting the hydrogen directly into the combustion chamber. By delaying the
start of injection until after the intake valve has closed, the problem of fashback is eliminated. Solution
of the other two problems depends on the feasibility of igniting and burning the hydrogen soon
after it enters the cylinder. This feasibility has never been convincingly demonstrated, even though
direct cyclinder injection of hydrogen has been used by a number of investigators [2-6]. If achieved.
rapid ignition and burning would allow control of the pressure rise rate due to combustion by regulat-
ing the rate of injection. Such control is essential for o p t i m u m engine operation. Too high a rate of
pressure rise causes rough running of the engine, while too low a rate decreases thermal efficiency.
Acceptable rates of pressure rise rate are of the order of 0.2 M P a per crankshaft degree ([1] Sec.
14-22K F o r a more detailed review of previous work on hydrogen engines, both with and without
direct cylinder injection, we refer to [7, 8].
* Present address Princeton University. Princeton. NJ 08540, U.S.A.

315
316 H. S. HOMAN, R. K. REYNOLDS, P. C. T. DE BOER AND W. J. McLEAN

The main objective of the present work was to investigate the feasibility of converting a diesel engine
to hydrogen-fueled operation without providing a timed ignition system. Attention was given to
compression ignition, as well as to ignition by glow plug and by multiple-strike spark plug. Compres-
sion ignition is the simplest of these three methods, and would be very attractive for practical applica-
tions. However, work by previous researchers [2, 9-11] indicates that true compression ignition of
hydrogen-air mixtures is hard to achieve. The basic reason is that the ignition delay of such mixtures
is too long. Because the ignition delay can be reduced by increasing the compression ratio, the present
attempts to achieve compression ignition were carried out at a compression ratio of 29. This is con-
siderably higher than the compression ratios used by previous workers. For example, the highest
value used in [2] was 15.6. When compression ignition also failed to occur under the present condi-
tions, attention was shifted to ignition by glow plug. Such a plug is a simple device, quite suitable
for practical applications. In fact, it is commonly used in diesel engines during cold start and warm
up. Experiments with the multiple-strike spark plug were included because such a plug was ex-
pected to provide another way of operating the engine without timed ignition. The multiple sparks
should lead to very reliable ignition. The low spark ignition energy of hydrogen-air mixtures would
make it possible to keep the power used by the ignition system within reasonable limits. However,
the ancillary equipment needed is more complicated than the simple battery required for a glow
plug. As a consequence, the multiple-strike spark system is less attractive than the glow plug for practi-
cal applications.
It should be noted that achievement of compression ignition in a hydrogen-fueled engine has been
reported by Ilegami et al. [12]. They used a diesel engine and fuel injector similar to those used in the
present work, and a compression ratio of 18.6. In view of the present results, as well as those of [2, 9-11 ],
we believe that in actuality the ignition achieved in the work of ['12] was due to either the presence of
minute quantities ofoil or of a hot spot in the combustion chamber.

Schematic of the Diesel Head

CFR Engine
Variable
length
2.5- 6¢m 7 ,--PrechamOer
R adu is
2.06 cm
'I /

Injector - Ugvo?iOn
Orifice
Cap

~Oecrhificoember
lcm xl cm r~ ~ Mainchambw
~ Piston

FIG. 1. Schematic diagram of diesel head of ASTM-CFR engine showing direction of air flow
into the prechamber and direction of hydrogen injection.
 HYDROGEN-FUELED DIESEL ENGINE WITHOUT TIMED IGNITION 317
Glow Plug-~. I
~'~'~'~ .....-Cylinder pressure

Plug for .~curi m I l

precnomoer mserl' ~ , i i Combustion
Insert Prechomber

ydroger~
Injector
/

F
.' I I

~, 8.26 crn ~,,

FIG. 2. Modified diesel head configuration with glow plug.

Attention in the present work was also given to the magnitudes of power output and thermal
efficiency. These are of special concern in an engine using injection beginning late in the compression
stroke. Such late injection requires very rapid mixing of fuel and air, which can be achieved only when
the hydrogen-air flow is highly turbulent. Because the resulting combustion process is quite different
from that in the premixed case, there is special concern also about NO~. emissions. The following
pages describe our findings regarding these points.

EXPERIMENTAL EQUIPMENT
The engine used in this investigation was an ASTM-CFR diesel engine built by the Waukesha
Motor Company. The geometry of the combustion pre-chamber and main chamber is shown in Figs
1, 2 and 3. Figures 2 and 3 also show the position of the glow plug and the spark plug, respectively,
as well as the combustion prechamber (insert). Details of the insert are shown in Fig. 4. Hydrogen was
injected into the cylinder using the injector shown in Fig. 5. The injector was actuated by the hydraulic
pressure pulse provided by the standard Bosch fuel pump. This allowed the same control over injec-
tion timing and duration as available in the standard diesel configuration. The comparison runs with
diesel oil were made using the standard diesel injector and the standard diesel head configuration.
Air flow into the engine was measured with a Meriam Instrument Company model 50 MH 10-2
laminar flow meter. A leakproof reservoir of 0.17 m 3 (280 times the engine displacement of 612 cm31
was installed between the engine and the flow meter, to reduce pressure pulsations. The air reservoir
pressure was about 0.5 kPa below atmospheric pressure. The air flow was always unthrottled. The
standard evaporative cooling system maintained a water jacket temperature of 373 K. Electric power
for multiple spark operation was provided by an Autotronic Controls Corporation Model 405
Multiple Spark Discharge Ignition System with a frequency of 2500 Hz. The glow plug was a Cham-
pion AG40 cartridge type plug, normally heated by a current of 9 A. Engine output power and.motor-
ing friction power were measured with a General Electric Company type TLC-15 cradle dynamometer.
318 H. S. HOMAN, R. K. REYNOLDS, P. C. T. DE BOER AND W. J. McLEAN

~er

Wogen
ector

Spa

~, 8.255 em

FIG. 3. Modified diesel head configuration with spark plug and extended electrodes.

Cylinder pressure was monitored using a Sundstrand (Kistler) Corporation model 601B quartz
transducer, which was attached to the glow plug or spark plug. The pressure signal was displayed on a
Tektronix Corporation model 5103N-D13 oscilloscope. Also displayed were crank angle timing
marks from a Tektronix Rotational Function Generator, and a signal derived from a set of contact
points on the injector; the latter signal indicated opening and closing times of the injector. Engine
speed was determined from the crank angle timing marks and the oscilloscope sweep rate, on average
it was 1240 rev/min. Other variables measured were the oxygen and oxides of nitrogen content of the
exhaust gas. The oxygen sampling system is sketched in Fig. 6. The system included a Beckman
Instrument Corporation model 742 polarographic oxygen sensor. The oxides of nitrogen sampling
system is sketched in Fig. 7. The system included a Thermo-Electron Corporation NOx-NO converter
and a chemiluminescent detector, built according to the principles described in 1"13]. The detector is
sketched in Fig. 8.

Combustion
Prechomber
I nsert

~'~--3.81crn--~

4ll28¢m

Fro. 4. Combustion prechamber insert.

 HYDROGEN-FUELED DIESEL ENGINE WITHOUT TIMED IGNITION 319

: cm ! Spindle Return
.... ~ Spring

Seal'

~Hydraulic Fluid From

Hydrogen Fuel Ir~ectionPump
FIG. 5. The hydrogen injector.

~ ExhaustFlow

Large Water Bath To

I at Room Tempemh.,re Amperome~e
Ox

Pmmpitat~
Water \, Oxygen
Reading
Dehyddte Drying Agent
end
Pyrex Flber Filter

FIG. 6. Oxygen sampling system.

Exr~
Sample / Reservoir
Probe, /
\, [ ...... I ~Exhaust' Flow
2. t I v°,.
j~L) C~ibr~ion Gas Shut Off /"
" !i ",.' NOx-NOColwgcler d ~ , / /
/ '~ , - . . . . . . . . . _-_---

Valve ,-. . . . . . . . . ,.u L . - ~ Pump

Hq Momom~er---,-U

F]~. 7. Oxides of nitrogen sampling system. Broken lines indicate that line was heated to
350 K.
320 H. S. HOMAN, R. K. REYNOLDS, P. C. T. DE BOER AND W. J. McLEAN
Shut off Vol~e
Vocuum Pump
y Cart~oDi~r
Cort%i n /
SampleImut __~'=
Line "-~-~l (
R=ac,~n cn,,ra~- I I _lLPh=,
Pre~ure670I~ ~ T~I~
U Voc
15,000

NO]{Re~linq Oxygen

FIG. 8. Nitric oxide detector.

The hydrogen flow rate was controlled mainly by varying the injection pressure. The range of
injection pressures used was 5.5-9.3 MPa for experiments with a compression ratio r of 18, and 8.3-
9.8 MPa for r = 29. In the r = 29 case, the lower limit was about equal to the peak pressure resulting
from compression without combustion. Overall fuel-air ratios in the latter case were 0.25-0.33.
Because injection started late during the compression stroke, local fuel-air ratios of unity must have
existed in the cylinder when the cylinder pressure was at its peak. The locations where this was the case
would have been the most likely sources of compression ignition.
The hydrogen flow rate initially was measured with a rotameter. However, it was discovered that
pulsations in the hydrogen line, arising from opening and closing the injector, caused the rotameter
readings to be high. A detailed investigation of this phenomenon is described in [14]. The investigation
involved both steady and pulsating flows of nitrogen and helium, as well as gas chromatographic
analysis of the exhaust gas. It was found that the actual flow rate was about 45-85 ,% of the reading;
the error decreased with increasing duration of injection. Furthermore, it was found that the com-
bustion of hydrogen on average was about 98.5 o; complete. The reading of the oxygen sensor corre-
lated well with the data obtained from the gas chromatograph. In view of these results, the fuel-air
equivalence ratio for each of the experiments reported in the present paper was determined from the
corresponding reading of the oxygen sensor, under the assumption that combustion was 98.5 ° o com-
plete.

RESULTS A N D D I S C U S S I O N
In a preliminary phase of this investigation, use was made of a standard spark plug together with
the standard single-strike ignition system. With this arrangement ignition usually failed to occur;
apparently the hydrogen did not reach the top of the slender combustion prechamber (cf. Figs 2 and 3).
Misfire was greatly reduced by using the extended electrodes shown in Fig. 3. It was finally eliminated
by powering these extended electrodes with the multiple-strike ignition system. Misfire could also be
eliminated by using the glow plug shown in Fig. 2. However, under all conditions there remained cycle-
to-cycle variations in the crank angle at which combustion began.
In attempts to achieve compression ignition, the engine was started up using the glow plug. The
plug current was 9 A. This caused the plug to be bright red when taken outside the engine. The corres-
ponding temperature is about 1200 K. Of the various attempts made, the one most favorable for
compression ignition was done at a compression ratio of 29, and with hydrogen injection from 3 °
BTDC to 39 ° ATDC. The resulting overall fuel-air equivalence ratio was 0.33. The cylinder pressure
signal displayed on the oscilloscope indicated that combustion began at about top dead center. The
current to the glow plug then was gradually decreased. At a value of 7 A, the beginning of the pressure
rise due to combustion moved to much larger crank angles. To prevent loss of ignition, the current
was not decreased any further, and the attempt was terminated. Thus, compression ignition was never
observed during any runs with hydrogen as the fuel.
In order to check whether blowby past the piston rings was significant during these experiments,
the measured pressure increase during the compression stroke was compared with the theoretical one.
 HYDROGEN-FUELED DIESEL ENGINE WITHOUT TIMED IGNITION 321

The measured value a m o u n t e d to Ap = 0.1 MPa, The theoretical value of Ap depends on the pres-
sure Pl in the cylinder before the beginning of the compression stroke. Taking account of the real
gas properties of air, the value of pl for which the theoretical value of Ap would agree with the measured
one is 0.094 M P a (0.93 atm). Although no accurate measurement of pl is available, the latter value
seems quite reasonable. It is concluded that blowby past the piston cannot have caused a significant
reduction in temperature and pressure after compression.
Some typical records obtained with glow plug and multiple-strike spark ignition are shown in
Fig. 9. The two records on the right ((b) and (d)) are similar to the ones on the left ((a) and (cl), except
that their horizontal scales are expanded by a factor of 10. Each record shows three consecutive events.
It can be seen that ignition is followed by pressure waves in the precombustion chamber. The waves
resulting from glow plug ignition typically are smaller than those resulting from multiple-strike spark
ignition. The m a x i m u m peak-to-peak amplitudes of the waves shown in Fig. 9 are about 0.7 M P a
and 3.4 MPa, respectively. Engine operation also was noticeabl3 quieter with glow plug ignition.
Furthermore, glow plug ignition resulted in smaller cycle-to-cycle variations in time of ignition. The
records of Fig. 9 show a time delay between beginning of injection and the beginning of the pressure
ri~e due to combustion of about 10°-13 ~' for glow plug ignition, and of near zero-25 ° for multiple-strike

lc TC
o.5 m. ~ ~--
,%
1 )
8
m m m m ,! ! ' t
6 mmmm
0..
4 mmmm
2

i....,~.~.~<
'...'.....
.,.'.,.I.'.~4".'.':
".'.'-.,'.-..
~............. i ......... I..... ........... ," ............. +" ...............
(a) (b)
0..

w :o j I I
z -, I) I
8- J,
_1
>-
6-
|n
f J

0
.....~222: .'~.-'.."!.!.i.!.'.!.:].:~l: i l".'-'_
f
l _".~ ::_!. I "'.'.I
[,,
(c) (dl
Fro. 9. Oscilloscope records obtained with glow plug ignition ((al and (b)~ and with multiple
spark ignition ((c) and (d)~ Traces represent, from top to bottom, pressure in the hydraulic
off line activating the injector, 6.9 MPa/div; injection timing signal (uncalibrated); cylinder
pressure, 1.7 MPa/div; crank angle timing marks separated by 10°. The bottom signal (c)
indicates the period during which the multiple-strike spark system was activated. Horizontal
scale is 5 ms/div for (a) and (c), and 0.5 ms/div for (b) and (d). Further data for (a) and (b) are
~b - 0.19, injection duration 5° BTDC to 39° ATDC, 1280 rev/min. Further data for (c)
and (dt are q~ - 0.14, injection during 8 BTDC to 27 ~ ATDC. 1205 rev/min. Compression
ratio was 18.
322 H.S. HOMAN, R. K. REYNOLDS, P. C. T. D[ BOER AND W. J. McLEAN

TABLE 1. S u m m a r y of experimental data. C.R. = c o m p r e s s i o n ratio, (~ = fuel/air equivalence ratio,

I M E P = indicated mean effective pressure.

Hydrogen

Run # C.R. 0 IMEP r/i NO NO Ignition Injectionstart/end

{MPa) (ppm) (g,/MJ) source* BTDC

Hydrogen
I 18 0.34 0.45 0.39 -- -- MS 8:'- 20
2 18 0.09 0.12 0.37 48 0.65 MS 22/- 4
3 18 0.23 0.29 0.36 153 0.85 MS 21/- 22
4 18 0.33 0.37 0.34 -- -- MS 32/- 26
5 18 0.09 0.06 0.19 13 0.36 MS -6/-22
6 18 0.14 0.19 0.38 41 0.35 MS 8/-27
7 18 0.27 0.36 0.38 40 O.19 MS 1/- 47
8 18 0.33 0.43 0.38 82 0.32 MS 8/- 49
9 18 0.46 0.56 0.35 125 0.38 MS 8/- 54
10 18 0.20 0.27 0.39 -- -- GP 5/- 39
11 18 0.31 0.38 0.35 -- -- GP 4 / - 48
12 18 0.28 0.38 0.40 61 0.26 GP 3/-49
13 29 0.25 0.33 0.39 57 0.28 GP 0 / - 35
14 29 0.33 0.44 0.40 I 1If 0.41"I" GP 3/- 39
Diesel oil
15 18 0.38 0.30 0.26 90 0.48 -- 13/0
16 18 0.56 0.34 0.20 79 0.37 -- 13/- 4
17 18 0.31 0.21 0.23 68 0.49 -- 13/2
18 18 0.24 0.12 0.17 61 0.76 -- 14./'4
19 18 0.96 0.54 0.19 112 0.33 -- 10/- 3

* MS = Multiple spark, GP = glow plug.

t NO only; total NOXnot measured.

spark ignition. This difference may have arisen from the different dimensions of the plugs. The glow
plug provided a relatively large hot surface. This surface was significantly larger than the p r o d u c t of
the spark gap a n d the spark electrode diameter. Figure 9 also shows that the pressure waves tend to be
smallest when ignition starts s o o n after the beginning of injection. Finally, it is evident that com-
bustion is taking place during the injection period. This indicates that it is possible to control the
cylinder pressure during c o m b u s t i o n by controlling the rate of injection.
It should be n o t e d that the time interval between successive sparks of the multiple-strike system was
a b o u t 0.4 ms. This is just the time between successive pressure waves (see Fig. 9(d)). It seems likely
that these pressure waves arise from successive ignitions, rather t h a n from travelling wave p h e n o m e n a
in the c o m b u s t i o n chamber. With an estimated gas t e m p e r a t u r e of 1240 K, the characteristic wave-
length would be a b o u t 28 cm, significantly larger than the characteristic dimensions of the c o m b u s t i o n
prechamber.
Table I summarizes the results obtained for I M E P , thermal efficiency ~/and N O x emissions. These
results are s h o w n graphically in Figs I 0 - I 3. It is seen from Fig, I0 that, for a given equivalence ratio, the
I M E P values obtained with h y d r o g e n are significantly higher than those obtained with diesel oil.
The h y d r o g e n results can be a p p r o x i m a t e d by the e q u a t i o n I M E P ~ 1.3 ~, where 0 varies between
0.I and 0.4. Similarly, the diesel oil results can be a p p r o x i m a t e d by I M E P --- 0.6 ~, where ~ varies
between 0.3 a n d 0.9. M a x i m u m I M E P s o b t a i n e d with the two cases were a b o u t the same. Increasing
the c o m p r e s s i o n ratio from 18 to 29 did not significantly change the I M E P of the h y d r o g e n results.
At the latter c o m p r e s s i o n ratio, the h y d r o g e n pressure in the injector was not sufficiently high to cause
the flow in the orifice to be sonic when the piston was near t o p dead center. As a result, a large fraction
of the h y d r o g e n could enter the c o m b u s t i o n c h a m b e r only after top dead center. It is believed that this
caused the I M E P to be less than o p t i m u m .
 H Y D R O G E N - F U E L E D DIESEl_ E N G I N E W I T H O U T T I M E D I G N I T I O N 323

MPo
0.5
04L
l • •

i
~3
kW

IndicQled Power
IMEP i #'*~ •
Q3 • , 2
, 1240 RPM r
r "
0.2~ • •
I H
°'I : " -i
ol , , , , io
0 0.2 0.4 06 08 1.0

FIG. 10. Indicated mean effective pressure I M E P vs fuet/air equivalence ratio w. I I H 2,

CR = 18, M S : O H2, CR = 18. GP; • H2, CR = 29, G P ; O diesel oil, CR = 18, compression
ignition.

0.5

L
0.4
• ": ;' Iz4o R~ -~
0.~ ¸
"r/i
I

0.2!

0.1

0 I I
o o:2 o:4 06 0.8 ,o

FIG. 11. Indicated thermal efficiency ~/i vs fuel/air equivalence ratio ~b. Symbols as in Fig. 10.

104 ~_ i i r I I 1 I I I I ]

103
J

Q-
I

Fit -1,
Io' ~ ~
i
I 1240 RPM
1.0 I f I ~ I I I t [ i I i
I
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2

FIG. 12. :Exhaust mole fractions of N O x and N O vs fuel/air equivalence ratio ~b. Symbols as
in Fig. 10: symbol indicates total N O x, foot of vertical bar indicates NO.
324 H. S. HOMAN. R. K. REYNOLDS, P. C. T. De BOER AND W. J. McLEAN

gl.___o
MJ
O.E

O.E
1240 RPM
NOx

tI I-
O.4

.T.,
O.2

0 i + I I I
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 l.O 1.2

FIG. 13. Specific NOx and NO emissions vs fuel/air equivalence ratio ~b.Symbolsas in Fig. 12.
The data point + represents a typical result obtained with a premixed hydrogen-air mixture
in the Otto head [15] (0.018 g/MJ).

Figure 11 shows that the indicated thermal efficiencies obtained with hydrogen also are significantly
better than those obtained with diesel oil. Another point of interest in Fig. 11 is the relatively high
efficiency obtained at very low equivalence ratio as low as 0.08. This equivalence ratio is considerably
less than the lowest ratios used by previous workers. In fact, the literature contains no reports of
hydrogen-fueled reciprocating engines operating at equivalence ratios of less than 0.18. It is believed
that the present success in operating at very low equivalence ratios finds its origin in the manner and
timing of injection and ignition. Similarly, high efficiencies at even lower equivalence ratios were
obtained in the CFR diesel engine without the presence of an insert [14, 15].
The results obtained for NO x and NO emissions are shown in Fig. 12 in terms of mole fractions, and
in Fig. 13 in terms of g/indicated MJ of power output. It is seen that the mole fractions are of the
order of 50-100 ppm, while the specific emissions typically are in the range 0.2-0.4 g/MJ. Also shown
in Fig. 13 is a typical result obtained with premixed hydrogen in the work of [14]. Clearly, for the lean
mixtures used in the present work, premixing yields considerably lower NO x emission levels than does
injection. It is believed that the difference arises from the way in which combustion takes place when
the hydrogen is injected later in the compression stroke. Most of the combustion is likely to occur in
diffusion type flames. Local temperatures can be quite high, and local conditions can be quite favorable
for the formation of NO.

CONCLUSIONS
The main conclusions of the present work can be summarized as follows.
Glow plug ignition is an attractive way to operate hydrogen-fueled engines with direct cylinder
injection late in the compression stroke. The delay between the beginning of injection and ignition
can be made quite small. This delay amounted to 10-13 crankshaft degrees at a compression ratio of
18, and to 0-45 crankshaft degrees at a compression ratio of 29. The resulting cylinder pressure traces
are quite smooth.
Multiple-strike spark ignition is less attractive for these engines than ignition by glow plug. It
yielded delays between beginning of injection and ignition of 0-25 crankshaft degrees. Large delays
were associated with cylinder pressure waves of large amplitude.
The combination of direct cylinder injection and glow plug ignition allows operation at very low
equivalence ratios (~,b "-- 0.1). The indicated thermal efficiency is quite high (~b "- 0.4l, as is the maxi-
mum power output. NO x emissions are in the range of 50-100 ppm, considerably higher than ob-
tained with premixed hydrogen-air mixtures at low equivalence ratios. All of these results are believed
to arise because the hydrogen combusts before it is fully mixed with all of the air in the combustion
chamber.
 H Y D R O G E N - F U E L E D DIESEL E N G I N E W I T H O U T T I M E D IGNITION 325

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