Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and

Environmental Effects

ISSN: 1556-7036 (Print) 1556-7230 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ueso20

Grey-Taguchi and ANN based optimization of a

better performing low-emission diesel engine
fueled with biodiesel

M. Gul, Asad Naeem Shah, Umair Aziz, Naveed Husnain, M. A. Mujtaba,

Tasmiya Kousar, Rauf Ahmad & Muhammad Farhan Hanif

To cite this article: M. Gul, Asad Naeem Shah, Umair Aziz, Naveed Husnain, M. A.
Mujtaba, Tasmiya Kousar, Rauf Ahmad & Muhammad Farhan Hanif (2019): Grey-Taguchi
and ANN based optimization of a better performing low-emission diesel engine fueled with
biodiesel, Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, DOI:
10.1080/15567036.2019.1638995

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2019.1638995

Published online: 09 Jul 2019.

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ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2019.1638995

Grey-Taguchi and ANN based optimization of a better performing

low-emission diesel engine fueled with biodiesel
M. Gul a, Asad Naeem Shahb, Umair Azizc, Naveed Husnain a,d
, M. A. Mujtaba b
,
Tasmiya Kousarb, Rauf Ahmada, and Muhammad Farhan Hanifa
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UCE&T Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan; bDepartment of
Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan; cDepartment of Computer
Engineering NFC IET Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan; dSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai
Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The current work applies L9 (33) Orthogonal Array (OA) of Taguchi design to Received 16 February 2019
obtain an optimum combination of nature of fuel, speed of engine, and load Revised 18 June 2019
for DI- CI diesel engine that is alternatively fueled with waste cooking oil (WCO) Accepted 23 June 2019
based pure biodiesel (B100) & 20% blend of biodiesel with neat diesel (B20) KEYWORDS
with an objective to achieve maximum reduction in smoke and NOx emissions Diesel engine; waste cooking
and to enhance the output parameters like engine’s heat release, cylinder oil (WCO) biodiesels;
pressure and brake power with the conceivable dwindling of brake specific Grey-Taguchi Method (GTM);
fuel consumption of the engine at various load conditions. The optimal input optimization; Artificial Neural
parameters (nature of fuel as B100, speed as 2300 rpm and load as 100%) were Network (ANN)
specified by the grey relational analysis in such a way that the preferred output
results are successfully accomplished. Furthermore, analysis of variance
(ANOVA) technique showed that the nature of fuel is the major leading factor
with 44.28% impact on the output parameters. The experimental and ANN
simulated results at the predicted optimal combination ensured the significant
improvements of output response factors, thus validating the use of Grey-
Taguchi method in reducing emissions and improving combustion and per-
formance simultaneously.

Introduction
In the developing world, population growth is the main reason for the increased number of vehicles
running on petroleum fuels. These carbon-based fuels are the cause of greenhouse emissions and
different types of natural contaminations (Ramadhas, Jayaraj, and Muraleedharan 2004)
IC engines are utilized as a part of transportation and power production sectors, but depletion of
petroleum fuels, increasing danger to nature from engine exhausts and global warming issues have
encouraged the researchers to focus on alternative and environmentally safe bio-fuels that could be utilized
in IC engines without altering their hardware’s. The quest for alternative fuel, which guarantee an agreeable
relationship with management, sustainable development, energy preservation, effectiveness, and environ-
mental protection, has turned into a major subject of research in the energy and transport sector. So the
fuels derived from vegetable oils have achieved vital place because their physical, chemical and ignition
related properties are almost comparable with diesel fuel (Mathur and Das 1985; Raheman and Phadatare
2004). Biodiesels (from edible and non-edible vegetable oils) have been demonstrated as the best substitute
for petroleum fuels. These are biodegradable, non-harmful and can possibly lessen the hazardous

CONTACT M. Gul mustabshirha@yahoo.com Department of Mechanical Engineering, UCE&T Bahauddin Zakariya

University, Multan 60000, Pakistan
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/ueso.
© 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
2 M. GUL ET AL.

discharges (Hemmerlein et al. 1991). But biodiesel produced from edible oils (like soybean, palm, rapeseed,
olive, sunflower, corn, canola, etc.) is one of the major cause of high prices and starvation in the world
(Yaakob et al. 2013). But among all edible feedstock’s, waste cooking oil (WCO) is a good alternative to
produce cheaper and potential biodiesel (Khan et al. 2018). It can be easily collected from homes, hotels,
and restaurants, which disposed of it after frying food products because WCO contains a lot of con-
taminants like PAHs, PCBs, and dioxin substance. These contaminations are dangerous for animal and
human health. Therefore, WCO is a good option for biodiesel production after some pre-treatment process
and it also solves the water pollution problem (Yaakob et al. 2013).
Biodiesel can be utilized as pure biodiesel or in blended forms without significant changes in the
engine hardware. It can possibly lessen both regulated & unregulated discharges with less unsettling
influence on the engine execution because of its improved burning in the ignition chamber (Buyukkaya
2010). Vegetable oils may be mixed to a little extent with petrol & diesel effectively if these are preheated
to achieve the required viscosities (Bari, Lim, and Yu 2002). A few researchers have reported that the
biodiesel in little mixing proportions with Petro-Diesel was utilized securely and profitably in the diesel
engine with slight increases in NOx. In diesel engines, the chemical composition of biodiesel considerably
decreased emissions like particulate CO& HC (Agarwal and Agarwal 2007; Nwafor 2004; Sharanappa,
Reddy, and Murthy 2007). It is confirmed that B20 fuel slightly decreased HC and CO, soot particles
reduced by 24%, smoke declined up to 20% but NOx increased by 3.7% when compared with diesel (Park,
Kim, and Choi 2009). In previous study based on engine performance, combustion and one of the
important regulated emissions, i.e., NOx, it has been revealed that B20 is the optimum blend among the
various blends of biodiesel & diesel (such as B05, B10, B15, B20, B25, B30 & B50) as it produces
minimum possible NOx emissions, better combustion and acceptable engine performance (Asad Naeem
Shah, Shahid, and Safdar Gardezi 2016).
Worldwide emission standards are getting stringent step by step, constraining the researchers to
investigate new methods or to enhance existing techniques to decrease these emissions. A few systems
like split injection, emulsification with water, exhaust gas recirculation, retarded injection timing, burning
chamber alteration, and diminishing ignition delay are generally utilized to decrease NOx emissions
(Anand and Mahalakshmi 2007). It is also demonstrated that at low load pure diesel fuel shows an increase
in brake thermal efficiency however utilizing LPG and biodiesel extracted from mahua oil methyl ester had
produced lower smoke and NOx with increased brake thermal efficiency at high load. The desires for higher
productivity with diminished exhaust emissions have prompted the finding of those parameters that may
influence the performance & burning phenomenon of the engine (Reddy, Kapilan, and Reddy 2008).
Luckily, some optimization strategies are accessible in the writing that might be utilized to anticipate the
engine performance and accordingly to enhance its efficiency. A widely utilized optimization methodology
for engine examination is Taguchi technique (Mehat and Kamaruddin 2012). Taguchi system is generally
utilized as a part of the engineering domain to obtain the craved execution attributes by streamlining the
input & output controlling elements. Taguchi approach is very effective for anticipating distinctive design
parameters that impacted the manufacturing processes and this approach also enhances the quality of items
& performances and diminishes the expenses without depending on physical composition (Martowibowo
and Wahyudi 2012; Yang and Tarng 1998).
In most cases, distinctive input parameters, for example, mixing of different fuels, compression
ratio, and load were varied once to notice the execution of engine or emission qualities of the engine
by using Taguchi method. But the behavior of the system was not unidirectional, so this multi-
response optimization problem needed a precise way to deal with the finding of number of
experiments which cover the whole domain of input factors. Consequently, multi-response optimi-
zation problem was resolved by combing Taguchi method and Grey relational analysis together. The
most widespread application of the Grey-Taguchi approach occurs in those circumstances, where
numerous input parameters possibly impact some quality characteristic or performance measure of
the procedure (Jung and Kwon 2010; Zeng and Xiong 2012).
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 3

This method changes multi-response qualities into a single grey-relational grade (GRG). By
comparing the calculated GRG, the arrays of particular quality attributes are placed as per response
grades to get an optimum combination of process input factors.
Grey-Taguchi technique had widely been used in many fields such as biotechnology (Castorena-
Cortes et al. 2009), drilling process (Prasanna et al. 2014), hot forging process (Equbal, Shamim, and
Ohdar 2014), rolling process (Ayaz, Khaki, and Arab 2013) and electric discharge machining process
(Priyadarshini and Pal 2015).
Taguchi grey-relational analysis is used in determining the optimum multiple-performance qualities of
an engine (Karnwal et al. 2011). BSFCeq, hydrocarbons & particulate matter exhausts of a common rail
dual-fuel mode diesel engine are reduced by using grey-Taguchi method (Roy, Das, and Banerjee 2014).
Authors have already used the grey-Taguchi technique for obtaining optimized process input
factors to get better diesel engine performance and combustion (Gul et al. 2016). But in this study
effort has been made to optimize the engine for minimum emissions including THC, NOx, CO2, &
CO together with improved performance and combustion parameters.
The modern neural system is a statistical modeling tool that deals with non-linear behavior of inputs &
desired outputs data. The association between different input and output parameters can be easily achieved
by optimization. The employment of the neural network for engine predictions makes it conceivable to
perform optimization studies over the whole working conditions. The optimized output is acquired by
utilizing a backward feed propagation method in ANN. The predicted outputs can be obtained by using
Artificial Neural Network with MATLAB software (Kannan, Balasubramanian, and Anand 2013).
An ANN modeling methodology is used efficiently to decide the desired output factors whenever
adequate experimental data are provided (Wijayasekara et al. 2011).
It is a non-linear function that builds up an intricate correlation between inputs & desired outputs
parameters (Ghobadian et al. 2009) and therefore might anticipate the output responses accurately.
Thus, this methodology plays a definitive role in validating the already measured optimal results.
In this study, efforts are carried out to enhance engine performance, combustion and to lessen the
emissions in diesel engines, currently no literature is available about the simultaneous optimization
of input parameters with minimum trials to enhance performance and combustion along with
emission control for DI-CI diesel engines alternatively operated with WCO based pure biodiesels
& its blends without changing the engine equipment to best of authors’ knowledge. The fundamental
target of the present study is to predict the optimal arrangement of nature of the fuel, speed, and
load that enhances engine performance & combustion along with least emission characteristics
without any alteration in the engine’s hardware.

Materials and methods

Waste cooking oil was purchased from Zhenghe Bioenergy Co. Ltd. Hainan, China to produced
biodiesel by transesterification process.
An inter-cooled, turbocharged, four-cylinder direct injection, compression ignition (DI-CI)
engine was locked in on a test worktable. The most important engine specifications and character-
istics of the test fuels are recorded in Tables 1 and 2.
The parameters of the engine are measured by following models of measuring devices.

● Engine load, torque, and speed are measured by Electrical Dynamometer,

● (SCHENCK HT 350),
● Engine cylinder pressure by Piezo-electric transducer (Kistler type 6125B),
● Crankshaft angle by Kistler (2613-A sensor),
● Fuel flow rate PLU-4000, Pier-Berg,
● IP and HR of the engine’s cylinders by DEWE-5000,
● Air flow rates by Sensyflow-P, ABB-Inc.
4 M. GUL ET AL.

Table 1. Engine specifications.

Parameters Features/Sizes
Fuel metering system Direct injection with mechanical systems
Air intake system Turbocharged, intercooled
Stroke 125 mm
Bore 110 mm
Compression Ratio 16.8: 1
Capacity 4752 cc
Maximum Torque 580 N.m at 1400 rpm
Maximum Engine Rated Power 117 KW at 2300 rpm
Maximum Engine Speed 2300 rpm
No of nozzle holes and 6 and 0.23 mm
Nozzle hole diameter
Valves 2 valves per cylinder

Table 2. Characteristics of fuels.

Characteristics B100 B20 D Chinese Standards
Lower heating value (MJ/kg) 37.3 41.57 42.8 GB/T 384
Viscosity (mm2/s) at 20ºC 8.067 4.020 3.393 GB/T 265
Oxygen percentage (wt %) 11.33 N/A 0 Element analysis
H -percentage (wt %) 11.91 N/A 13.08 SH/T 0656–98
C- percentage (wt %) 76.83 N/A 86.92 SH/T 0656–98

In the control room, a software of “Computerization System STARS Rev. 1.5” was used to read values of
engine’s speed, torque and throttle positions. While Kistler (2613A) was used as a sensor to get the top
perfectly focused (TDC) signal. Dewetron was used as combustion analyzer to get the output signals of the
intensifier. In the end, the information was dissected through FlexProTM spreadsheet software. Figure 1
shows the complete experimental setup of the engine.

Methodology of Grey-Taguchi method

This methodology involved four steps: in first step Design of Experiments (DOE) is carried out with
the help of L9 OA, in second and third steps experimental data are collected, and Grey-Taguchi
method was to evaluate the most valuable input factors by using grey-relational coefficients & overall
average grey relational grade. In the end, ANOVA analysis is employed to find the most significant
factor then the output results are validated by ANN. In the present study, three input factors
involving the nature of fuel, speed, and load have been studies. Three levels of variation for each
factor are revealed in Table 3. The design of experiments is developed on the premise of the
orthogonal array. The structural design of OA depends on the number of input factors & variation
of levels. Maximum number of OA relies on the number of experiments conducted for every level of
every input factor and it comes out as L9 (33) OA. Table 4 introduces the orthogonal array’s
arrangement for the nature of fuel, speed, and load.
In GTM, normalization of the experimental data is related with the grey relational generation
which transforms the original series of experimental data into a comparable series (Chiang and
Chang 2006; Gau, Hsieh, and Liu 2006; Li and Tsai 2009; Lin and Lin 2002; Martowibowo and
Wahyudi 2012; Pan et al. 2007; Tsai and Li 2009; Tzeng et al. 2009)
Let To(k) and Tj(k) denotes the original series and comparable series of experimental data, where
j= 1, 2,3, . ., x and k = 1,2, …, y; while x represents the number of experiments to be performed, and
y represents the number of observations of provided data.
For maximizing the outputs response, “the-larger-the-better” criterion is utilized for normalizing
the comparable series of data by using following Eq. (i).
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 5

Figure 1. Experimental setup.

Table 3. Input factors with levels of variation.

Levels (L)
Control Variables Code L-1 L-2 L-3
Nature Of Fuel A B20 B100 D
Speed (rpm) B 1400 1800 2300
Load (%) C 10 50 100

Table 4. Experimental results of output parameters of ic engine.

Output Responses
Combustion Performance
OA Design Parameters Parameters Emission Parameters
HR BSFC
Run Nature of Speed Load (% H.R/° P BP g/ THC NOx CO2 CO
# Fuel (rpm) (%) CA) (bar) (kW) (kW·h) (ppm) (ppm) (%) (ppm)
1 B20 1400 10 0.0242 5.7912 8.66 410.65 176.0943 235.6586 1.6494 201.9605
2 B20 1800 50 0.027 9.676 50.7898 252.72 117.6552 579.1052 5.8699 69.3282
3 B20 2300 100 0.0277 13.1224 103.2434 281.14 129.4081 557.0629 8.5851 134.4429
4 B100 1400 50 0.0272 8.7242 42.5075 262.61 75 975 6.88 52
5 B100 1800 100 0.0277 13.2692 97.8979 268.15 88 887 8.73 76
6 B100 2300 10 0.0277 8.8106 11 943.41 81 165 2.39 161
7 Diesel 1400 100 0.0274 12.2768 85 219.13 190 1027 9.9 161
8 Diesel 1800 10 0.0276 6.9352 11 479.82 192 235 3.09 222
9 Diesel 2300 50 0.0266 10.548 59 314.68 145 314 5.3 113

ðT j ðkÞ  min Tj ðk; j ¼ 1; 2 : : :xÞÞ

Tj
ðkÞ ¼ (i)
ðmax Tj ðk; j ¼ 1; 2 : : :xÞ  min Tj ðk; j ¼ 1; 2 : : :xÞÞ

For minimizing the outputs response, “the-smaller-the-better” criterion is used to normalize the
comparable series of data by using the following Eq. (ii).
6 M. GUL ET AL.

ðmax T j ðk; j ¼ 1; 2 : : :xÞ  T j ðkÞÞ

Tj
ðkÞ ¼ (ii)
ðmax Tj ðk; j ¼ 1; 2 : : :xÞ  min Tj ðk; j ¼ 1; 2 : : :xÞÞ
where T*j (k) is the normalized value of Grey-relational generation, For the kth response the maximum
value of Tj(k) represented by max Tj(k) and a minimum value of Tj(k) is given by min Tj (k).
Furthermore, the GRC shows the intensity of correspondence between the original and comparable
series [To(k) and Tj(k), j= 1,2,3 … x]. The GRC is given as:
ψj ¼ Ñmin þγÑmax 0γ1 (iii)
ÑojðkÞ þγÑmax

Here the smallest and highest values of Ñoj(k) series are Ñmin and Ñmax. The difference of predicted
normalized data with the original true values of experimental data is represented by the function of
quality loss Ñoj (k).
ÑojðkÞ ¼ðQuality LossÞ ¼ ½T
ðkÞ  T
j ðk; j ¼ 1; 2 . . . xÞ T
ðkÞ ¼ 1:00
Overall grey relational grade (OGRG) is calculated by averaging GRC of each response. The overall
multi-response characteristic of any process is figured from OGRG, by using following Eq. (iv).

1X
y
j ¼ βψ (iv)
y k¼1 k j
P
y
Here βk ¼ 1
k¼1

Analysis of variance (ANOVA)

ANOVA is performed in Minitab-16 software to estimate the percentage contribution of input
factors which have significant influence on the engine’s performance, its emission & combustion
characteristics. Moreover, the input factor having larger F-value shows more influence on output
responses (Martowibowo and Wahyudi 2012).

ANN modeling
Parallel distributed processing units of artificial neural network (ANN) behaves like human brain
neurons, which saves experimental knowledge and makes it available at any time. These neurons are
responsible to store necessary information from experimental data through a learning and training
process. Neurons of ANN are connected with each other by their synaptic weights which works
according to the type of activation function (like tansig or purelin) to determine the required
outputs/response for any given input signals (Fausett 1994). Mathematically ANN is represented
in Figure 2.
The ANN model is developed in MATLAB by using ‘nntool’ command. Then, it is trained on the
basis of experimental data to get predicted result at any combination of input parameters.

Results & discussion

OA based experimental output results
The engine was operated nine times with the combinations of the different levels of the influencing input
factors and output results are recorded in Table 4. Authors choose (A) Fuel (B) Speed and (C) Load as the
three input factors for the engine. Three levels of variation for factor A are B20, B100, and Diesel & three
levels of variation for factor B are 1400, 1800, and 2300 and three levels of variation for factor C are 10%,
50%, and 100%. Experimental data of output parameters including Heat Release (HR), Cylinder Pressure
(P), Brake Power (BP), Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC), Total Hydro-Carbon (THC), NOx,
CO2 & CO is collected by using L9 (33) OA design as given in Table 4.
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 7

Figure 2. Mathematical representation of ANN model.

Grey-Taguchi technology
Grey relational generation (GRG)
For a grey relational generation, normalization of experimental data into uniform dimensionless
units ranging between 0 & 1 is performed by maximizing HR, P &BP while minimizing the BSFC,
THC, NOx, CO2 & CO. The outcomes appear in Table 5.

Calculations of GRC and overall GRG

By using normalized experimental data, quality loss function (QLF) of each output response is
calculated and shown in Table 6. GRC is computed from QLF by using Eq. (iii). The overall
performance of the multiple response procedures is determined by the predicted overall-GRG.
Then, OGRG evaluation is figured by averaging the GRC corresponding to chosen responses as
illustrated in Table 7. The overall performance characteristics of the multiple response processes
depend on the computed overall Grey relational grade. The objective function (i.e. OGRG) trans-
forms multiple performance optimization situations into a single response optimization.
So, an OGRG was calculated by using Eq. (iv) to achieve all the desired output responses
simultaneously. The greater value of OGRG specifies the intense connection between the reference

Table 5. Grey relational generation.

Larger-the-better Smaller-the-better
Run No HR P BP BSFC THC NOx CO2 CO
1 0.00000 0.0000 0.0000 0.7356 0.1359 0.9180 1.0000 0.1179
2 0.77429 0.5195 0.4454 0.9536 0.6354 0.5196 0.4885 0.8981
3 1.00000 0.9804 1.0000 0.9144 0.5350 0.5452 0.1594 0.5150
4 0.84000 0.3922 0.3579 0.9400 1.0000 0.0603 0.3660 1.0000
5 0.98429 1.0000 0.9435 0.9323 0.8889 0.1624 0.1418 0.8588
6 1.00000 0.4038 0.0247 0.0000 0.9487 1.0000 0.9102 0.3588
7 0.90286 0.8673 0.8071 1.0000 0.0171 0.0000 0.0000 0.3588
8 0.96000 0.1530 0.0247 0.6401 0.0000 0.9188 0.8254 0.0000
9 0.67429 0.6361 0.5322 0.8681 0.4017 0.8271 0.5575 0.6412

Table 6. Taguchi QLF (Ñoj) of each output response.

Run No HR P BP BSFC THC NOx CO2 CO
1 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 0.2644 0.8641 0.0820 0.0000 0.8821
2 0.2257 0.4805 0.5546 0.0464 0.3646 0.4804 0.5115 0.1019
3 0.0000 0.0196 0.0000 0.0856 0.4650 0.4548 0.8406 0.4850
4 0.1600 0.6078 0.6421 0.0600 0.0000 0.9397 0.6340 0.0000
5 0.0157 0.0000 0.0565 0.0677 0.1111 0.8376 0.8582 0.1412
6 0.0000 0.5962 0.9753 1.0000 0.0513 0.0000 0.0898 0.6412
7 0.0971 0.1327 0.1929 0.0000 0.9829 1.0000 1.0000 0.6412
8 0.0400 0.8470 0.9753 0.3599 1.0000 0.0812 0.1746 1.0000
9 0.3257 0.3639 0.4678 0.1319 0.5983 0.1729 0.4425 0.3588
8 M. GUL ET AL.

Table 7. Calculation of GRC and OGRG according to OA design.

Grey Relational Coefficients
OA (Distinguishing Coefficient ɣ = 0.5)
HR P BP BSFC THC NOx CO
Run No A B C (% H.R/°CA) (bar) (kW) (g/kW·h) (ppm) (ppm) CO2 (%) (ppm) OGRG
1 1 1 1 0.3333 0.3333 0.3333 0.6541 0.3666 0.8592 1.0000 0.3618 0.5302
2 1 2 2 0.6890 0.5099 0.4741 0.9151 0.5783 0.5100 0.4943 0.8307 0.6252
3 1 3 3 1.0000 0.9622 1.0000 0.8538 0.5181 0.5237 0.3730 0.5076 0.7173
4 2 1 2 0.7576 0.4514 0.4378 0.8928 1.0000 0.3473 0.4409 1.0000 0.6660
5 2 2 3 0.9695 1.0000 0.8984 0.8808 0.8182 0.3738 0.3681 0.7798 0.7611
6 2 3 1 1.0000 0.4561 0.3389 0.3333 0.9070 1.0000 0.8478 0.4381 0.6652
7 3 1 3 0.8373 0.7903 0.7216 1.0000 0.3372 0.3333 0.3333 0.4381 0.5989
8 3 2 1 0.9259 0.3712 0.3389 0.5814 0.3333 0.8603 0.7412 0.3333 0.5607
9 3 3 2 0.6055 0.5788 0.5167 0.7912 0.4553 0.7431 0.5305 0.5822 0.6004

series To*(k) and the given series of data Tj*(k) and implies that the predicted input parameters
combination is nearer to the optimal.

Estimation of average OGRG

Most significant combination of input factors is calculated from average OGRG which deals with the
required output responses simultaneously. The most favorable (optimal) combination of input
factors is assessed that would result in a larger value of avg. OGRG and thus assures a better
performance level. The response of average OGRG for three different levels of each input factor is
presented in the graph of Figure 3(b). This response graph helps in determining the significant level
of the best performance. Figure 3(a) shows that the impact of the nature of fuel on the desired output
responses best occurs at level 2, but speed and load are more significant at level 3 for both. Nature of
fuel is ranked at position 1 so it is a more sensitive and important factor for the performance while
speed is the least significant factor with Rank 3. The optimal combination of input factors with the
desired objective comes out as (A2, B3, C3) that is Fuel: B100, Speed:2300 rpm, and Load: 100%.
Therefore, when the engine run with B100 fuel at 2300 rpm speed & 100% load then P, HR & BP
will be maximized, while BSFC and emissions (THC, NOx, CO2 & CO) will remain at their
minimum values and these results are also validated experimentally as presented in Figure 8.

Analysis of variance for the output response

Analysis of variance is performed by using MINITAB-16 a statistical software, that estimates the
relative percentage contribution of each input factors and translates the most effective and significant

Figure 3. Average OGRG (a) estimation of avg. OGRG (b) graph of avg. OGRG at various level of input factor.
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 9

Table 8. Analysis of variance for the output responses.

Levels
DOF Sum of square Mean
Factors 1 2 3 (Degree of Freedom) (SS) square (MSS) F-value Contribution (%)
A 0.61053 0.61786 0.53730 2 0.0190387 0.0095194 29.89 44.28
B 0.57554 0.59251 0.59764 2 0.0066257 0.0033128 10.40 15.41
C 0.57601 0.59014 0.59955 2 0.0173349 0.0086675 27.21 40.31
Error 2 0.0006370 0.0003185
Total 8 0.0436364

input factor of optimal combination (Gopalsamy, Mondal, and Ghosh 2009; Li and Tsai 2009; Pan
et al. 2007). Table 8 demonstrates that the nature of fuel, i.e., factor A is a very important factor with
44.28% contribution and F-value as 29.98. While engine load (C) and speed (B) are at second & third
positions with their particular contributions of 40.31% & 15.41%.

Experimental and simulated ANN result

In the end, performance and emission parameters are measured experimentally at this optimal
combination. ANN technique (Kannan, Balasubramanian, and Anand 2013; Meireles, Almeida, and
Simões 2003; Wijayasekara et al. 2011) was also employed to optimize and validate the performance
and emission behavior at the same optimal input parameter setting suggested by GTM. ANN
Architecture represents the multi-layered interconnection of the neurons between and within the
layers as shown as in Figure 4.
In this study, feed forward back propagation network with three-layers of neural is used. The
number of neurons in input, hidden and output layers are 3 (LOGSIG), 25 (LOGSIG) and 8
(PURLINE) respectively. The numbers of hidden layer neurons are determined with nine experi-
mental data by hit and trial until the mean squared error between actual experimental data and
predicted outputs data become minimum. ‘Trainlm’ function trains the ANN model and updates the
weight and bias values according to the Levenberg-Marquardt optimization.
Pictorial view of ANN model, training, performance and regression analysis by ‘MATLAB’ is
given in Figures 5–7.
In Figure 7, as the calculated regression coefficients of ANN are closer to 1, so satisfactory results
can be achieved. So, this trained network is used to predict the output responses at optimal
combination suggested by GTM.
Comparison and validation of both experimental and ANN results at a predicted optimal
combination (i.e. B100 as a fuel, 2300 rpm, and 100% load) are shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8 illustrates that results acquired from both methods (i.e., experimental & ANN results
with an optimal arrangement of input factors) were nearer to one another. Which also ensures the
adequacy of the Grey-Taguchi technique to get an optimal combination of input factors.
So, the Grey-Taguchi method and ANN proved out to be attractive optimizing and estimating
techniques in the assessment of IC engine parameters at the optimal combination.

Conclusion
The input factors like nature of fuel, speed, and load are studied to investigate their effects on output
responses of combustion, performance, and emissions and then these factors are optimized by using
the grey-Taguchi technique to enhance the cost function of most critical output factors. In order to
minimize the experimental effort, L9 Taguchi’s OA was embraced to perform the experiment
suggested by MINITAB16 statistical software. Optimal input parameter’s setting is found as A2,
B3, C3 that is B100 should be used as a fuel with speed of 2300 rpm and 100% load.
10 M. GUL ET AL.

Figure 4. ANN architecture.

Figure 5. Development & training parameters of ANN model.

ANOVA was processed to discover the effect of processes factors on individual quality parameter.
Nature of fuel was found to be the most influencing factor while speed as the least effective factor for
the desired objective of improving performance & combustion with reducing emissions. The
 ENERGY SOURCES, PART A: RECOVERY, UTILIZATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS 11

Figure 6. Training and performance of ANN.

Figure 7. Regression analysis of ANN.

confirmation results reveal that the optimization of the performance, combustion and emission
parameters of an IC engine can be performed by using the most appropriate grey-Taguchi technique.
Validation of experimental results with the ANN predicted results show that ANN methodology
can be successfully utilized for estimating emission, combustion and performance characteristics of I.
C engines with a minimum number of trials rather than detailed experimental study thus engineer-
ing effort and costs both are saved.
12 M. GUL ET AL.

Figure 8. Comparison and validation of experimental & ANN predicted results.

Acknowledgments
Authors are indebted National Natural Science Foundation (NNSF) of China for financial support under project No.
50576063 to implement Chinese indigenous emission standards in Beijing. All the experimental work was performed
in the Laboratory of Auto Performance and Emission Test. School of Mechanical and Vehicular Engineering, Beijing
Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, P. R. China

Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (NNSF) of China; [50576063].

ORCID
M. Gul http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5280-8007
Naveed Husnain http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7521-2524
M. A. Mujtaba http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9134-9002

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