Session: 12-03: Hydrogen Energy, Alternative Fuels, Bioenergy, and Biofuels

Paper Number: 130980

130980 - Fluid Flow and Combustion Characteristics of Triangular Rotary Engines With Port Configuration Designs 

Abstract: 

Hydrogen energy applied to triangular rotary engines (TRE) has considerable potential to become green engines and new power generation equipment. The design and performance prediction methods of TRE are a critical issue. In this paper, the fluid flow characteristics of the side-ported triangular rotating engine are conducted using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The effect of the number of ports, port position and port design on the performance of rotary engines is studied and compared with the efficiency of the previously modeled triangular rotary peripheral port engine, while port cross-sectional areas are the same for both engines. Two types of side ports that include single and double ports are modeled and analyzed for three different designs of the ports modeled according to the angle of the port slopes to understand the combined effect of the port design and the number of ports on engine performance. In addition, two port position configurations of the intake/exhaust openings are set so that the port opening geometry can be covered and uncovered. Port design and position effects are examined for a single-side and double-side triangular rotation engine to determine the fluid flow field during engine operation.

The fluid simulation results show that the mass flow rate and average velocity of outlet of peripheral TRE is higher than side-ported TRE, while double side-ported TRE has slightly higher mass flow rate as compared to single side-ported TRE. The average flow velocity in single side-ported TRE is larger than double side-ported TRE for both covered and uncovered cases. The high flow velocity has a negative impact on combustion due to high risk of emission of unburnt gas directly to exhaust port. This indicates, the slower exhaust rate of the unburnt gas in the side-ported TRE results in higher combustion efficiency and low fuel consumption relatively. The average pressure in peripheral-ported TRE is relatively lower than in side-ported TRE, that implies the side-ported TRE has large output power relative to the peripheral-ported TRE. In comparison between single and double side-ports, the double side-ported can effectively increase the outlet average pressure. The fluid moment results indicate that the side-ported TRE offers less fluid flow resistance compared to the peripheral-ported TRE. Furthermore, vortex number statistics in combustion and non-combustion zones are proposed to predict leakage risk and combustion performance, respectively. The predictions revealed that the side-ported TRE has a relatively low risk of leakage and a higher combustion efficiency compared to the peripheral-ported TRE. The prediction is also verified by the combustion simulation using hydrogen fuel.

Presenting Author: Sheng-Yao Wang National Formosa University

Presenting Author Biography: none

Authors:

Chiu-Fan Hsieh National Formosa University
Sheng-Yao Wang National Formosa University