skip to main content

Three-dimensional CFD-solid mechanics analysis of the hydrogen internal combustion engine piston subjected to thermomechanical loads

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kufa, Iraq

Received: 15 Jan 2023; Revised: 28 Mar 2023; Accepted: 7 Apr 2023; Available online: 25 Apr 2023; Published: 15 May 2023.
Editor(s): H Hadiyanto
Open Access Copyright (c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Centre of Biomass and Renewable Energy (CBIORE)
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Citation Format:
Abstract

Fueling internal combustion engines with hydrogen is one of the most recommended alternative fuels today in order to combat the energy crisis, pollution problems, and climate change. Despite all the advantages of hydrogen fuel, it produces a higher combustion temperature than gasoline. In an internal combustion engine, the piston is among the numerous complex and highly loaded components. Piston surfaces are directly affected by combustion flames, making them critical components of engines. To examine the stress distribution and specify the critical fracture zones in the piston for hydrogen fuel engines, a three-dimensional CFD-solid-mechanics model of the internal combustion engine piston subjected to real thermomechanical loads was analyzed numerically to investigate the distribution of the temperature on the piston body, the interrelated thermomechanical deformations map, and the pattern of the stresses when fueling the engine with hydrogen fuel. With the aid of multiphysics COMSOL software, the CFD-solid-mechanics equations were solved with high accuracy. Despite the increase in pressure on the piston and its temperature when the engine is running on hydrogen fuel, the results show that the hydrogen fuel engine piston can withstand, safely, the thermomechanical loads. In comparison to gasoline fuel, hydrogen fuel caused a deformation of 0.34 mm, an increase of 17%. This deformation is within safe limits, with an average clearance of 0.867 mm between the cylinder liner and piston.

Fulltext View|Download
Keywords: Hydrogen fuel; Internal combustion engines; Piston; Thermomechanical loads; CFD

Article Metrics:

  1. Al-Baghdadi, M.A.R.S. (2000). Performance study of a four-stroke spark ignition engine working with both of hydrogen and ethyl alcohol as supplementary fuel. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy ,25(10), 1005-1009. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0360-3199(00)00012-4
  2. Al-Baghdadi, M.A.R.S. (2004). Effect of compression ratio, equivalence ratio and engine speed on the performance and emission characteristics of a spark ignition engine using hydrogen as a fuel. Renewable Energy, 29(15),2245-2260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2004.04.002
  3. Al-Baghdadi, M.A.R.S. (2005). Development of a pre-ignition submodel for hydrogen engines. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Journal of Automobile Engineering. 29(10), 1203-1212. https://doi.org/10.1243/095440705X34883
  4. Al-Baghdadi, M.A.R.S. (2006). A Simulation Model for a Single Cylinder Four-Stroke Spark Ignition Engine Fueled with Alternative Fuels, Turkish Journal of Engineering and Environmental Sciences, 30(6), 331-350. https://doi.org/10.3906/tar-1110-28
  5. Al-Baghdadi, M.A.R.S., and Al-Janabi, H.A.K.S. (1999). A prediction study of the effect of hydrogen blending on the performance and pollutants emission of a four stroke spark ignition engine. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 24(4), 363-375. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0360-3199(98)00040-8
  6. Al-Baghdadi, M.A.R.S., and Al-Janabi, H.A.K.S. (2000). Improvement of performance and reduction of pollutant emission of a four stroke spark ignition engine fueled with hydrogen–gasoline fuel mixture. Energy Conversion and Management, 41(1), 77-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-8904(99)00080-1
  7. Al-Baghdadi, M.A.R. Sadiq, and Al-Janabi, H., Shahad, Ak.K. (2003). A prediction study of a spark ignition supercharged hydrogen engine. Energy Conversion and Management, 44(20), 3143-3150. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-8904(03)00127-4
  8. Azadi, M., and Parast, M.S.A., (2022) Data analysis of high-cycle fatigue testing on piston aluminum-silicon alloys under various conditions: Wear, lubrication, corrosion, nano-particles, heat-treating, and stress. Data in Brief, 41, 107984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2022.107984
  9. Cerit, M., (2011). Thermo mechanical analysis of a partially ceramic coated piston used in an SI engine. Surface and Coatings Technology, 205(11), 3499-3505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2010.12.019
  10. Cerit, M., Coban, M., (2014). Temperature and thermal stress analyses of a ceramic-coated aluminum alloy piston used in a diesel engine. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 77, 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2013.10.009
  11. Deulgaonkar, V.R., Ingolikar, N., Borkar, A., Ghute, S., and Awate, N., (2021). Failure analysis of diesel engine piston in transport utility vehicles. Engineering Failure Analysis, 120, 105008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2020.105008
  12. Dudareva, N.Y., Enikeev, R.D., and Ivanov, V.Y. (2017). Thermal protection of internal combustion engines pistons. Procedia Engineering, 206, 1382-1387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.10.649
  13. Durat, M., Kapsiz, M., Nart, E., Ficici, F., and Parlak, A. (2012). The effects of coating materials in spark ignition engine design. Materials & Design, 36, 540-545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2011.11.053
  14. Gai, S., Zhao, J., (2022). Simulation and experimental investigation on fatigue resistance of the forged steel piston in high-duty engine. Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-022-07316-z
  15. Garbinčius, G., Bartulis, V., Pečeliūnas, R., & Pukalskas, S., (2005). The influence of coolant scale deposit inside the internal combustion engine on the piston and cylinder deformations. Transport, 20(3), 123-128. https://doi.org/10.3846/16484142.2005.9638008
  16. Ikonnikova, S.A., Scanlon, B.R., and Berdysheva S.A. (2023). A global energy system perspective on hydrogen Trade: A framework for the market color and the size analysis. Applied Energy, 330, 120267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.120267
  17. Ismail, I., Abdelrazek, E., Ismail, M., and Emara, A., (2020). An Investigation Study of the Thermomechanical Loading on the Piston of a Diesel Engine with Design Improvements. SAE, 2020-01-5098. https://doi.org/10.4271/2020-01-5098
  18. Kakaee, A., Gharloghi, J., Foroughifar, A., Khanlari, A. (2015). Thermo-mechanical analysis of an SI engine piston using different boundary condition treatments. J. Cent. South Univ,. 22, 3817–3829. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-015-2926-7
  19. Koutsakis, G., Begley, M.R., Hutchinson, J.W., and J.B. Ghandhi, (2022). Fracture-based transient thermo-mechanical analysis of reciprocating engine thermal barrier coatings. Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 270, 108568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2022.108568
  20. Kowalski, S., Cie´slikowski, B., Barta, D., Dižo, J., Dittrich, (2023). A. Analysis of the Operational Wear of the Combustion Engine Piston Pin. Lubricants, 11, 100. https://doi.org/10.3390/lubricants11030100
  21. Pratiksha, L., Bewoor, A., Kumar, R., Said, N.M., and Sharifpur, M. (2022). Benchmark using multi criteria decision making (MCDM) technique to optimally select piston material. Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements, 142, 52-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enganabound.2022.05.025
  22. Mancaruso, E., and Sequino, L., (2019). Measurements and modeling of piston temperature in a research compression ignition engine during transient conditions. Results in Engineering, 2, 100007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2019.100007
  23. Najafi, M., Dastani, H., Abedini, M., and Pirani, S. (2019). Stress Analysis and Fatigue Life Assessment of a Piston in an Upgraded Engine. Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention, 19, 402-411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-019-00583-4
  24. Nguyen-Thi, T. X., and Bui T.M.T., (2023). Effects of Injection Strategies on Mixture Formation and Combustion in a Spark-Ignition Engine Fueled with Syngas-Biogas-Hydrogen. International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 12(1), 118-128. https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.2023.49368
  25. Pingkuo, L., and Xue., H. (2022). Comparative analysis on similarities and differences of hydrogen energy development in the World's top 4 largest economies: A novel framework. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 47(16), 9485-9503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.01.038
  26. Ramegouda, R., and Joseph, A.A., (2021). Effect of Compression Ratio on Performance and Emission Characteristics of Dual Spark Plug Ignition Engine Fueled With n-Butanol as Additive Fuel. International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 10(1), 37-45. https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.2021.32364
  27. Satyanarayana, K., Rao, P.V.J.M., Kumar, I.N.N., Prasad, V.V.S., and Rao, T.V.H. (2018). Some studies on stress analysis of a sundry variable compression ratio diesel engine piston. Materials Today: Proceedings 5, no. 9, 18251-18259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2018.06.162
  28. Scovell, M.D., (2022). Explaining hydrogen energy technology acceptance: A critical review. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 47(19), 10441-10459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.01.099
  29. Tan, L.G., Li, G.L., Tao, C., and P.F. Feng, (2022). Study on fatigue life prediction of thermal barrier coatings for high-power engine pistons. Engineering Failure Analysis, 138, 106335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2022.106335
  30. Venkatachalam, G., and Kumaravel A. (2019). Experimental Investigations on the Failure of Diesel Engine Piston. Materials Today: Proceedings, 16, 1196-1203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.05.214
  31. Vichos, E., Sifakis, N., and Tsoutsos, T. (2022). Challenges of integrating hydrogen energy storage systems into nearly zero-energy ports. Energy, 241, 122878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.122878
  32. Zhenwei, W., Jianping, W., Changwen, H., Jiabing, S., Baoguo, X., and Xingquan, Z. (2022). Cracking failure analysis of steel piston forging die. Engineering Failure Analysis, 138, 106291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2022.106291
  33. Zhou, Y., Li, X., Ding, S., Zhao, S., Zhu, K., Shao, L., Du, F., Wang, G., and Xu, Z. (2022). Technologies and studies of gas exchange in two-stroke aviation piston engine: A review. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2022.08.012

Last update:

  1. Performance and carbon emissions of a diesel/oxy-hydrogen dual-fuel engine with oxy-hydrogen injection variation under low and medium load conditions

    Frengki Mohamad Felayati, Hadi Prasutiyon, Sholikhatul Janah, Dimas Hadi Wijaya, Mukhammat Bayu Saputra, Semin Semin. International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 13 (2), 2024. doi: 10.61435/ijred.2024.57983

Last update: 2024-04-20 10:27:31

No citation recorded.