Studying the formation of diesel fuel aerosols in the presence of propylene oxide and its derivatives in a laboratory setup allows us to closely approximate the process of real-life mixture formation in diesel engines and determine the influence of these compounds on combustion efficiency and exhaust smoke.
Objective. To identify differences in the aerosol formation characteristics of diesel fuel without additives and diesel fuel containing propylene oxide and its derivatives as additives.
Methods. The method involves using a steam generator to generate aerosols and a high-speed video camera to capture all stages of aerosol formation. A high-speed CMOS video camera, "Phantom MIRO M310" (image type – 1080p), was used to record the process under study. monochrome; maximum resolution 1280×800 pixels; maxi-mum shooting speed – 6.5 105 fps; minimum exposure time – 1 μs; maximum image bit depth – 12 bits). A SIGMA 50 mm 1:2.8D MACRO EX lens (focal length – 50 mm, relative aperture – 2.8) was used for video recording. A Multiled PT-V9 GS Vitec LED illuminator (number of LEDs – 24; luminous flux – 7700 lm; power – 84 W, disper-sion angle – 30º) was used to illuminate the recording area. A matte polycarbonate screen (2 mm thick) was used to diffuse the light from the illuminator. The LED illuminator and CMOS video camera were placed opposite each other so that the optical axis of the camera coincided with the direction of the luminous flux of the illuminator.
Results and conclusions. Introduction into the diesel engine Adding 0.1% propylene oxide and its derivatives to fuel reduces the onset of intense fuel evaporation by up to two times. In a real engine, this effect will significantly reduce the size of liquid diesel fuel droplets in the cylinder, leading to more complete combustion and reduced soot formation. This results in increased power, reduced fuel consumption, and reduced exhaust smoke.