Chapter 12

Engine Testing and Control

12.1) Measurements of the exhaust gases of a hydrogen fueled engine indicate a composition of 71.0% N2 ,
25.0% O2 , and 3.9% H2 O. At what equivalence ratio was the engine operated?

From the problem statement, the mole fractions are y1 = 0.039, y2 = 0.25, and y3 = 0.71. The
actual hydrogen combustion equation is:
as
H2 + (O2 + 3.76N2 ) −→ n1 H2 O + n2 O2 + n3 N2
φ

The stoichiometric hydrogen combustion equation is

H2 + 0.5 (O2 + 3.76N2 ) −→ 1H2 O + 1.88N2

Since
n1 =y1 n = 0.039 · n
n2 =y2 n = 0.25 · n
n3 =y3 n = 0.71 · n

where n is the total number of moles in the exhaust gas, the actual combustion equation can be written
as
0.5
H2 + (O2 + 3.76N2 ) −→ 0.039 n H2 O + 0.25 n O2 + 0.71 n N2
φ

Balancing the hydrogen and oxygen molecules

H2 : 1 = 0.039 · n
as 0.039
O2 : = 0.25 · n + ·n
φ 2
Therefore, the total number of moles is

n = 1/0.039 = 25.64

and the equivalence ratio is

as 0.5
φ= = = 0.072
0.269 n (0.269)(25.64)

This is a very lean mixture, just at the lean flammability limit for hydrogen.

1
 2 CHAPTER 12. ENGINE TESTING AND CONTROL

12.2) The exhaust composition of a test engine is as follows:

CO2 = 11.5% NO = 310 ppm
H2 O = 7.11% NO2 = 20 ppm
N2 = 77.99% CH4 = 350 ppm
O2 = 3.19% C3 H8 = 225 ppm
CO = 0.06% C7 H17 = 475 ppm
H2 = 0.01%
Find the following:
(a) Wet concentration in ppm of HC and NOx as would be indicated by heated flame ionization and
chemiluminescence detectors, respectively. (Assume the FID responds to all carbon atoms equally.)

If the FID responds to all carbon atoms equally, then the hydrocarbon concentration is
X
[HC] = (number of carbon atoms in species i) × (concentration of species i)
= 1 · 350CH4 + 3 · 25C3 H8 + 7 · 475C7 H17
= 4350 ppmC = 0.4350 %

The NOx concentration is

X
[HC] = (number of nitrogen atoms in species i) × (concentration of species i)
= 1 · 310N O + 1 · 20N O2
= 330 ppm

(b) Dry concentrations of CO2 , O2 in percent, and CO in ppm.

The wet yi ° and dry yi concentrations are related in Equation 12.16,

yi
yi ° =
(1 − yH2 O )
11.5
yCO2 ° = = 12.38 %
(1 − 0.0711)
3.19
y O2 ° = = 3.43 %
(1 − 0.0711)
0.06
yCO ° = = 0.0646 % = 646 ppm
(1 − 0.0711)

(c) Fuel-air equivalence ratio if the hydrogen to carbon ratio of the fuel is 1.3.

From Equation 12.15 given β/α = 1.3,

2(1 + 0.25 · 1.3)(11.5 + 0.06 + 0.4350)

φ= = 0.870
2 · 11.50 + 7.11 + 2 · 3.19 + 0.06
 3

12.3) Explain how Equation (12.22) could be used to measure the residual fraction.

Since PV = mRT, we need to get the mass, m, in terms of the residual fraction. Now
mr
f=
f
and
(mf /ma )
φ=
FS
Therefore,

m = ma + mf + mr
= ma (1 + φFS ) + f m
 
1 + φFS
= ma
1−f
so
 
ma (1 + φFS )
PV = RT
1−f
or
ma RT (1 − φFs )
f =1−
PV

The gas constant R is a weak function of f , so iteration may be required.

 4 CHAPTER 12. ENGINE TESTING AND CONTROL

12.4) A diesel engine operated on C14 H27 produced exhaust gas of the following dry composition:
CO2 = 6.22% N2 = 81.51%
O2 = 12.20% NOx = 400 ppm
CO = 0.024% HC = 200 ppm C

(a) Explain how the method of hydrocarbon measurement can yield a situation wherein the sum of the
exhaust constituents adds up to slightly greater than 100%.

For a hydrocarbon with more than one carbon, like propane C3 H8 , the FID reads a mole fraction
proportional to the carbon atoms rather than the number of molecules. For example, if one had 100
% C3 H8 , the FID would read 300 %

(b) At what equivalence ratio was the engine operated? How would the answer differ if one neglected
the carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons?

For a dry composition, from Equation 12.19 the “dry” water term is
1

27

2 14 (6.22 + 0.024)
y2 ° = 1

0.024
= 6.01
1 + 3.5 6.22

And from Equation 12.17 the equivalence ratio is

2 1 + 14 14

27

(6.22 + 0.24 + 200 × 10−4 )
φ= = 0.433
2 · 6.22 + 6.01 + 2 · 12.2 + 0.024

If one neglects CO and HC,

φ = 0.430
 5

12.5) An iso-octane fueled engine has a measured fuel mass flow rate of 0.5 g/s and air mass flow rate of 7.0
g/s. The exhaust gas composition (dry) is measured to be CO2 = 11 % and CO = 3.0 %. Compare the
equivalence ratio computed from the exhaust gas composition with that from the fuel-air flow rate ratio.

The combustion equation is

as
Ca Hb Oc Nd + (O2 + 3.76N2 ) −−→
φ
n1 CO2 + n2 H2 O + n3 N2 + n4 O2 + n5 CO + n6 H2 + n7 CHz (g)

From the problem statement, a = 8, b = 18, c = 0, d = 0, y1o = 0.11, and y5o = 0.03
Since there is CO in the exhaust gas, the mixture is rich. If we assume no excess O2 , then n4 =0. We
also assume CHz is negligible, as its concentration was not reported. With an exhaust gas analysis,
we first use Equation (12.19) to determine the value of y20 .
1 b 0
2 a (y1 + y50 )
y20 = y50
1+ 3.5 y10
(1/2)(18/8)(0.11 + 0.03)
=
1 + 0.03/(3.5 0.11)
= 0.146

We then use Equation (12.17) to compute the equivalence ratio in terms of the dry concentrations,

2 1 + 41 ab (y10 + y50 + y70 )

φ=
2y10 + y20 + 2y40 + y50
2(1 + (1/4)(18/8))(0.11 + 0.03 + 0)
=
2(0.11) + 0.146 + 0 + 0.03
= 1.105

The equivalence ratio φ from the measured fuel and air flow rates is

FA 0.5/7.0
φ= = = 1.074
F As 0.0665
since from Table 3.5 the stoichiometric fuel-air ratio F As for octane is 1/15.03 = 0.0665. The difference
is about 3%. As mentioned in the text, the NO concentration should also be measured for increased
accuracy.
 6 CHAPTER 12. ENGINE TESTING AND CONTROL

12.6) A test engine operates on methane at a mass flow rate of 2.0 g/s with an equivalence ratio φ = 0.8.
a.) What is the inlet air mass flow rate ? b.) If the exhaust is at standard conditions, what are the
volumetric flow rates of the exhaust products N2 , H2 O, CO2 , and O2 ?

a.) The inlet air mass flow rate is

AFs ṁf 17.12 2.0
ṁa = = = 42.8 g/s
φ 0.8
b.) The combustion equation is
as
CH4 + (O2 + 3.76N2 ) −−→
φ
n1 CO2 + n2 H2 O + n3 N2 + n4 O2
where
n1 = 1
n2 = 4/2 = 2
n3 = 3.76as /φ = (3.76)2.00/0.8 = 9.40
n4 = as (1/φ − 1) = (2.00)(1/0.8 − 1) = 0.50
N = 1 + 2 + 9.40 + 0.50 = 12.9
The mole fractions yi are
y1 = 1/12.9 = 0.0775
y2 = 2/12.9 = 0.1550
y3 = 9.40/12.9 = 0.7287
y4 = 0.50/12.9 = 0.0387
Following Example 3.1, the exhaust molecular mass is
X
M= yi M i
= (0.775)(44.01) + (0.1550)(18.015) + (0.7287)(28.013) + (0.0387)(31.999)
= 27.86 kg/kmol
The exhaust specific volume is
(Ru /M )T
vexh =
P
(8.314/27.86)298
=
101
= 0.881 m3 /kg
From mass conservation,
ṁexh = ṁreact = ṁa + ṁf = 42.8 + 2.0 = 44.8 g/s

The exhaust volumetric flowrate is

V̇exh = ṁexh vexh = (44.8)(0.881) = 39.45 m3 /s

This volumetric flowrate is composed of the four exhaust gases in the ratio of the mole fractions:
VCO2 = (0.0775)(39.45) = 3.06 m3 /s
VH2 O = (0.1550)(39.45) = 6.12 m3 /s
VN2 = (0.7287)(39.45) = 28.75 m3 /s
VO2 = (0.0387)(39.45) = 1.53 m3 /s
 7

12.7) Manufacturers of laminar air-flow meters typically provide a calibration curve of the following form:

V̇stp = c1 ∆P + c2 ∆P 2

where V̇stp is the volumetric flow rate at standard temperature (298.15 K), and pressure (1 bar), and
∆P is the pressure drop across the meter.
(a) Use dimensional analysis to show how the constants c1 and c2 would change for measurements
made at conditions other than standard temperature and pressure.

The dimensional relationship between the independent variables and the volumetric flow rate is

V̇ = f (∆P, µ, ρ, L, d)

where

V̇ = volumetric flow rate (L3/T)

∆P = pressure drop (F/L2 = M/T2 L)
µ = fluid dynamic viscosity (M/LT)
L = meter length (L)
d = meter diameter (L)

In dimensionless form, using the Pi theorem, it can be shown that

ρ∆P L2 d
 
V̇ µ
=f ,
∆P L3 µ2 L

This calibration curve for a given meter size (d, L fixed) indicates that the dimensionless function f is
of the form:
ρ∆P L2
f = c˜1 + c˜2 ×
µ2
So
∆P L3 ρ∆P L2
 
V̇ = c˜1 + c˜2 ·
µ µ2
 3  5
ρL ∆P 2
 
L ∆P
= c˜1 + c˜2
µ µ3

and including the dependence of ρ and µ with T and P :

   3  
µstp µstp ρ
V̇ = c1 ∆P + c2 ∆P 2
µ µ ρstp

As the viscosity decreases, and/or the density increases, the volumetric flow rate will increase, and vice
versa.

(b) How can one determine the mass flow rate rather than the volumetric flow rate?

The mass flow rate is found by multiplying the volumetric flow rate by the density ρ.
 8 CHAPTER 12. ENGINE TESTING AND CONTROL

12.8) Assuming one-dimensional, isentropic steady flow of an ideal gas with constant specific heats, derive
an expression for the constant C of the critical flow nozzle in Figure 12.6. The calibration constant
depends on the nozzle throat area A, the gas constant R, and the ratio of specific heats γ. You may
assume the upstream area is large enough that measured P1 and T1 are stagnation properties.

For isentropic choked flow, Equation 5.12 is

P0
ṁ = kAf 1/2
(RT0 )

where
 γ+1
 2(γ−1)
1/2 2
k=γ
γ +1

The calibration equation is

P1
ṁ = C 1/2
(T1 )

The subscripts represent upstream or stagnation conditions, equating the above equations
P1 P
C = kAf
T 1/2 (RT )
1/2

and solving for C

1
C = kAf
R1/2

The calibration constant is linearly proportional to the effective flow area Af .

 9

12.9) Figure 12.12 is a plot of log P versus log θ. Estimate the polytropic exponents in the expression P V n =
constant in the middle of both the expansion and compression strokes. How do these exponents relate
to the specific heat ratio? Assume the bore and stroke are equal, with b = s = 0.1m, and the compres-
sion ratio is r = 10.

Figure 12.12 gives pressure versus crank angle. Using the compression ratio and the displacement
volume, we compute the instantaneous volume. From Equations (1.1) and (1.3), the volume at top
dead center Vtdc is

(π/4) b2 s
Vtdc = = (π/4) (0.1)3 (10 − 1) = 0.87 × 10−4 m3
r−1

From Equation (1.19), the instantaneous volume V (θ) is

r−1
V (θ) = Vtdc [1 + (1 − cos(θ)]
2

An annotated Figure 12.12 is given below, with two data points at θ = 60, 120 degrees bracketing the
middle of both the expansion and compression strokes labeled.

500
300
200
log P (psi)

100

50
30
20
10
0
TDC 30 60 90 120 BDC
log V

Figure 12.1: Problem 12-9 plot

The P-V data at θ = 60, 120 degrees is given in the following table.

Angle Volume Pcomp Pexp

(deg) (m3 ) (psi) (psi)
60 2.84 e-4 45 190
120 6.76 e-4 18 70

PV data for Homework Problem 12-9

Since P V n = constant, solving for n

ln P1 − ln P2
n=
ln V2 − ln V1
10 CHAPTER 12. ENGINE TESTING AND CONTROL

so for compression,
ln 45 − ln 18
n= = 1.05
(ln 6.76e − 4) − (ln 2.84e − 4)

and for expansion,

ln 190 − ln 70
n= = 1.15
(ln 6.76e − 4) − (ln 2.84e − 4)

The polytropic exponents are less than the specific heat ratios for compression and expansion due to
heat and mass loss.