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SAE TECHNICAL
PAPER SERIES 2001-01-1030

Experimental Studies on Controlled

Auto-ignition (CAI) Combustion of
Gasoline in a 4-Stroke Engine
Aaron Oakley, Hua Zhao and Nicos Ladommatos
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Brunel University, UK

Tom Ma
Ford Motor Company

Reprinted From: Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) Combustion

(SP–1623)

SAE 2001 World Congress

Detroit, Michigan
March 5-8, 2001

400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001 U.S.A. Tel: (724) 776-4841 Fax: (724) 776-5760
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Experimental Studies on Controlled Auto-ignition (CAI)
Combustion of Gasoline in a 4-Stroke Engine
Aaron Oakley, Hua Zhao and Nicos Ladommatos
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Brunel University, UK
Copyright © 2001 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
ABSTRACT
This paper presents results from an experimental
programme researching the in-cylinder conditions
necessary to obtain gasoline Controlled Auto-ignition
(CAI) combustion in a 4-stroke engine. A single-cylinder,
variable compression ratio research engine is used for all
experiments. Investigations concentrate on establishing
the CAI operating range with regard to Air/Fuel ratio and
Exhaust Gas Re-circulation (EGR) and their effect on
ignition timing, combustion rate and variability, ISFC, and
engine-out emissions, such as NOx, CO, and unburned
HC. Comprehensive maps for each of the measured
variables are presented and in relevant cases, these
results are compared to those obtained during normal
spark-ignition operation so that the benefits of CAI
combustion can be more fully appreciated.
INTRODUCTION
1
CAI combustion involves the compression-ignition of a
premixed combustible charge. CAI combustion requires
the auto-ignition of the cylinder contents combined with a
means of controlling the subsequent heat release rate.
The practical means of obtaining auto-ignition in a 4-
stroke engine is to ensure that the local in-cylinder
temperature at the end of charge compression is raised
above the auto-ignition temperature of the reacting
species under the prevailing chemical conditions.
Furthermore, combustion rate must be limited to avoid
destructive engine knock. This can be achieved using
one or a combination of two methods:
1. Air dilution to achieve lean-of-stoichiometric
conditions, effectively slowing chemical reaction
rates.
1
See Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations.
2001-01-1030
Tom Ma
Ford Motor Company
2. Exhaust gas dilution to provide a higher
concentration of inert species, also slowing reaction
rates.
If hot exhaust gases are used as diluent, this can raise
the initial charge temperature and reduce the effective
compression required to achieve auto-ignition.
CAI combustion technology was first applied successfully
to two-stroke gasoline engines by Onishi et. al. [1] and
subsequently by Noguchi et. al. [2]. CAI combustion was
found to increase fuel economy, give extremely low NOx
emissions, and reduce unburned hydrocarbon (HC)
emissions for two-stroke gasoline engines when used
under light-load operation. Onishi et. al.[1] found that the
attainable CAI (or ATAC) region was limited by
insufficient combustion temperatures at low loads, and
knocking combustion at high loads. Other factors such
as heat rejection to chamber walls, and degree of cycle-
to-cycle variation in the gas exchange process were also
found to be important.
Najt and Foster [3] used experimentally obtained heat-
release data to develop empirical models of homogenous
CAI combustion, and was the first to apply CAI
combustion technology in a four-stroke gasoline engine.
Using this, they showed that the CAI ignition process is
governed by low temperature (< 950 K) hydrocarbon
oxidation kinetics.
Thring [4] investigated the effects of A/F ratio, EGR rate,
fuel type, and compression ratio on the attainable
homogenous CAI combustion region and engine-out
emissions. He found that 4-stroke CAI maximum loads
could not approach those of 2-stroke CAI engines under
the conditions chosen, probably because high EGR rates
(> 33 % by volume) were not possible. He also identified
that detailed analyses of the heat-release characteristics
over the CAI range would be useful for further
understanding.
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Christensen et. al. [5] achieved homogenous CAI with a
number of fuels operating at various compression ratios
and intake temperatures. Combustion efficiencies were
found to be adversely affected by increasing
compression ratio, reducing the expected rise in fuel
conversion efficiency. On the whole, the CAI efficiencies
of mixtures containing diesel fuel were seriously affected
by poor combustion due to poor fuel vapourisation.
Under ambient intake conditions, gasoline fuel (95 RON)
was surprisingly more difficult to force into CAI
combustion (through increased compression ratio) than
Isooctane (100 RON).
Comprehensive reviews of work relevant to CAI
combustion research have been presented by Pucher et.
al. [6] and Stanglmaier et. al. [7], offering good insights
into the progress of work so far in this area.
Flowers et. al. [8] combined experimental and theoretical
work to investigate the air dilution, fuel, and initial charge
temperature effects on homogenous CAI combustion.
Results showed that delayed combustion from a
combination of lower charge temperature and/or air
dilution yielded decreases in IMEP and NOx emissions,
with a corresponding increase in unburned HC
emissions. Model predictions were in good agreement
with experimental findings, and showed the bimodal
nature of heat release in binary fuels containing a
mixture of high and low cetane hydrocarbons.
Lavy et. al. [9] presented preliminary results from the
collaborative project 4SPACE (4-Stroke Powered
gasoline Auto-ignition Controlled combustion Engine),
investigating all aspects of CAI combustion with a view to
meeting EURO 4 emissions requirements. 3D CFD
analyses on a suitable 2-stroke engine were undertaken
to determine the global and local in-cylinder conditions
necessary for CAI combustion. They found that the
occurrence of CAI is dominated by the degree of mixing
between fresh charge and exhaust gas residuals. 4-
stroke concepts were developed to mimic the internal
fluid dynamic and mixing effects of the 2-stroke when
running in CAI mode, resulting in the first 4-stroke engine
able to achieve CAI over a limited load and speed range
without the use of external charge heating or high
compression ratio. This was achieved using altered valve
timing, lift, and duration.
In summary, CAI combustion has been identified as a
means of simultaneously reducing NOx and CO2
emissions for 4-stroke engines. Significant improvements
in fuel economy can be achieved through un-throttled
CAI operation at part-load. Since CAI does not rely on
conventional flame propagation, lean flammability limits
that normally apply are irrelevant. Extremely lean, low
temperature (< 1800 K) combustion is possible, leading
to massive reductions in NOx formation.
The work presented in this paper forms part of the
4SPACE project and is a parametric survey designed to
investigate how CAI is affected by a number of engine
operating conditions, including Air/Fuel ratio, in-cylinder
EGR fraction, compression ratio, initial charge
temperature, and fuel effects such as octane and blend.
However, the specific areas investigated here relate to
gasoline fuel only. With respect to A/F ratio and EGR
rate, the range of successful CAI operation is
comprehensively defined for fixed inlet charge
temperature and compression ratio. Heat release
analysis is performed to evaluate combustion
characteristics throughout the range of operation. In
addition, engine-out emissions, such as NOx, unburned
HC, and CO are mapped and help to define the limit of
acceptable CAI operation. In this way, the air and
exhaust gas dilution effects on CAI combustion can be
evaluated independently of any other operating
variables. This approach is similar to that of Thring [4].
However, this work goes further by presenting full maps
of each of the measured variables, including detailed
heat release analyses data. Furthermore, the authors
believe that this work will prove extremely useful for
those developing CAI combustion models for full boiling
range fuels such as gasoline. Table 1 shows the
specification for the unleaded gasoline used in all tests.
BP Premium Unleaded Gasoline
British Standard BS EN 228
Marketing Specification MIN MAX
Research Octane Number (RON) 95
Motor Octane Number (MON) 85
Total lead (g/l) 0.013
Total Sulphur (%m/m) 0.05
3
Density 15°C (kg/m ) 725 780
Vapour Pressure (kPa) 45 80
Table 1 Properties of Unleaded Gasoline (BS EN 228)
ENGINE SETUP
The engine used for the experimental work is a Ricardo
E6. The engine is of the single cylinder type with
overhead poppet valves, and has a bore of 76 mm and a
stroke of 111 mm. The combustion chamber is cylindrical
in shape. The compression ratio of the engine is
continuously variable between 4.5 and 20, and may be
changed during engine operation by means of a worm
gear that controls the cylinder head height relative to the
crankshaft. The engine is coupled to a swinging field AC
dynamometer allowing accurate manual speed control.
CONTROL SYSTEMS - Figure 1 shows the external
EGR system used to obtain EGR rates of up to 60% (by
mass) during testing. Since all tests are carried out at
WOT, a reduced inlet manifold pressure cannot be used
to admit external EGR from the exhaust manifold. Thus,
a gate valve in the exhaust line controls the
backpressure during the exhaust stroke. EGR is
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achieved through another gate valve to the inlet manifold
approximately 1 metre upstream of the inlet port. This
method of feeding EGR gases serves two purposes: to
allow the EGR/air mixture to become homogeneous
before entering the cylinder, and to reheat the EGR
through an air heater. This effectively de-couples the
initial charge temperature from the exhaust gas
temperature, which would not be the case if exhaust
gases were admitted downstream of the heater.
2 3 4 5
1 Ricardo E6 Engine
1 2 3 kW Air Heater
3 Bosch Port Injector
6
4 EGR Control Valve
5 Exhaust Back-pressure
7 Control Valve
6 Intake/Exhaust Sampling
Switch
7 Gas Analyser
Figure 1 External EGR and gas sampling systems
A 3 kW air heater is closed-loop controlled to allow a
fixed inlet charge temperature of 320°C, held accurately
to within ±1°C. Exhaust gas re-circulating through the
EGR control valve is cooled sufficiently before entry to
the inlet manifold to allow the inlet charge temperature
(measured in the inlet port) to be controlled accurately by
the heater irrespective of EGR rate. Similarly, the engine
coolant temperature is closed-loop controlled, set at 80 ±
0.2°C. This was found necessary to ensure that the head
temperature remains constant irrespective of engine
load. Fuel is delivered at a pressure of 2.7 bar using a
Bosch port injector. Injection and (spark) ignition systems
are controlled with the use of purpose built Electronic
Control Units.
MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS - Heat release analysis is
performed by a PC based data acquisition system. A
real-time analysis program has been developed at Brunel
University based on the Labview data acquisition
system. The system reads inputs from a crankshaft
encoder, and an in-cylinder water-cooled pressure
transducer (Kistler type 7061B). From pressure
transducer measurements, an array of pressure traces is
generated, from which heat-release data, net-indicated
mean effective pressure (IMEP), and coefficient of
variation in IMEP (COVimep) are calculated. Real-time
knock analyses may also be carried out by setting a
band-pass filter to single out the characteristic engine
knock frequency (~ 8 kHz), as discussed in detail later
on. Measurements of the amplitude of this filtered trace
can result in very accurate determination of the knock-
limited boundary of operation for the fuel.
NOx measurements are taken using a SIGNAL 4000VM
heated vacuum NOx analyser. Unburned Hydrocarbon
emissions are measured using a SIGNAL 3000HM FID
total hydrocarbon analyser. Both analysers use heated
sample lines to minimise errors associated with water
condensation and species absorption.
A Richard Oliver K650 analyser is used to take
measurements of O2, CO2, and CO in the inlet and
exhaust lines (see Figure 1). An analytical approach for
calculating the overall A/F ratio and EGR rate in the
cylinder has been developed. A set of equations relating
inlet and exhaust gas species including CO and
unburned HC allow the simultaneous calculation of A/F
ratio and EGR rate without measuring inlet airflow
directly (see Heywood [10] and Stone [11]). This has
advantages over less accurate methods (e.g. UEGO
sensors) that do not account for all of the exhaust
unburned hydrocarbons, which can be a significant
proportion of the injected fuel under some CAI
combustion conditions.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Preliminary testing was necessary to determine the
acceptable engine operating conditions that allow a
reasonable CAI region for gasoline. Intuitively, the size of
the region (A/F ratio and EGR rate) is most dependent
on the relative difference between the actual end-of-
compression charge temperature and the minimum
required to auto-ignite the mixture. After some
experimentation, the engine conditions giving a
reasonable CAI operating range were set at:
Engine Speed: 1500 rpm
Airflow: WOT
Inlet charge temperature: 320 ± 1 °C
Coolant temperature 80 ± 0.2 °C
Oil temperature 55 ± 1°C
Compression ratio 11.5
Exhaust Backpressure 0.15 bar gauge
Injection Timing 79 °CA BTDC
Compression Stroke
To obtain these conditions, it was necessary to run the
engine through a warm-up procedure. The procedure
begins with normal spark-ignited (SI) operation at Wide
Open Throttle (WOT) for 1 hour. The air heater is then
switched on, and the fuel flow-rate is gradually reduced
over time so that SI combustion is able to occur without
the onset of knock. Once the inlet conditions reach
approximately 270°C, auto-ignition begins to occur in a
small percentage of cycles. This is characterised by a
much quicker combustion rate than that occurring with
the spark-ignited cycles. After a period of transition, the
CAI regime takes over from spark-ignition entirely, the
engine is left for a further 30 minutes to stabilise. EGR is
not introduced at any point during this procedure
because the large degree of misfire and partial burn that
occurs during transition leaves a combustible exhaust
mixture. If EGR is introduced to the inlet manifold,
ignition on the hot heater element is probable.
Once stability is attained, testing is carried out by
independently varying the fuel flow-rate through the
injector at WOT to obtain different A/F ratios. EGR rate
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IMEP ISFC HC CO NOx

is gradually increased in increments of approximately 5% (bar) (g/kW.h) (g/kW.h) (g/kW.h) (g/kW.h)
for each fuel setting, from zero to the maximum allowable 1.25 329.70 7.99 22.87 0.19
for combustion to occur. This test procedure produces a 1.50 323.25 6.63 25.67 1.55
map of approximately 100 points for gasoline. 1.75 319.03 5.58 24.95 3.11
2.00 315.44 4.85 21.58 4.74
As discussed already, the main purpose of this 2.25 303.12 4.49 19.05 6.08
2.50 283.29 4.45 19.02 7.13
investigation is to determine the effects of air and
2.75 271.09 4.47 19.80 8.59
exhaust gas dilution on homogenous CAI combustion. To
3.00 267.48 4.43 20.20 10.44
study these two parameters separately, it is necessary to 3.25 263.36 4.37 20.10 11.79
hold all other control variables fixed, including inlet 3.50 259.92 4.36 19.68 12.19
charge temperature and compression ratio. The 3.75 256.90 4.34 19.47 12.41
drawback of this procedure is that combustion timing 4.00 254.14 4.33 19.72 12.82
cannot be optimised over the full CAI range, since it is
directly dependant on compression ratio, inlet charge Table 2 Typical ISFC and pre-catalyst emissions of a
temperature, A/F ratio, and EGR rate. However, if the SI engine (CR=9.8) at 1500rpm.
test procedure were altered so that either inlet charge
temperature or compression ratio were varied to
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
maintain optimised combustion timing, EGR and air
dilution effects would be inseparable from effects of
Investigation of the satisfactory operating region of
charge temperature or compression ratio. So, the
gasoline was carried out for a range of A/F ratios and
combustion phasing is considered a dependant variable
EGR rates. In practical terms, this meant recording a set
for the purposes of separating EGR and air dilution
of data points in a region between the richest and leanest
effects from other operating variables.
lambda values attainable, limited by measured engine
knock and the physical limits of the fuel injector
Emissions data are of particular importance to
respectively. The EGR rate was increased in steps for
researchers investigating CAI combustion. In order to
each fuel rate until engine misfire was observed to occur.
evaluate the significance of emissions such as unburned
HC, CO, and NOx, it is necessary to make comparisons
Figure 2 shows the successful CAI region attainable for
between measured CAI and normal SI data (see table 2).
gasoline. The horizontal axis represents the total
However, it is not enough to compare emissions from
gravimetric percentage of EGR in the cylinder, and the
these two regimes on a volumetric basis (ppm, %). This
vertical axis represents the overall A/F ratio of the
is because CAI achieves best fuel economy at WOT,
cylinder charge. The attainable CAI region is limited by
when pumping losses are minimised. At this condition,
three boundaries:
the engine airflow is at its peak (for each speed) despite
only running at part-load. Conversely, conventional SI
engines must run a close-to-stoichiometric mixture to 1. Misfire
achieve satisfactory combustion, and lower loads are 2. Partial burn
obtained by throttling the airflow. A CAI engine running at 3. Knock limit
the same load as a spark-ignition engine and having
similar emissions measured on a volumetric basis in fact The first boundary defines the misfire region. At higher
have vastly different emissions on a gravimetric basis, EGR rates, the CO2 and H2O content of the intake charge
due to the differences in exhaust flow. Consequently, all is raised significantly, causing the occasional failure of
emissions data presented here are indicated-specific ignition. Higher EGR rates are obtainable as lambda is
emissions, allowing emissions to be expressed on a increased because there is increasingly more O2 and
mass basis. less CO2 and H2O content in the intake charge, leading to
more stable ignition and subsequent combustion.
Table 2 shows the typical fuel consumption and pre-
catalyst exhaust emissions of a reference SI engine As fuel flow-rate is decreased (lambda increase), the net
running at a constant speed of 1500 rpm. This data shall heat-release is also decreased. It is thought that the
be used for comparison against CAI combustion data, so resulting gradual lowering of average combustion
that relevant conclusions can be drawn as to the benefits temperature leads to more unburned charge,
and drawbacks of the CAI combustion achieved here. characterised by high CO and unburned HC emissions,
and by an increase in COVimep. Effectively, the charge
'freezes' before complete combustion is allowed to occur.

Knocking combustion occurs at the lower boundary of

the region. For lambda/EGR conditions that lie close to
the knock limit, the data acquisition system is set to
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record the amplitude of the (band-pass) filtered pressure
trace for each cycle. An amplitude threshold of 0.5 bar is
set to define whether knock has occurred for each
individual cycle. Cyclic variations within the combustion
chamber caused by variations in gas motion,
homogeneity, and mixture composition from cycle to
cycle lead to cyclic variations in knock intensity.
Consequently, when measuring incipient and non-
destructive knock phenomenon within the engine, a
sample number of cycles will contain both knocking and
non-knocking cycles. The Knock Occurrence Frequency
(KOF) is a measure of the percentage of knocking cycles
(knocking above the predefined 0.5 bar threshold) out of
the total number of cycles recorded. In this case, the
engine is said to be knocking if the KOF equals or
exceeds 10% of the 100 cycles recorded at each
lambda/EGR condition. At the knock boundary, if no
EGR is used, the richest lambda attainable is
approximately 3.15 (2.5 bar IMEP). As EGR is increased,
the knock limit is brought closer to lambda 1.0 (3.8 bar
IMEP), with 43% EGR.
EXHAUST EMISSIONS
Unburned Hydrocarbon Emissions - Figure 3 shows the
specific unburned hydrocarbon emissions measured by
the FID analyser. Emissions are minimum at
approximately 7 g/kW.h at lambda 1 and 43% EGR. As
lambda is increased (reduction in load), emissions also
increase. However, this effect is more pronounced at low
EGR rates. The reasons for the trends shown are
threefold:
1. A reduction in load is achieved by decreasing the fuel
rate. Thus, the total heat release and average
combustion temperature are also reduced. Possibly, it
is less time spent at high temperature that leads to
incomplete combustion, resulting in higher
hydrocarbon emissions.
2. In the region of lambda 3 to 4.5, HC emissions are
reduced as EGR is increased from 0 to 25%
(constant lambda), as shown in figure 3. Also, Figure
10 shows that exhaust gas temperatures are raised
with increasing EGR rate in this region (for constant
lambda). This effect can be attributed to either an
increase in combustion duration and/or a net increase
in fuel rate (contained in the EGR). Although
combustion durations do increase slightly (see figure
12), they are still extremely short with combustion
finishing at around 10-20° ATDC. Therefore, the
reason for the increase in exhaust gas temperature is
because of better combustion efficiency when some
of the unburned fuel is recycled with the EGR,
resulting in lowered exhaust HC emissions (for
constant lambda).
3. At high EGR rates, combustion timing and duration
(figures 11 and 12) are retarded and lengthened
respectively, due to the high concentrations of CO2
and H2O in the charge.
Comparable unburned HC emissions for SI operation
given in table 2 range from approximately 8 g/kW.h at
low load (1.25 bar IMEP) to around 4 g/kW.h at the
highest load attained here (3.8 bar IMEP). Unburned HC
emissions for gasoline CAI combustion exceed these
values over the entire region. This represents one of the
major drawbacks of CAI combustion. However, a
standard 3-way catalyst or oxidation catalyst can be
used effectively to remove most unburned hydrocarbon
emissions, providing exhaust gas temperatures are high
enough.
NOx Emissions of a SI engine running at 1500rpm range
from 0.2 (1.25 bar IMEP) to 12.8 g/kW.h (4 bar IMEP),
scaling approximately with load. Figure 4 shows the NOx
emissions map generated for gasoline CAI combustion
under these conditions. As expected, NOx emissions are
highest as the conditions approach the knock limit of the
region, increasing further as lambda is decreased to 1.0
(highest load). Heat release rates are highest in the
region of the knock boundary, and combustion
temperatures increase with EGR rate along that
boundary, resulting in NOx emissions peaking with load
at 0.35 g/kW.h. This represents a 97% reduction in
emissions compared to SI operation at the highest load
point.
Trends also show an increase in NOx emissions at low
EGR rates and high lambda (top-left corner region of
figure 4). This effect is attributable to extremely poor
combustion efficiency in this region. Since specific
emissions are highly dependent on the relative
difference between fuel consumption and power output,
higher specific NOx emissions result if combustion is
poor.
CO Emissions - Figure 5 shows the indicated specific
CO emissions for the CAI region. Clearly, CO increases
monotonically with distance from the knock boundary.
This is a good indicator that partial combustion is
occurring at higher lambda and EGR rates. Comparable
CO emissions for SI operation under these engine-
operating conditions are approximately 20 g/kW.h,
although slightly higher emissions result close to idle
conditions. There is a large region close to the knock
boundary where CAI combustion produces lower
emissions than SI combustion. However, since low
loads are desirable (to eliminate pumping losses) in a
CAI combustion mode, CO considerations become
important - low load is achieved at high lambda, with
CO emissions reaching above 300 g/kW.h at the extent
of the region. This is obviously another major drawback
of lean CAI combustion. At the highest load point of
operation in this region (lambda 1.0, EGR rate 43%),
CO emissions are minimised at approximately 2 g/kW.h,
offering substantial reductions compared to SI
operation.
ISFC Trends - ISFC is used as an indicator of CO2
emissions, and measures how efficiently the engine
uses the fuel supplied to do useful work, not including
frictional considerations. Figure 6 shows the ISFC map
for the CAI region. As with other emissions maps, ISFC
is minimum at the highest load point, where combustion
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is optimum, at a value of approximately 200 g/kW.h.
Comparable ISFCs of a reference SI engine range from
around 330 (1.25 bar IMEP) to 250 g/kW.h (4 bar
IMEP), primarily as a result of a reduction of pumping
losses across this range. Therefore, at best a 20%
reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions is
achieved for similar load and speed. However, this does
not consider the energy used in raising the charge
temperature. As lambda is increased, ISFC is also
increased due to oxygen dilution and a gradual lowering
of combustion temperature. Increased EGR dilution
(beyond 43%) also increases the ISFC. Highest fuel
consumption occurs as combustion approaches the
partial burn region, and a large percentage of the fuel is
exhausted as unburned hydrocarbons and partially
burned carbon monoxide.
ENGINE LOAD AND COMBUSTION VARIABILITY
IMEP Considerations - Since the test engine is of the
single cylinder research type, IMEP measurements only
shall be considered here. Figure 7 shows the IMEP map
for the gasoline CAI region. The iso-lines connecting
points of similar load run roughly parallel to those
connecting points of similar fuel rate (figure 8),indicating
that it is the fuel rate that controls the output power for
lean CAI combustion. The highest IMEP of 3.8 bar
occurs at lambda 1.0, EGR rate 43%, where all exhaust
emissions are minimum except NOx.
Combustion Variability - The Coefficient of Variation in
IMEP (COVimep) map is presented in figure 9. At values
of lambda higher than 4.0, combustion variability is
clearly affected by air dilution. Similarly, at EGR rates
higher than 43% variability is increased due to water
vapour and Carbon Dioxide dilution. The limit of
driveability (output torque variations) is normally defined
as 4% COVimep. Clearly, this would impose a maximum
lambda of about 3.5 and a maximum EGR rate of 43%
for CAI combustion to remain within tolerable limits under
these conditions.
The region of operation around lambda 1.0 is of
particular interest for practical CAI combustion. Around
this region the exhaust gas temperatures are most likely
to be high enough to maintain CAI combustion through
internal EGR only, and there is enough EGR to prevent
engine knock. The knock and misfire limits tend to
converge in this region, exemplified by the close
COVimep iso-lines. In order to enlarge the 'practical'
region of CAI it is necessary to develop the technology
so that the knock region is shifted to the left, and the
misfire region to the right. This may possibly be achieved
through fuel and/or engine configuration developments.
EXHAUST GAS TEMPERATURE - Figure 10 shows the
map obtained for exhaust gas temperatures.
Temperatures are minimum at 200°C and maximum at
440°C over the CAI range. Trends show that exhaust
gas temperature scales approximately with engine load
for moderate to high EGR rates. However, at low EGR
rates (0-10%) temperatures are comparatively reduced.
This effect cannot be attributed to changes in
combustion timing or duration since they are relatively
small over the 0-30% EGR range. Lower combustion
efficiency is thought to be the cause, indicated by higher
unburned HC emissions in the 0-10% EGR region.
HEAT RELEASE ANALYSES
Ignition Timing - Ignition timing is defined as the crank
angle at which 10% of the charge mass has burned.
Although lower values (1%, 5%) of mass fraction burned
could have defined ignition, it is believed that the
measurements of smaller quantities of burned gas are
subject to larger errors, which would increase the
measured variability of ignition timings. Figure 11 shows
the timing map for gasoline CAI combustion under these
conditions. Trends indicate that timing is affected more
by EGR dilution than by air dilution at low to moderate
EGR rates (0-40%). At EGR rates beyond 40%, timing
increasingly becomes dependant on lambda.
It is also found that the KOF is independent of ignition
timing but strongly affected by the fuel rate. That is, as
fuel rate is increased for constant EGR rate at the knock
boundary, ignition timing remains constant despite
heavier knocking combustion. This is different from SI
combustion, where ignition timing is one of the most
important variables that determines whether engine
knock occurs.
Combustion Duration (10-90% burn) - Figure 12 shows
the combustion duration map for gasoline. For low to
moderate EGR rates (up to 30%), combustion duration is
dependent mainly on lambda, more than EGR rate.
Thus, it is more air dilution than EGR dilution that
increases duration in this region. It is thought that
Increased duration combined with lower total heat-
release (as lambda is decreased) lead to partial burn, as
the charge 'freezes' before complete combustion can
occur. At moderate EGR rates (40-50%), duration
becomes independent of A/F ratio. In this region and
close to lambda 1.0, duration is increased significantly
with small increases in EGR rate, similar to the way
ignition timings are affected. Sharp increases in
combustion duration and retardation in ignition timing
around lambda 1.0 are the reasons for the knock and
misfire limits converging as they do.
Along the knock boundary, the combustion duration to
cause 10% KOF is approximately 7 °CA. Unlike ignition
timings, combustion duration is affected greatly if fuel
rate is increased, resulting in excessive heat release
rates, and heavy knock.
In the region above 50% EGR rate, increasing lambda
leads to more advanced timing and reduced combustion
duration. Figure 13 shows some of the inlet species
concentrations for a range of A/F ratios at 50% EGR
rate. As lambda is increased, O2 concentration also
increases, and CO2 and H2O concentrations fall. In this
region, EGR dilution clearly has a more detrimental affect
to combustion phasing than air dilution. It would appear
 Downloaded from SAE International by Univ of California Berkeley, Thursday, July 26, 2018
that the main effects of EGR dilution on the CAI
combustion of gasoline are twofold:
1. Exhaust gas has a higher specific heat than air.
Thus, increasing the EGR rate has the effect of
reducing the end-of-compression charge
temperature, which would tend to retard ignition and
increase levels of unburned HC and CO (thermal
effect).
2. On a molecular level, the increased presence of
non-reacting species (CO2 and H2O) combined with
the reduced availability of O2 tends to slow the
reactions leading to auto-ignition and subsequent
combustion, effectively retarding ignition and
increasing combustion duration (dilution effect).
It is not possible to determine which of the two effects is
dominant from this study. However, modelling work is
currently underway to separate the thermal, dilution, and
chemical effects of EGR on CAI combustion.
CONCLUSIONS
Gasoline CAI combustion at elevated intake
temperatures has been achieved. In order to study fuel
and dilution effects only, a lean-to-stoichiometric
operating region has been defined with regard to A/F
ratio and EGR rate. Measurements of various
combustion characteristics and engine-out emissions
within this region have led to the following conclusions:
1. With an intake charge temperature of 320°C, CAI
can be attained at A/F ratios in excess of 80:1 and
EGR rates as high as 60% using gasoline fuel
2. The CAI region attainable has three main
boundaries: (i) partial burn limit, where combustion
temperatures are not high enough to allow complete
combustion at lean A/F ratios, (ii) misfire limit, where
concentrations of CO2 and H2O are high enough to
cause extremely retarded ignition and large
combustion durations, and (iii) knock limit, where
heat release rates are high enough to cause in-
cylinder pressure oscillations.
3. Unburned HC emissions exceed those of normal SI
operation over the entire CAI operating region.
4. The introduction of small amounts of EGR to the
intake charge significantly reduces unburned HC
emissions, through improvements in combustion
efficiency.
5. The highest NOx emissions recorded were 0.35
g/kW.h, occurring at the highest load point in the
region (lambda 1.0, EGR rate 43%). This represents
a 97% reduction compared to normal SI combustion
emissions at a similar load and speed.
6. CO emissions vary from 2 g/kW.h to in excess of
300 g/kW.h over the region. The higher CO
emissions occur at lower loads. This is potentially a
problem, since lean CAI combustion is required for
low-load operation so that pumping losses are
minimised.
7. Fuel consumption is best at the highest load point,
at around 200 g/kW.h. Comparable SI operation
yields an ISFC of approximately 250 g/kW.h,
showing that a 20% reduction in total CO2 emissions
is possible. Increased charge dilution by air or
exhaust species tends to reduce combustion
efficiency and increase ISFC.
8. IMEP trends scale with fuelling rate. Thus, engine
load is directly controlled by A/F ratio. The highest
load attainable in the CAI region was 3.8 bar IMEP,
which occurred at lambda 1.0, EGR rate 43%.
9. COVimep tends to increase with increased air and
EGR dilution. If normal driveability limits are applied,
then the successful CAI region is limited to
approximately 3.5 lambda and 43% EGR.
10. Exhaust gas temperatures scale approximately with
fuel rate, except at low EGR rates where
combustion efficiency is slightly reduced, resulting in
lower total heat release and higher unburned HC
emissions.
11. Except at high EGR rates (>45%), ignition timing is
affected more by EGR dilution than by air dilution. In
the region around lambda 1.0 and EGR rate 45%,
small increases in EGR rate lead to large ignition
retardations. Degree of knock (KOF) is not
dependent directly on ignition timing. This is
distinctly different to SI operation, where spark
timing is one of the major variables determining
whether spark-knock occurs.
12. Except at high EGR rates (>30%), combustion
duration is dependant mainly on lambda, not EGR
rate; higher lambda leads to increased combustion
duration, and contributes towards partial burn. In the
region around lambda 1.0 and EGR rate 45%, small
increases in EGR rate lead to large increases in
combustion duration.
The above results clearly demonstrate the importance of
air and EGR dilution effects on gasoline CAI combustion.
One of the most useful practical applications of the CAI
engine is in hybrid form with either SI or diesel
technology. Such an engine would utilise the clean and
efficient qualities of CAI combustion at part-load and the
high power density output of SI or diesel technologies at
high-load. To this end, optimisation of fuel blends for CAI
combustion at part-load while maintaining the key fuel-
features that allow conventional full-load operation is an
important area of research and development that needs
to be addressed.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial
support to the work reported here by EPSRC and the
Ford Motor Company. The authors would also like to
thank the partners of the Brite-EuRam 4-SPACE project
for their support and advice throughout the course of
this work.
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REFERENCES
1. Onishi, S., Hong Jo, S., Shoda, K., Do Jo, P., and
Kato, S., "Active Thermo-Atmosphere Combustion
(ATAC) - A New Combustion Process for Internal
Combustion Engines", SAE Paper 790501, 1979.
2. Noguchi, M., Tanaka, Y., Tanaka, T., and Takeuchi,
Y., "A Study on Gasoline Engine Combustion by
Observation of Intermediate Reactive Products
during Combustion", SAE Paper 790840, 1979.
3. Najt, P. M., and Foster, D. E., "Compression-Ignited
Homogenous Charge Combustion", SAE Paper
830264, 1983.
4. Thring, R. H., "Homogenous Charge Compression-
Ignition (HCCI) Engines", SAE Paper 892068, 1989.
5. Christensen, M., Hultqvist, A., and Johansson, B.,
"Demonstrating the Multi Fuel Capability of a
Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition Engine
with Variable Compression Ratio", SAE Paper 1999-
01-3679, 1999
6. Pucher, G. R., Gardiner, D. P., Bardon, M. F., and
Battista, V., "Alternative Combustion Systems for
Piston Engines Involving Homogenous Charge
Compression Ignition Concepts - A review of Studies
Using Methanol, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel.", SAE
Paper 962063, 1996.
7. Stanglmaier, R. H., and Roberts, C. E.,
"Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI):
Benefits, Compromises, and Future Engine
Applications", SAE Paper 1999-01-3682, 1999.
8. Flowers, D., Aceves, S., Smith, R., Torres, J., Girard,
J., and Dibble, R., "HCCI in a CFR Engine:
Experiments and Detailed Kinetic Modelling", SAE
Paper 2000-01-0328, 2000
9. Lavy, J., Dabadie, J., Angelberger, C., Duret, P.
(IFP), Willand, J., Juretzka, A., Schaflein, J.
(Daimler-Chrysler), Ma, T. (Ford), Lendresse, Y.,
Satre, A.(PSA Peugeot Citroen), Schulz, C., Kramer,
H. (PCI - Heidelberg University), Zhao, H., Damiano
(Brunel University), "Innovative Ultra-low NOx
Controlled Auto-Ignition Combustion Process for
Gasoline Engines : the 4-SPACE Project", SAE
Paper 2000-01-1837, 2000.
10. Heywood, J. B., "Internal Combustion Engine
Fundamentals", pp. 148-152, McGraw-Hill Book
Company, ISBN 0-07-100499-8, 1988.
11. Stone, R., "Introduction to Internal Combustion
Engines", Third Edition, pp.535-541, Macmillan
Press, ISBN 0-333-74013-0, 1999.
DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS
CAI: Various names have been given to the combustion
process described in this paper, including ATAC (Active
Thermo Atmosphere Combustion), TS (Toyota-Soken),
HCCI (Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition),
PCCI (Premixed Charge Compression Ignition), and
FDCCP (Fluid Dynamically Controlled Combustion
Process). In essence, this combustion process combines
the premixed air/fuel mixture of SI engines with the auto-
ignition combustion of CI engines. Currently, the most
generic of the terms used is PCCI. However,
conventional application of the word 'premixed' implies
charge formation in the inlet manifold, which is not
necessarily the case, especially with GDI and Diesel
engines running CAI combustion. Thus, the term
controlled auto-ignition (CAI) is used to be a generic
descriptor of the combustion process, while being
compatible with the classical classification of internal
combustion engines (SI and CI), defined by ignition
process. Furthermore, the authors believe that the
currently accepted acronym HCCI is insufficient in
describing either the practical 2-stroke or 4-stroke
combustion mechanism identified by Onishi et. al [1]
and lavy et. al. [9] respectively, given published [9] and
forthcoming results from the 4SPACE project.
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5.5

PARTIAL BURN REGION

5.0

4.5

4.0
Lambda

3.5

3.0

2.5

KNOCK REGION
2.0

1.5
MISFIRE
Test Data Points REGION
1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
EGRrate [% by mass]

Figure 2: Region Defining Successful CAI Operation for Unleaded Gasoline

5.5 80
70
60
50
5.0 40

4.5
30

4.0
20
lambda

3.5
15

3.0

2.5
10

2.0

1.5

1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
EGRrate [% by mass]

Figure 3: Indicated Specific Unburned Hydrocarbon Emissions, (g/kW.h)

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5.5 0.15

0.10
5.0

4.5

4.0
0.05
lambda

3.5

3.0

2.5

0.05

2.0
0.10

0.15
1.5
0.20

0.25

1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
EGRrate [% by mass]

Figure 4: Specific Indicated NOx Emissions, (g/kW.h)

400
5.5
320 300 280 260
240
220

5.0 200

180

4.5

160
140
4.0 120
100
80
lambda

3.5 60

40

3.0
20

2.5
10

2.0
5

1.5

1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
EGRrate [% by mass]

Figure 5: Indicated Specific CO Emissions, (g/kW.h)

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5.5 520
460

420
380
5.0 340
300

4.5

340

4.0 320

300

280
lambda

3.5
260

3.0 240

2.5

220
2.0

210
1.5

1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
EGRrate [% by mass]

Figure 6: Indicated Specific Fuel Consumption (ISFC), (g/kW.h)

5.5
0.7

5.0

4.5 0.9

1.1

4.0
1.3

1.5
lambda

3.5

1.7

3.0
1.9

2.5 2.1

2.3

2.5
2.0
2.7
2.9
3.1
1.5 3.3
3.5
3.7

1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
EGRrate [% by mass]

Figure 7: Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP), (bar)

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5.5

5.0

4.5

0.060

4.0
0.065
Lambda

3.5 0.070

3.0 0.075

0.080

2.5
0.090

2.0 0.100

0.110

1.5 0.120

0.130

0.140
1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
EGR rate (% by mass)

Figure 8: Mass flow-rate of fuel through injector (g/s at 1500rpm)

5.5
18

14
5.0
10
8

6
4.5
4

4.0

22 26 30
Lambda

3.5

3.0

2.5 4 6 8 10 14 18

2.0
2 26

1.5

1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
EGR rate (% by mass)

Figure 9: Coefficient of Variation in IMEP (COVimep), (%)

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5.5 210
220

5.0

230
4.5
240

250
4.0
260

270
Lambda

3.5
280

3.0 290

300

2.5 310

320

330
2.0 340
350
360
370
1.5 380

400
420
1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
EGR rate (% by mass)

Figure 10: Exhaust Gas Temperature, (°C)

5.5
362.5
363.0
361.0
5.0
360.0

4.5

4.0
Lambda

358.0 359.5 360.0 360.5 361.0 361.5 362.0

3.5 358.5 359.0

362.5

3.0 363.0

363.5

364.0
2.5 364.5
365.0
365.5
2.0 366.0

367.0

1.5 368.0

369.0

1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
EGR rate (% by mass)

Figure 11: Ignition Timing (10% burn Crank Angle), (°CA, TDC=360)
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5.5 16

15
14
5.0

4.5

4.0

9
Lambda

3.5 8

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
7
3.0

19
2.5
20
21
2.0 22
23

1.5

1.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
EGR rate (% by mass)

Figure 12: Combustion Duration (10-90% Burn), (°CA)

18.0
O2
CO2
16.0 H2O
Inlet Charge Species Concentration (Wet % of total)

14.0

12.0

10.0

8.0

6.0

4.0

2.0

0.0
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
lambda

Figure 13: Wet Species Concentrations in Inlet Charge (EGR rate = 50%)