Effect of Excessive Air Ratio on Hydrogen-fueled Spark Ignition Engine with High Compression Ratio Using Direct Injection System toward Higher Brake Power and Thermal Efficiency

Hydrogen is advantageous for use in internal combustion engines (ICEs) because of its high laminar flame speed and carbon-neutral characteristics. However, because of its low minimum ignition energy, abnormal combustions such as back-fire, pre-ignition, and knocking hinder its efficient supply as a fuel to ICEs under near stoichiometric conditions. Hence, in this study, the effect of various excessive air ratios (λ) on the performance of a hydrogen-fueled spark ignition engine using port fuel injection (PFI) was evaluated under wide-open throttle conditions. After determining the highest limit for the maximum brake torque, a hydrogen direct injection (DI) system was applied under the same λ and abnormal combustion limits to improve the brake power (BP). Results show that at 1,500 rpm, a maximum BP of 14.7 kW was achieved under a λ value of 1.4 with PFI; however, it can be increased up to 21.1 kW using DI with the same brake thermal efficiency under a compression ratio of 14.