Minimum Favorable Conditions for Hydrogen-Diesel Combustion

A test apparatus was designed and fabricated that allowed very small amounts of diesel fuel to be injected into a hydrogen-air mixture. This apparatus was designed to be able to operate near the limits of diesel fuel injectors. The purpose of this apparatus is to find out if the injectors in diesel engines are capable of igniting a hydrogen-air mixture when operated at their limits and to explore past their limits for further advancement in the field of dual-fuel hydrogen-diesel combustion. The minimum flow rate of diesel fuel the apparatus could produce was 120.46 (cm3)/min and the fastest response time that could be achieved was 1 ms. Both of these parameters at least met the limits of the current diesel injection setups. The smallest mass of diesel fuel that could be injected was 15.7 mg. This mass produced combustion in the hydrogen-air mixture for all hydrogen concentrations and temperatures tested.