Authors

A. Ferrarese, Tupy S.A., Joinville, Brazil; F. Silva, C. Zabeu, Maua Institute of Technology, Brazil; C. da Silva, J. Fagundez, M. Martins, T. Lanzanova, Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil

Year

2026

Print Info

Production/Publication ÖVK

Summary

Decarbonized mobility calls for renewable fuels in existing engines as a fast track for competitive solutions, especially on commercial vehicles. The typical application of ethanol, or other synthetic alcohol fuels produced via Power-to-X pathways, such as methanol, is in spark ignition engines. There are applications with successful results, but they are limited to engines with 20 bar BMEP, which enables ethanol versions to provide the same power and torque than diesel in the same engine size. This work evaluates ethanol as a substitute for diesel in a compression-ignition platform, using thermal efficiency as the main metric. Due to its low cetane number, ethanol does not readily autoignite under compression and therefore a glow plug is used to assist ignition. Such design could even allow simple engine adaptations supporting not only new engine design, but successful and simple retrofit. The development is presented by numerical simulation and engine test studies. The operating conditions are explored in three representative operating points—one partial-load and two full-load cases at different speeds. Each point is first run on diesel and then replicated with ethanol. Injection strategy and in-cylinder thermodynamic conditions are systematically varied to establish stable combustion and map operating windows. Comparative results quantify changes in ignition delay, heat-release behaviour and efficiency trends. Particular attention is given to glow-plug-initiated ignition, kernel formation and subsequent flame development. Under optimized intake and injection settings, ethanol achieves performance comparable to diesel while preserving combustion stability.

ISBN

978-3-9504969-5-6

DOI

https://doi.org/10.62626/1kkn-o6kz Copy link

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