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• Effect of Spark plug position on hydrogen rotary engine is investigated. • Leading spark plug can obtain higher power and low cyclic variation. • Hydrogen rotary engine's spark plug should locate the front of the minor axis. • Hydrogen rotary engine has excellent emission under lean combustion. • Best CA50 of hydrogen rotary engine locates between 35 and 40°CA ATDC. As a promising power system, hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine with excellent power and emission characteristic have received attention increasingly, which makes it of great interest to investigate it. To make up for blanks, this work was conducted to experimentally investigate the effect of spark plug position on the combustion and emission characteristic of hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine under 1500 r/min, 66 kPa manifold absolute pressure and 1.5 excess air ratio. The results indicate that compared to the trailing spark plug, the leading spark plug is more suitable to hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engines, which can realize a wider ignition range, higher maximum brake torque, lower cyclic variation and better nitric oxide emission. The maximum brake torque of adopting trailing spark plug is 31.2 N·m, which is only 87% of the maximum brake torque of 36.0 N·m with adopting leading spark plug. At the maximum brake torque ignition timing, adopting leading trailing spark plug achieves lower cyclic variation and slightly higher thermal load than adopting trailing spark plug. Besides, the optimum central heat-release point of both spark plug positions locate between 35 and 40°CA after the top dead center, and that of leading spark plug is later 2°CA than that of trailing spark plug. Moreover, both spark plug positions obtained 0 nitric oxide emission at maximum brake torque ignition timing, which means that emission will not be a problem to limit the selection of spark plug position under tested conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The application of O 2 enrichment in a hydrogen Wankel rotary engine is assessed. • O 2 enrichment can improve power output with penalties in efficiency and emission. • O 2 -enriched level can effectively accelerate the heat release process. • O 2 enrichment will lead to knock, backfire and pre-ignition. • Low O 2 -enriched levels has higher application value than high O 2 -enriched levels. Hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engines (WREs) with excellent dynamic and emission characteristics have the potential to become a substitute for current fossil-fueled reciprocating piston engines. Oxygen enrichment can be employed to solve the lower power of hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines, however, it has not been applied in hydrogen-fueled WRE at present. Hence, the goal of this work is to experimentally assess the application of oxygen enrichment in the hydrogen-fueled WRE. This work is conducted at 1500 r/min, wide-open throttle and 2.0 excess air ratio. The work found that within the test range, oxygen enrichment can effectively improve the brake torque of hydrogen-fueled WRE, however, penalize the brake thermal efficiency and NO emission. When the oxygen fraction in air increases from 21% to 29.1%, the brake torque is increased by about 45% while the brake thermal efficiency is lowered by about 8.5% and NO emission deteriorates by three orders of magnitude. Oxygen enrichment can accelerate flame development and propagation process. Besides, as the oxygen-enriched level is increased, abnormal combustion, including knock, backfire and pre-ignition, began to occur and affected the normal operation of hydrogen-fueled WRE. In general, compared with the high oxygen-enriched level, which has severe penalties on performance except for power output, low oxygen-enriched level has higher application potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Knock of hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine is investigated in this work. • Effect of ignition timing, spark plug location and number, λ and speed are studied. • Knock intensity with distribution, knock duration and cyclic variation are analyzed. • All of aspects studied in this work have significant effects on the knock. Hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine (HWER) is an excellent power device with superior power and emission performances. Besides, unlike hydrogen-fueled reciprocating piston engines, HWRE is less prone to backfire due to its structural advantages. However, limited by its long combustion chamber, knock, one of abnormal combustion in engines, still hinders the development of HWER. Hence, based on this consideration, the goal of this work is to investigate the knock of HWRE from different aspects, including ignition timing, spark plug number, spark plug location, excess air ratio and engine speed, to provide relevant information for the design of hydrogen-specific WRE. The results show that the knock intensity gradually increases as the ignition timing is advanced, the excess air ratio is decreased and the engine speed is increased, but the knock duration shows different variations. Adopting dual spark plugs tends to lead to stronger knock caused by unstable combustion of hydrogen, while only adopting leading spark plug tends to lead to the knock caused by auto-ignition. When dual spark plugs are used, the leading spark plug is more responsible for the knock caused by unstable combustion and the trailing spark plug is more responsible for the knock caused by auto-ignition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Experiments in a modified hydrogen-fueled rotary engine are presented. • Comparatively investigating the effect of asynchronous and synchronous ignition. • Asynchronous ignition achieves higher torque and lower tendency of knock. • Leading and trailing plugs act as primary and auxiliary spark plugs respectively. • The CA50 should be located at 35 to 40°CA ATDC to obtain the highest power. This work aims to investigate experimentally the asynchronous ignition in a hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine. This work was carried out at 1500 r/min and lean combustion. The experimental results showed that a suitable asynchronous ignition may realize better power performance than synchronous ignition and earlier ignition timing of the leading plug than that of the trailing plug is more preferable. When the leading plug and the trailing plug spark at 5°CA ATDC and 20°CA ATDC, respectively, the highest torque is obtained, 36.4 N·m, higher than 35.2 N·m, the highest torque when the synchronous ignition is adopted. Besides, a declined tendency of knock also can be achieved by asynchronous ignition. Compared with synchronous ignition at 35.2 N·m, a reduction of 19.5% maximum pressure rising rate can be achieved by asynchronous ignition at 36.4 N·m. In addition, for hydrogen-fueled WRE, the CA50 should be located at 35 to 40°CA ATDC to obtain the highest output torque. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The centurial development and progress of WRE were fully reviewed. • Fuel, sealing, ignition, cooling, combustion chamber design, etc. are discussed. • The future commercialization and development direction of WRE is summarized. Wankel rotary engine (WRE) featured high power density, compact structure and smooth operation takes advantage of the powertrain assembly and has been highly valued by many countries and regions. However, under the restriction of increasingly strict emission regulations, the development of WRE is gradually depressed, and WRE begins to fade out of the sight of the public and is only active in a few fields. Fortunately, many scholars and institutions are still contributing to the development of WRE. In nearly-one century since the WRE was proposed, a large number of studies on WRE have emerged that need to be organized and comprehensively to provide guidance for the subsequent development of WRE. This work is designed to present a comprehensive review of WRE's centurial progress and development from aspects of fuel selection and supply, sealing and friction, cooling, combustion chamber design, etc. First of all, the characteristics of WRE are introduced and a nearly centurial history of WRE is provided to better understand WRE. Secondly, the progress, development and application of WRE are reviewed. Finally, the key issues of the further commercialization and development of WRE are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The behavior of CO2 in a hydrogen Wankel rotary engine is investigated. • CO2 can effectively improve the dynamics, economics and emission characteristics. • CO2 has significant effects on the heat release process. • Adding CO2 into intake can be considered an excellent knock suppression method. • CO2 has a better effect on the prevention of knock than N2. To prevent global warming, vigorously developing hydrogen energy has become one of research focuses of various countries and regions in recent years. Hydrogen-fueled engines have been proven to be a potential alternative to current fossil-fueled engines. Among various engines, Wankel rotary engine (WRE) is praised for its simple structure and excellent dynamic characteristics, which can greatly compensate for the low specific-volume heat value of hydrogen. However, hydrogen-fueled WRE suffers from low efficiency, high NOx emission and severe knock. For methanol-reforming hydrogen-fueled ICEs, CO2 as the by-product can be used as variant-cooled-EGR to improve ICEs performance and prevent abnormal combustion. Therefore, this work researches the behavior of CO2 on the hydrogen-fueled WRE. The work is conducted at 1500 r/min and wide-open throttle. The results show that CO2 has a significant influence on the heat release process of hydrogen-fueled WRE. Due to this influence, when the volume fraction of CO2 in intake (CO2%) is increased from 0 to 19.28%, the brake thermal efficiency can be improved by 8% with a 7% decline in power output. The NO emission has two orders of magnitude of reduction with increasing CO2% from 0 to 19.28%.. In addition, compared with cooled-EGR, CO2 has a better effect on knock suppression. If methanol-reforming to produce hydrogen becomes the mainstream of on-board hydrogen production in the future, the application of CO2 is of great significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The one-dimensional simulation model of the WRE was established. • The temperature field of rotors with different structures was obtained. • The effects of cooling fins structures on engine performances. The Wankel rotary engine (WRE) is widely used in the fields of unmanned aerial vehicles and range extenders due to its superior power-to-weight ratio. However, the rotor piston bears an intense thermal load during operation. This study focuses on the implementation of the coupled 1D-3D model. The influence of ECFs on WRE performance characteristics and emissions and improving WRE performance characteristics and emissions at different operating parameters (speeds and hydrogen enrichment) with ECFs are studied. The simulation results demonstrated that radial-fins have a more significant effect, reducing the fire-face's average temperature by 49.03 K and increasing the in-cylinder mass by 6.4 %. Compared with no-fins, radial-fins can increase pressure by 4.4 % and HRR by 5.6 %. At the same time, the NOx is reduced by 15.60 %, and the CO is slightly increased by 0.93 %. At different speeds, the ECF structure can improve the engine performance. The ECFs are more evident at low speeds, which can increase the indicated power by 3.13 % compared with the original engine. Compared with the gasoline-fueled WREs, using radial-fins can lead to more apparent performance improvement for hydrogen-enriched WREs. This paper will provide insight into the feasibility of ECF configuration to improve the performance of WREs in engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The one-dimensional simulation model of the WRE was established. • The temperature field of rotors with different structures was obtained. • The effects of cooling fins structures on engine performances. The Wankel rotary engine (WRE) is widely used in the fields of unmanned aerial vehicles and range extenders due to its superior power-to-weight ratio. However, the rotor piston bears an intense thermal load during operation. This study focuses on the implementation of the coupled 1D-3D model. The influence of ECFs on WRE performance characteristics and emissions and improving WRE performance characteristics and emissions at different operating parameters (speeds and hydrogen enrichment) with ECFs are studied. The simulation results demonstrated that radial-fins have a more significant effect, reducing the fire-face's average temperature by 49.03 K and increasing the in-cylinder mass by 6.4 %. Compared with no-fins, radial-fins can increase pressure by 4.4 % and HRR by 5.6 %. At the same time, the NOx is reduced by 15.60 %, and the CO is slightly increased by 0.93 %. At different speeds, the ECF structure can improve the engine performance. The ECFs are more evident at low speeds, which can increase the indicated power by 3.13 % compared with the original engine. Compared with the gasoline-fueled WREs, using radial-fins can lead to more apparent performance improvement for hydrogen-enriched WREs. This paper will provide insight into the feasibility of ECF configuration to improve the performance of WREs in engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two calculation methods for the leakage area of spark plug cavities are given. • The leakage gas mass of three types apex seal leakage is calculated. • The effects of three types apex seal leakage on engine performance are compared. • Measures to reduce apex seal leakage are given. • The effects of the movement of leading spark plug on leakage are calculated. Under the background of carbon peaking and carbon–neutral, the hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine with excellent power and emission characteristic is under the spotlight. The leakage problem, especially the apex seal leakage, is considered to be an important engineering problem restricting the development of hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine. To make up for research gaps, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of three types of apex seal leakage on engine performance. Two methods for calculating the leakage area of spark plug cavities are proposed and compared, and the definition method based on leakage direction is more consistent with the experimental results. The leading spark plug leakage and corner seal leakage has the greatest impact on peak pressure and IMEP, which reduce the peak value of pressure by 0.249 MPa and 0.047 MPa, and reduce the IMEP by 8.68 % and 10.51 % respectively. In addition to reducing the leakage area, reducing the distance between leading spark plug and minor axis by 5.5 mm could increase the peak pressure by 0.2 MPa and reduce the leakage from the working chamber to the adjacent chambers from 0.055 g to 0.038 g. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hydrogen Wankel rotary engine and reciprocating piston engine are compared. • This work studies the comparison from combustion, emission and abnormal combustion. • HWRE can achieve excellent power, but with low efficiency and poor NO emission. • Backfire won't prevent the application of HWRE, but knock will. • Efficiency, thermal load and knock need to be improved in the development of HWRE. Hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine (HWRE) as an excellent power device deserves more in-depth study. The goal of this work is to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the pros and cons of HWRE and what should be done when developing a hydrogen-specific WRE by comparing HWRE with hydrogen-fueled reciprocating piston engine (HRPE), as well as some gasoline-fueled conditions, in terms of combustion, emissions and abnormal combustion. The results show that HWRE can achieve higher power per displacement compared to the RPE fueled by whether gasoline or hydrogen, as well as slightly low brake thermal efficiency and extremely poor NO emission. At 2500 r/min, the maximum power per displacement of HWRE is 1.66 and 1.23 times that of hydrogen and gasoline RPE, respectively, however, accompanying absolute reductions of 4.96% and 3.06% in maximum brake thermal efficiency. In addition, the characteristics and mechanisms of abnormal combustion in HWREs are different compared to HRPEs. In particular, in HWRE, the backfire can be eliminated by the improvement of the spark plug hole, while the knock problem is more prominent. Overall, HWREs have the potential to win a place in the future of zero-carbon engines, however, some works, such as improving thermal efficiency, reducing thermal load and preventing knock, need to be done for the development of hydrogen-specific WRE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A modified n-butanol-fueled rotary engine was be used to experiment. • The effects of idle speed reduction and hydrogen enrichment were studied. • Idle speed reduction is an effective way to improve the economy of the engine. • Hydrogen-enriched can improve combustion and emission performance. • High blending hydrogen level can offset the negative effect of idle speed reduction. This work aims to improve the idle performance of the n-butanol rotary engine by blending hydrogen and reducing idle speed. Hydrogen volume percentage (β H2) changes from 0 to 7.94% and the idle speed decreases from 2600 to 2400 rpm. The test results show that the engine can achieve better stability and economy due to the coupling effect of mixing hydrogen and reducing the idling. The total fuel flow rate reduces from 24.57 MJ/h at 2600 rpm when pure n-butanol is fueled to 19.35 MJ/h at 2400 rpm when β H2 equals to 7.94%. The period of flame development and propagation are observably decreased by blending hydrogen even if reducing idle speed has a few negative effects. Hydrogen enrichment is an effective way to reduce the emissions of CO and HC. Besides, the negative effects of reducing idle speed on HC and CO emissions are decreased to a negligible level when β H2 passes about 7%. Besides, NOx emission is maintained at an extremely low value in the testing range. Also, enrichment hydrogen can compensate for the negative effects on combustion and emissions of reducing idle speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]