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Highlights • A CFD model of H 2 -gasoline fueled rotary engine was established and validated. • The CFD model was modified by installing the compound intake ports. • The mean in-cylinder pressure and indicated thermal efficiency were increased. • Combining compound intake with HDI obtained a better engine performance. • CO emission was decreased, but NOx emissions were increased. Abstract The compound intake possesses large port area. Applying it in Wankel rotary engine (WRE) could increase volumetric efficiency and reduce pumping loss. To investigate the effect of the compound intake on the mixture formation and combustion process in gasoline WREs with hydrogen port and direct injected (HPI and HDI) enrichment, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was established and validated. Investigation results showed that the peripheral-ported intake flow plays a leading role in the compound-ported WRE. Because the peripheral-ported intake flow has the same direction with the rotor movement, the formation time of mainstream flow field is shortened and the mean flow speed is increased, the flame propagation in the same direction with mainstream flow field is accelerated. Meanwhile, the improvements in volumetric efficiency and quality of in-charged mixtures result in the rise of temperature and pressure at spark timing, which could also improve the initial thermal conditions. Therefore, the compound intake effectively accelerates the combustion process in WRE. In HPI conditions, compared with the side-ported WRE, the peak in-cylinder pressure and indicated thermal efficiency in compound-ported WRE are respectively increased by 4.5% and 3.9%. In HDI conditions, the flame could propagate to the rear combustion chamber and eliminate the unburned zone, the maximum in-cylinder pressure and indicated thermal efficiency in side-ported WRE with HDI are 84.7% and 6.6% higher than those of in side-ported WRE with HPI. At the same time, the compound intake could further increase the in-cylinder pressure and indicated thermal efficiency by 6.8% and 2.5%, respectively. However, the improved combustion performance increases the in-cylinder temperature, which provides a suitable thermal-atmosphere for nitrogen oxide (NO x) formation. The compound intake increases mass fractions of NO x emissions from 0.111% to 0.141% in HPI conditions and those from 0.268% to 0.284% in HDI conditions. Considering the compound intake promotes the combustion characteristics and effectively decreases carbon monoxide (CO) emission from 0.043% to 0.033% in HPI conditions, and from 0.008% to 0.003% in HDI conditions, it is a feasible way to improve the performance of WREs. Especially, combining it with HDI could obtain a better engine performance under low engine speed and part load conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A CFD model of H 2 -gasoline fueled rotary engine was established and validated. • H 2 was direct injected in the combustion chamber under different strategies. • In-cylinder pressure increased with retarded HIT and extended HID. • The lowest CO emission was achieved in HIT of 110 °CA BTDC, HID of 40 °CA. • Higher NO x emissions were acquired in retarded HIT and extended HID. Abstract In Wankel rotary engine (WRE), high mainstream velocity in combustion chamber blocks flame propagating to the end of combustion chamber, which causes high emissions and low combustion efficiency due to unburned mixtures. To solve this problem, a three-dimensional dynamic simulation model of a hydrogen-gasoline blends fueled WRE is built and validated. The in-cylinder mixture formation and combustion process are investigated under different hydrogen injection timing (HIT) and duration (HID) conditions. The study results show that the concentration of hydrogen distributed between the spark plug region and rear combustion chamber increases with retarded HIT and extended HID. Faster flame speeds are obtained for HIT of 110 °CA BTDC and HID of 40 °CA. At a fixed HID of 20 °CA, compared with HITs of 210 and 160 °CA BTDC, the peak in-cylinder pressures for HIT of 110 °CA BTDC are increased by 14.3% and 6.8%, respectively. At a fixed HIT of 110 °CA BTDC, the peak in-cylinder pressure in HID of 40 °CA is 52.3% and 9.21% higher than HIDs of 20 and 30 °CA. The highest in-cylinder pressure is achieved with the hydrogen injection strategy that HIT of 110 °CA BTDC, HID of 40 °CA. However, as the temperature increases with pressure, nitrogen oxide emissions are also increased with retarded HIT and extended HID obviously. Considering the lowest carbon monoxide is achieved and the unburned zone in the rear region of combustion chamber is eliminated in HIT of 110 °CA BTDC, HID of 40 °CA. The hydrogen direct injection strategy that HIT of 110 °CA BTDC, HID of 40 °CA acquires the best engine performance in this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of carbon neutral, hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine (WRE) with high power density and compact layout has the potential to become a substitute for current fossil engines. Ammonia as a carbon-free renewable energy is considered alternative energy used in vehicles, however, its application on WRE is lacking. Therefore, the present work aims to investigate the performance of ammonia-enriched hydrogen-fueled WRE to analyze the feasibility of ammonia applied in hydrogen-fueled WRE. The main conclusions are as follows: Under test conditions, the maximum brake torque and thermal efficiency are obtained at about 30% and 40% volume fraction of ammonia in fuel, and compared with pure hydrogen conditions, achieving relative improvements of 21% and 29%, respectively. Slightly rich combustion is recommended to increase power and decrease NO emissions with an acceptable economic loss. In addition, ammonia enrichment can prevent the occurrence of abnormal combustion. [Display omitted] • Performance analysis of NH3-enriched hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine. • NH3 enrichment can improve dynamics and economy with penalties for NO emission. • Slightly rich combustion is recommended for NH3-enriched hydrogen-fueled WRE. • NH3 enrichment is an effective way to prevent abnormal combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A CFD model of hydrogen-enriched gasoline Wankel rotary engine is established and validated. The mixture formation and combustion processes are investigated under both hydrogen port and direct injection enrichment conditions with different hydrogen addition levels. It was found that, under hydrogen port injection enrichment conditions, the peak in-cylinder pressure of 6% is 8.4% higher that of 3%. Meanwhile, under hydrogen direct injection enrichment conditions, the peak in-cylinder pressure of 3% hydrogen direct injection enrichment is 15.3% higher than that of 3% hydrogen port injection enrichment. It was also found that the mainstream field with same direction of rotor rotation is formed during the compression stroke and a vortex with high vorticity existed in the combustion chamber. With the effects of mainstream field and vortex, the hydrogen fills more than half volume of the entire combustion chamber under 4%, 5% and 6% HDIE conditions. At the same time, a local low velocity zone is formed around the vortex because the hydrogen direct injection flow slows down the dissipation of vortex. According to the analysis by PREMIX, the fastest flame speed is achieved at equivalence ratios around 1.4. The proper rich hydrogen region distribution is obtained under 4%, 5% and 6% hydrogen direct injection enrichment conditions. Both the enhanced flame propagation by proper equivalence ratio distribution and the reduced local mainstream flow velocity by vortex existence contribute to solving the unburned zone problem. Compared with 6% hydrogen port injection enrichment, the maximum value of in-cylinder pressure of 4%, 5% and 6% hydrogen direct injection enrichment is improved by 59.6%, 88.4% and 91.6%, respectively. However, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide emissions are increased obviously. As a relatively low carbon monoxide emission is obtained with 4% case under hydrogen direct injection enrichment conditions and the problem of unburned zone in the rear region of combustion chamber is solved. The hydrogen volume fraction of 4% with direct injection enrichment achieves the best engine performance in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine with excellent power and emission characteristic is under spotlight, while the leakage is still the major problem for Wankel rotary engine, especially the leading spark plug leakage. The peak pressure is increased from 3.34 MPa to 3.52 MPa and the indicated thermal efficiency reaches maximum value of 38.29% when the moving distance of leading spark plug is −6.5 mm, and the mass of leakage fresh mixture is reduced from 0.00311 g to 0 g. When leading spark plug is moved to minor axis, the flow field structure of working chamber is enhanced. However, the peak pressure and indicated thermal efficiency decrease when the moving distance of leading spark plug exceeds −6.5 mm. The excess leakage residual gas has negative effects on combustion. The optimum moving distance of leading spark plug is −6.5 mm at 3000 rpm with λ of 1.6. • The leakage mechanisms of spark plugs are analyzed. • The influence of leading spark plug location on gas leakage is analyzed. • The influence of leading spark plug location on combustion is analyzed. • The influence of leading spark plug location on flow field is analyzed. • The optimum location of leading spark plug is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine is proposed to resist the threat of global warming. Wankel rotary engine (WRE) has been proven to be an excellent hydrogen-fueled power device, which can overcome the shortcomings of hydrogen, such as poor power, serious backfire and large storage volume, to some extent when it is used as fuel in the internal combustion engine. However, due to its unique structure, WRE suffers from severe knock. Therefore, the goal of this work is to investigate the impacts of knock type on the heat release process in hydrogen-fueled WRE. This present work is conducted at 2000 r/min and wide-open throttle. The main results are as follows: In hydrogen-fueled WRE, the peak knock pressure of knock caused by rapid and unstable combustion of hydrogen is usually earlier than CA50 and that of knock caused by spontaneous combustion of end gas is usually later than CA50. The sequence between the crank angle of peak knock pressure and CA50 combined with knock intensity can be used to determine the knock type in hydrogen-fueled WRE. Besides, a means for knock detection is proposed according to the distribution of crank angle corresponding to peak knock pressure. In addition, the distribution of CA0-10, CA50 and CA10-90 of 1000 consecutive cycles under two kinds of knock in hydrogen-fueled WRE are discussed in detail, and regular conclusions are drawn. In particular, the limitation of CA50 as a metric for evaluating knock level is also demonstrated. • The impact of knock type on the heat release of hydrogen Wankel engine is discussed. • The distribution of CA0-10, CA50 and CA10-90 with knock intensity are analyzed. • A method is proposed to estimate the knock occur. • A method is proposed to determine the knock type in hydrogen engines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 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 development of hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine is restricted by the leakage problem, especially the apex seal leakage (ASL). In the study, the ASL area is divided into the geometric leakage area (GLA) and the dynamic leakage area (DLA). The models of under-seal pressure prediction and vibration of apex seal are established. The mechanism of GLA and DLA and the effects of key parameters on them are analyzed. Results show that the DLA decreases with the increase of discharge coefficient, clearance between apex seal and slot. There is no DLA when the rotation speed is slower than 2000 rpm or higher than 7000 rpm. Besides, the value of DLA is only 11.23% of GLA and the GLA can be reduced by 88.57% when using a corner-piece structure. The total leakage decreases with the increase of rotation speed. Finally, some measures to reduce the leakage are given. [Display omitted] • The cause of apex seal leakage of the Hydrogen Wankel rotary engine is analyzed. • The prediction model of under-seal pressure of the apex seal is established. • The computational model of the apex seal leakage is established. • The apex seal leakage area and leakage gas mass are calculated. • The suggestions to improve the sealing performance are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a hydrogen carrier, ammonia can suppress knock and enhance thermal efficiency of the hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine (WRE), and achieve zero carbon emissions. This research established a three-dimensional fluid dynamics model coupled with detailed reaction kinetics of ammonia and hydrogen and verified it based on experiments. Incorporating 10% volume fraction of ammonia into the hydrogen-fueled WRE eliminates knock and decreases the excess air ratio (λ) from 1.8 to 1.4, effectively improving the indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP). The results indicate that when λ exceeds 1.4, flame propagation accelerates with higher concentration of the mixture. This enhances peak in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate, but it results higher NOx emissions. As λ varies from 1.8 to 1.4, NOx emission levels rise by 47.4%. At λ ≤ 1.2, the rapid flame propagation leads to short combustion duration, diminishing the power output. At this stage, the NO formation is dominated by H radicals, and the NOx production reaches its minimum value at λ of 1.0. In summary, the ammonia-hydrogen WRE achieves optimal performance at λ of 1.4 and ignition timing of −5 °CA after top dead center, the indicated thermal efficiency reaches 36.9% and the IMEP achieves 0.683 MPa. • The effect of ammonia addition on hydrogen-fueled WRE is analyzed. • The addition of ammonia is an effective way to prevent abnormal combustion. • The effects of excess air ratio on combustion and emission are analyzed. • The optimum ignition timing corresponding the optimal performance is given. • The optimum IMEP and ITE is obtained when the excess air ratio equals 1.4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Syngas is a fuel with a huge market and low carbon emission, which has been proven to be well applied to internal combustion engines. WRE with high power density can effectively improve the power characteristic when syngas is employed as fuel in engines, however, which has not been reported publicly. This work aims to provide insights into the performance of syngas-fueled WRE under different CO/H2 ratios and thus gives theoretical guidance for its application. The test is done at 1500 r/min and part load. It is found that with the increase of the volumetric ratio of CO in syngas (CO%), the efficiency, torque and carbon emissions are deteriorated, however, the NO emission is significantly improved and the knock level is also reduced. In addition, on the premise of constant CO%, a high brake thermal efficiency, low NO emission and knock intensity can be achieved at lean combustion. In particular, when CO% is 10%, the combustion efficiency of CO is independent of the excess air ratio, while when CO% is 20%, that is decreased with increasing excess air ratio. In summary, the syngas-fueled WRE is recommended to adopt the qualitative control and the syngas with low CO%. • Insights into the performance of syngas-fueled Wankel rotary engines. • The trade-off relationship among power, efficiency and NO emission needs to be considered. • Qualitative control and low CO% are recommended in the syngas-fueled WRE. • The combustion efficiency of CO at varied λ is closely related to CO%. [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]

This paper aims to predict the intake characteristics of a side-ported Wankel rotary engine implemented by a novel dual-layer machine learning (ML) structure. The Sobol sequence coupled with a parametric phase control model is performed to generate samples using a three-dimensional dynamic simulation model. Two ML structures are compared to determine the input features, in which the input features of structure A are the port phases, while structure B also contains the geometric features. Compared with Structure A, the regression and generalization abilities of Structure B with different ML methods are generally favorable. Based on structure B, a novel dual-layer structure prediction model is developed using the Gaussian process regression method in which geometric features are used as intermediate variables. The results show that for the prediction of intake loss and volumetric efficiency, the coefficients of determination are greater than 0.99, and the prediction error is less than 1%. In addition, the port full closing timing determines the intake characteristics compared with other port phases. This paper provides novel solutions for predicting intake characteristics to guide practical optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by issues such as global warming, there is currently great interest and significance in developing zero carbon-emission internal combustion engines. Limited by structural and sealing requirements, there are no experimental studies related to combustion velocity measurement of the hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine (HWRE) with excellent power performance, which is important to investigate its knock characteristic. In this work, a combustion velocity measuring method of dual spark plug HWRE is proposed, besides the obtained combustion, flow and flame velocities are correlated with the knock to explore their influence on the HWRE knock characteristics. The study found that adopting dual spark plugs in HWRE is necessary to reduce the negative impact of the flame not being able to propagate against the flow field. Besides, excess air ratio affects the combustion velocity of HWRE by changing the flame velocity, while the engine speed affects the combustion velocity of HWRE by changing the flow velocity, which basically does not affect the flame velocity. The knock level of HWRE is influenced by its flame velocity and flow velocity, both of which are positively correlated to the knock intensity and the latter has a more significant effect. • A method of measuring Wankel rotary engine combustion velocity is proposed. • Quantifying the combustion, flow and flame velocity of hydrogen Wankel rotary engine. • Investigating the influence of excess air ratio and engine speed. • Quantifying the relationship between knock intensity and above three velocities. [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]

Hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine (WRE) suffers from high NOx emissions, high risk of knock and uneven thermal load. The goal of this work is to investigate the application of quantitative control and qualitative control on a hydrogen-fueled WRE and find a suitable load control strategy for hydrogen-fueled WRE to address above-mentioned problems, which is conducted at 1500r/min. The results show that the combination of qualitative control and quantitative control is an effective way to obtain the excellent performance of hydrogen-fueled WRE, which can achieve higher thermal efficiency while effectively improving some drawbacks of hydrogen-fueled WRE, such as uneven thermal load, high tendency of knock and high NOx emissions. Besides, it also can flexibly select control logic according to the priority of emissions, efficiency, stability and power. Compared to quantitative control, the combined control can realize higher brake thermal efficiency under the same brake torque, and the highest relative and absolute improvements are 38.4% and 4.75%. In addition, it also keeps the engine running in an acceptable cyclic variation range. • Effect of quantitative and qualitative control on hydrogen-fueled WRE is studied. • HWRE has low thermal efficiency, high knock risk and NOx, uneven thermal load. • Combination of two strategies can effectively improve the problem of HWRE. • Combination of two strategies allows flexible control logic based on requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine, with few available research currently, has excellent power and emission characteristics, however, with lower efficiency. With increasing attention to low-carbon emission, it is of great significance to explore methods to improve the efficiency of hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engines. This work aims to study the effect of qualitative control coupling variable engine speeds at the wide-open throttle on the power control. The comparative effect of qualitative control coupling engine speeds from 1000 r/min to 1500 r/min under the wide-open throttle and quantitative control at 1500 r/min on the combustion and emission characteristic of hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine is investigated. The results show that compared with quantitative control, qualitative control coupling variable engine speed can achieve excellent performance. The brake thermal efficiency can be maximally increased by 43.5%, an absolute increase of 6.22%, as well the volumetric efficiency with a maximal 105% improvement. The thermal load and risk of knock can be greatly reduced. Moreover, NO emission also can be reduced by more than an order of magnitude or even by zero. Although there is an increase in cyclic variation, the value is no more than 4%. In addition, qualitative control coupling variable engine speed allows flexible matching of appropriate engine speed and excess air ratio based on the actual requirements of efficiency, stability, durability and emission. • The power control method of the hydrogen Wankel rotary engine is investigated. • Qualitative control achieves better engine performance than quantitative control. • Qualitative control coupling engine speed meets the power and high-efficiency demand. • Lower thermal load, knock tendency and NO emission can be obtained. • Much high excess air ratio isn't recommended due to high cyclic variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine, with few available research currently, has excellent power and emission characteristics, however, with lower efficiency. With increasing attention to low-carbon emission, it is of great significance to explore methods to improve the efficiency of hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engines. This work aims to study the effect of qualitative control coupling variable engine speeds at the wide-open throttle on the power control. The comparative effect of qualitative control coupling engine speeds from 1000 r/min to 1500 r/min under the wide-open throttle and quantitative control at 1500 r/min on the combustion and emission characteristic of hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine is investigated. The results show that compared with quantitative control, qualitative control coupling variable engine speed can achieve excellent performance. The brake thermal efficiency can be maximally increased by 43.5%, an absolute increase of 6.22%, as well the volumetric efficiency with a maximal 105% improvement. The thermal load and risk of knock can be greatly reduced. Moreover, NO emission also can be reduced by more than an order of magnitude or even by zero. Although there is an increase in cyclic variation, the value is no more than 4%. In addition, qualitative control coupling variable engine speed allows flexible matching of appropriate engine speed and excess air ratio based on the actual requirements of efficiency, stability, durability and emission. • The power control method of the hydrogen Wankel rotary engine is investigated. • Qualitative control achieves better engine performance than quantitative control. • Qualitative control coupling engine speed meets the power and high-efficiency demand. • Lower thermal load, knock tendency and NO emission can be obtained. • Much high excess air ratio isn't recommended due to high cyclic variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of hydrogen direct-injection enrichment improves the performance of gasoline Wankel rotary engine, and the hydrogen injection strategy has a significant impact on combustion, knock, and emissions. The Z160F Wankel rotary engine was used as the investigated compact engine, and the simulation model was developed using CONVERGE software. The combustion, knock and emissions characteristics of the engine were studied with the different mass flow of hydrogen injection, i.e., the trapezoid, wedge, slope, triangle and rectangle type of gas injection rate shape. In the numerical simulations, the in-cylinder pressure oscillations were monitored using monitoring points, and the knock index (KI) was used as an evaluation indicator. The study revealed that the gas injection rate shape significantly affected the mixture of hydrogen and air, thus impacting combustion, knock and emissions. When the injection rate shape was rectangle, the flame speed was faster, the peak pressure in the cylinder was higher, and the corresponding crank angle was earlier, which led to higher pressure oscillations in the cylinder and larger KI. Based on the rectangle injection rate shape, the KI decreased by 75.81%, 33.47%, 26.46% and 76.58% for trapezoid, wedge, slope, and triangle, respectively, and the indicated mean effective pressure increased by 15.68%, 5.07%, 0.56% and 14.98%, respectively. Due to the small difference in maximum temperature, which resulted in very little variation in nitrogen oxides for each injection rate shape, the total hydrocarbon emissions of the trapezoid and triangle injection rate shape was high due to the delayed combustion phase. This paper provides a solution for direct hydrogen injection to improve the combustion, knock and emissions behavior of the rotary engine. [Display omitted] • A rotary engine model with hydrogen direct-injection enrichment was established. • Five different types of hydrogen injection rate shapes were simulated. • The behavior of the combustion, knock and emissions was analyzed. • The optimal indicated thermal efficiency can be achieved by trapezoid type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wankel rotary engine (WRE) is welcomed due to its high power density and compact layout and is criticized due to its low efficiency and poor emission. To develop low-carbon emission and high-efficiency WRE, the present work discusses the potential of hydrogen/methane dual-fueled WRE with varied fuel components. The test was conducted at 1500 r/min, 80 kPa manifold absolute pressure and stoichiometric ratio. The results indicate that compared with pure hydrogen or pure methane WRE, hydrogen/methane dual-fueled WRE can achieve higher thermal efficiency and output power, the maximum values of which are 30.7% and 12.4 kW under test conditions, respectively. Besides, it also has satisfactory NO, CO2 and HC emissions. In particular, there is a linear relationship between NO emission and methane volumetric percentage with a 0.9949 determination coefficient in logarithmic coordinates, which means that the NO emission can be easily predicted. In addition, the cyclic variation is acceptable at maximum-efficiency CH4% and the knock can be almost eliminated in hydrogen-methane dual-fueled WRE when the volume ratio of methane exceeds about 40%. In general, WRE is recommended to be fueled by a mixture of hydrogen and methane with a high methane volumetric percentage. • Discussion on the potential of hydrogen/methane dual-fueled Wankel rotary engines. • Dual fuel is better than single fuel in terms of power, efficiency, emission, etc. • There is a linear relationship between NO and CH4% in logarithmic coordinates. • Knock can be almost eliminated when the CH4% exceeds about 40%. [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-fueled Wankel rotary engine (HWRE) as a promising power device overcomes some of the drawbacks of the hydrogen-fueled reciprocating engine. However, its elongated combustion chamber makes it prone to knock, and little research has been done in this area. Hence, to understand the knock characteristics of HWRE, the present work focus on parameters of HWRE knock at 2000r/min, an excess air ratio of 1.2 and an ignition timing of −7°CA ATDC. The main results are as follows: As with knock intensity, knock duration and maximum pressure rising rate also can characterize the knock of HWRE because of the logarithmic or linear relationship among three parameters. For the knock intensity, two parameters are needed to precisely characterize the HWRE knock, while only one parameter is needed for the knock duration and the maximum pressure rising rate. Considering the computing cost, the maximum pressure rising rate is better than others. The knock intensity has a significant influence on the timed sequence of peak knock pressure and peak in-cylinder pressure. Besides, the mechanism of backfire caused by the knock of HWRE is different from that of the hydrogen-fueled reciprocating piston engine, which results from the inter-cylinder flame leakage. • The knock characteristic of hydrogen-fueled Wankel rotary engine is analyzed. • There are mathematical relationships among parameters characterizing knock. • Maximum pressure rise rate is a better metric to characterize WRE knock. • Misfire caused by knock in WRE is different from reciprocating piston engines. [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]

• The characteristics of a rotary engine are predicted by support vector machine model. • The coefficient of determination of the optimized models is greater than 0.98. • The effects of parameters on performance, combustion and emissions are studied. • The optimal thermal efficiency and nitrogen oxides are 18.12 % and 248.58 ppm. The purpose of current research was to implement an intelligent regression model and multi-objective optimization of performance, combustion and emissions characteristics for a hydrogen-enriched gasoline rotary engine. The brake thermal efficiency (BTE), fuel energy flow rate (E f), nitrogen oxides (NO X), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) were predicted by intelligent regression model with hydrogen volume fraction (α H 2 ), excess air ratio (λ) and ignition timing (IT) as independent variables. The intelligent regression models were based on support vector machine (SVM) and optimized by the genetic algorithm (GA) to obtain the optimal parameters of the regression model. The data for training the SVM model were derived from the experimental results of a hydrogen-enriched rotary engine, in which the speed was kept constant at 4500 r/min, the absolute manifold pressure remained at 35 KPa, the variation of α H 2 , λ and IT were 0–6%, 1–1.3 and 24–42 °CA before top dead center (bTDC), respectively. After optimized by GA, the coefficient of determination of BTE, E f , NO X , CO and HC between the SVM model and the corresponding data were greater than 0.98, and the mean absolute percentage error were <1%. The performance, combustion, and emissions characteristics including BTE, E f , NO X , CO and HC were considered for multi-objective optimization to obtain higher performance and lower emissions, and were solved using the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II. For this study, when the Pareto-optimal solutions were obtained, the optimal operating parameters were further obtained by limiting the performance and emissions parameters with the α H 2 of 5.06%, λ of 1.09%, and IT of 34.27 °CA bTDC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A compound intake rotary engine model was established and validated. • The effects of intake modes on mixture formation and combustion was studied. • H2/gasoline/air in peripheral port and air in side port has best performance. • The mean in-cylinder pressure and temperature of S-HGP was increased. • The CO emission of S-HGP was reduced, but NOx emissions were increased. This work aimed to realize stratified mixtures distribution in a hydrogen-enriched compound-intake gasoline Wankel engine by utilizing the difference of gas velocity from different intake ports. A three-dimension computational fluid dynamics (CFD) WRE model was established to investigate the mixture formation and combustion process under five different intake modes, i.e. the way of the binary fuel enters the combustion chamber through different intake ports (side intake port, peripheral intake port or both port). The intake mode S-HGP (the mixtures of H 2 , gasoline and air are in the peripheral intake port and pure air is in the side intake port) realized an optimal equivalence ratio distribution, in which condition, the most fuels gather near the spark plug and the minority fuel in the rear region of the combustion chamber. Since the unburned mixtures always exist in the rear region of the chamber due to the mainstream in the WRE, the stratified distribution of S-HGP could consume most of the fuel. Because the faster flame propagation release a large amount of heats near top dead center (TDC), S-HGP possesses the highest average in-cylinder pressure under five intake modes, is about 1.264 times than the worst intake mode. Moreover, S-HGP has the maximum average in-cylinder temperature, the ideal thermal condition and moderate lean combustion get the lowest CO emission, comparing with the intake mode performing the highest CO emissions, the CO emission of S-HGP is decreased by 745% near the exhaust valve opening timing (210 °CA ATDC). However, owing to the higher temperature inside cylinder, S-HGP has slightly high NO emission. In conclusion, the results mean that compound intake combined with intake modes control is an effective method for fuel distribution optimization besides the fuel direct injection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]