Combined effect of cylinder shape and turbulence blade on the combustion performance of a turbulent jet ignition rotary engine using hydrogen/natural gas blends.

The aim of this work is to enhance the combustion performance of a turbulent jet ignition Wankel rotary engine (TJI-WRE) fueled by hydrogen/natural gas blends (HNGB) by changing the cylinder shape and adding a turbulence blade (TB). Therefore, the test bench and numerical simulation model for the TJI-WRE are established. Further, the flow field and flame propagation of the TJI-WRE with various cylinder shapes and turbulence blades are investigated. The results demonstrate that a new vortex is formed after the jet flame is injected into the cylinder and impacts the rotor piston surface. This vortex can enhance the combustion speed of the mixture in the back of the cylinder (BOC). The cylinder shape can change the intensity of the new vortex by changing the distance between the jet orifice and the piston surface. Furthermore, TB can change the combustion process by squeezing the in-cylinder unidirectional flow in the combustion stroke. Since the flame mainly propagates to the front of the cylinder (FOC) at the initial combustion stroke, as the TB layout moves from the BOC to the FOC, the squeezing effect of TB on the flame in the FOC becomes increasingly significant, resulting in increased combustion efficiency in the cylinder. [Display omitted] • Hydrogen/natural gas blends fuel was used to reduce carbon emissions. • A computational model of the turbulent jet ignition rotary engine was established. • The mixture formation, combustion, and emissions process were analyzed. • The optimal combination of cylinder structure for the rotary engine was given. • Compared with the original model, optimal cylinder structure PVIP increased by 12.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]