Screening Method for Fuels in Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Engines: Application to Valeric Biofuels

International audience; The successful implementation of innovative fuels relies on many factors and requires a precise description of thecombustion characteristics. In practice, traditional indicators, such as octane or cetane numbers, are used. Obtaining thesenumbers however requires a specific setup. Moreover, they are not sufficient to predict the combustion timing for innovativeconcepts, such as homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI). Evaluating and reporting the characteristics of new fuels istherefore challenging. Using a regular diesel engine converted to HCCI operation, we developed a screening methodology toeasily characterize and present key features of new fuels. This paper describes the methodology and then applies it to new fuelsproduced from biomass: valeric biofuels. The methodology presented in this study intends to bridge the work on fundamentalchemical kinetics with conventional engine experiments.