Effect of direct water injection on knock suppressing mechanism in a high compression ratio gasoline engine

A low capacity, boosted gasoline engine is an effective approach to enhancing fuel economy. However, knock combustion poses significant limitations to the practical development of these engines. This study investigated the chemical kinetics and macroscopic properties of engines equipped with direct water injection (DWI) at high compression ratios (CRs) to address knock issues. The results indicated that the generation and consumption pathways of OH and CH2O remain unaffected by water injection. Although water exhibited an opposing effect on the sensitive reactions of OH and CH2O, the production reaction rates of OH and CH2O decrease with water injection. Knock index values at each monitoring point approached zero when the water injection quality exceeds 30%. Additionally, knock suppression effectiveness improved with the advancement of water injection timing. The simulation results indicated that the knock index at high CR decreased from 13.61 to 0.27 when the water/fuel ratio exceeded 30%. The indicated specific fuel consumption decreased by 29.3%, and indicated power increased by 41.8% compared to the original engine. Although NOx and CO emissions increased because of the high CR, the water injection coupled with the compression ratio strategy limited the increase in emissions. These findings indicated that DWI coupled with high CR was advantageous to enhancing fuel economy and reducing emissions in low capacity gasoline engines.