Term of Award

Summer 2010

Degree Name

Master of Science in Applied Engineering (M.S.A.E.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Committee Chair

Soloiu, Valentin A.

Committee Member 1

David Williams

Committee Member 2

James LoBue

Committee Member 3

Hung-Ming Cheng

Committee Member 3 Email

Unknown

Abstract

Bio-fuels and emissions are of great concern today with limited petroleum resources, and increasingly strict regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency on combustion emissions. In this study, a single cylinder, naturally aspirated diesel engine with a separate three vortex combustion chamber is used to investigate combustion and emissions of low sulfur diesel with comparison to blends of biodiesel with diesel. The separate combustion chamber is designed to help reduce emissions, which has not been thoroughly tested with biodiesels. Poultry fat is chosen because of its sustainability characteristics, ease of availability, and high yields of oil to produce biodiesel. To conduct this study, the engine is instrumented with sensors and data acquisition equipment and tested using a dynamometer. Data from both the biodiesel blends and the low sulfur diesel is collected from running the engine at 100% full power for increments of 200 rpm in speed; 2,000-2,600 rpm. NOx emissions vary according to different engine parameters, but overall efficiency is maintained around 31%. Fuel consumption increases by 7-12% depending upon speed and fuel blend, but desired power is maintained with no engine damage or modifications.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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