Hydrogen-fueled diesel engine without timed ignition

Abstract Experiments were carried out to investigate the feasibility of converting a diesel engine to hydrogen-fueled operation without providing a timed ignition system. Use was made of a glow plug and a multiple-strike spark plug. The work was done with an ASTM-CFR engine, the diesel head of which was modified to resemble the geometry of a D399 series Caterpillar diesel engine. Engine speed was 1240 rev/min. The glow plug was found to provide reliable ignition and smooth engine operation. It caused the hydrogen to ignite almost immediately upon the start of injection. Indicated mean effective pressures were on the order of 1.3φ MPa for equivalence ratios φ between 0.1 and 0.4 at a compression ratio of 18. This is significantly higher than the corresponding result obtained with diesel oil (about 0.6 φ MPa for 0.3