Internal Combustion Engine Performance

Dear Colleagues,

The internal combustion (I.C.) engine is one of the most important and successful technological developments of the last century. Its application throughout all these years to today has essentially influenced almost every aspect of human life used either as the prime mover in land, sea, and air transportation, as the source of electrical power production or as an emergency safety installation in hospitals or in factories.

The main reasons for this enormous distribution and success is the high energy density of liquid hydrocarbon fuels combined with the ability of the I.C. engine to efficiently cover the whole area of energy demand from a fraction of a W up to several dozen MW.

The world energy crisis and the environmental impact have played a major role in the development of the internal combustion engine during the last few decades. At this time, it has become obvious that a closer understanding of the thermodynamic processes occurring within the engine is necessary. As a result, research on I.C. engines has expanded enormously, both on simulation and experimental bases. Today, the main objectives are the improvement of engine performance, the minimization of fuel consumption/CO2 emissions, and the reduction of the level of exhaust pollutants. To this aim, various alternative combustion techniques have been developed or are under development (e.g., direct injection SI engines, HCCI operation), and in parallel, various internal and after-treatment exhaust measures are also being examined.

The present Special Issue of Energies aims to gather innovative research and include some of the latest developments on internal combustion engines. More specifically, topics of interest for the Special Issue include (but are not limited to):

• Combustion mechanisms in spark and compression ignition engines;
• Fuel injection and spray formation;
• Pollutants formation (particulate matter, NO_x, CO, HC, noise);
• Exhaust after-treatment systems (three-way catalysts, oxidation catalysts, diesel and gasoline particulate filters, SCR, NO_x adsorbers);
• Internal measures for emission control (EGR, water injection, etc.);
• Exhaust heat Recuperation Systems (Rankine cycle, turbocompound, etc.);
• Engine downsizing;
• Effects on engine structure and design due to increased performance demands;
• Special problems associated with large scale two-stroke engines performance and emission reduction;
• Alternative fuels and biofuels effects on engine performance and emissions (ethanol, butanol, biodiesel, etc.);
• Recent advances in internal combustion engines experimentation;
• Novel combustion systems (HCCI, PCCI and RCCI).

Prof. Georgios Mavropoulos
Dr. E.C. Andritsakis
Dr. Roussos G. Papagiannakis
Guest Editors

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