Abstract:
To elucidate the underlying mechanism behind the anomalously high proportion of NO
2 in NO
x in methanol/diesel dual-fuel engines and improve the accuracy of NO
x emission predictions, a multi-component diesel representation strategy coupled with targeted optimization of key reaction pathways was proposed. A compact chemical kinetic mechanism that integrates methanol low-temperature oxidation, combustion of three diesel surrogates (
n-hexadecane, iso-hexadecane, and 1-methylnaphthalene) and the full NO
x formation and conversion chemistry was developed. Validated against multi-source experimental data from shock tubes and rapid compression machines, the mechanism demonstrates excellent predictive fidelity across a wide range of temperatures, pressures, and equivalence ratios for ignition delay time, laminar flame speeds, and concentrations of key intermediate species. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics(CFD) simulation model was established based on CONVERGE, incorporating the newly developed coupled methanol-diesel kinetic mechanism. Analysis of multi-parameter spatiotemporal evolution maps during the core combustion period reveals that, under a 20% methanol substitution rate, the significant rise in NO
2 fraction is primarily driven by HO
2 radicals continuously generated via methanol low-temperature oxidation. These HO
2 radicals promote the conversion of NO to NO
2 through the dominant reaction NO+HO
2NO
2+OH. Concurrently, the evaporative cooling effect of methanol establishes a low-temperature premixed zone, which combined with the distinct roles of the three diesel components, and then creates a synergistic dual-effect mechanism. The
n-alkanes supply precursors for thermal NO formation, iso-alkanes delay H
2O
2 decomposition, sustaining HO
2 availability, and aromatics consume OH radicals, thereby suppressing the reduction of NO
2 back to NO. This synergy simultaneously enhances NO
2 production and inhibits its reduction, leading to a markedly elevated NO
2/NO
x ratio in the dual-fuel mode.