ASSESSMENT OF THE INFLUENCE OF OZONE-AIR TREATMENT ON THE PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

The effect of ozone-air pretreatment (OAP) on the performance and environmental characteristics of the 153FMI gasoline carbureted engine, Hyundai Tuscon III D4HA/Series R, and Komatsu 4D92L-1B59B diesel engines was investigated in this paper. The experiments were conducted using acoustic analysis of engine operation and exhaust smoke analysis. The tests were conducted at a temperature of 25°C and a relative air humidity of 47%, including engine operation on AI-92 gasoline and summer diesel fuel under various modes: idling, accelerating, and running at nominal speed. Initially, a test start and warm-up of the engine were performed without ozone supply. Then, a repeated start was performed and performance characteristics were recorded with OAP introduced into the system. The use of OAP in the 153FMI gasoline engine led to a significant improvement in the starting process. Starting time was reduced, on average, from 8 strokes (without OAP) to starting from the first crankshaft revolution. In idle mode, stabilization of operation was observed: fewer misfires and a more uniform acoustic signal. The effect of ORP on the Komatsu 4D92L-1B59B diesel engine resulted in reduced exhaust smoke. Average smoke (based on ten measurements) decreased from 5.7% (without ORP) to 2.3%. Furthermore, improved diesel engine performance and increased throttle response were observed. The obtained results demonstrate the positive impact of ORP on the performance of internal combustion engines. Analysis showed that the use of ORP promotes more efficient combustion of the airfuel mixture. Further research is aimed at assessing the impact of ORP on power performance, environmental performance (CO, CH, NOx emissions), fuel efficiency, and optimizing ozone injection parameters.