Performance and Emission Characteristics of a Lean-Boosted Direct Injection Hydrogen Combustion System for Retrofitting Heavy Duty Diesel Engines

To address the imperative for decarbonizing the heavy-duty transport sector and advancing sustainable energy solutions, this paper presents a novel lean-boosted Direct Injection (DI) Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2 ICE) combustion system. This system is developed to retrofit existing flat-deck Diesel engines, offering a viable pathway towards drastically reduced emissions. Building on consolidated expertise from prior production-oriented Port Fuel Injection H2 engine development (DUMAREY 6.6ℓ V8), this research focuses on leveraging the distinct advantages of DI for hydrogen. An experimental assessment, supported by 1D and 3D-CFD analyses, demonstrates the system's capability to achieve highly efficient operation in Spark Ignition (SI) mode under ultra-lean and EGR-diluted conditions. The study confirms the elimination of combustion anomalies such as backfiring, pre-ignition, and knock, while achieving ultra-low engine-out NOx emissions and near-zero CO2, HC, CO, and PM. The authors discuss the optimization of key combustion drivers and the beneficial effects of dilution strategies. The findings reveal the significant potential of this DI H2 system, particularly when applied to the swirling cylinder head designs typical of common Diesel engines, to facilitate a rapid and cost-effective transition to cleaner freight mobility. Additionally, a specific flat-deck based tumble motion design has been investigated as a mixing improver versus swirl design, showing further margin for enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of the combustion process.