Research Projects

Diesel engines have long been the backbone of heavy-duty applications across the marine, defense, transportation, and power generation sectors, owing to their high fuel efficiency, robust torque characteristics, and scalability. However, increasingly stringent emissions regulations targeting nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), unburnt hydrocarbons (HC), and particulate matter have posed significant challenges for conventional diesel technologies. While after-treatment systems have been developed to mitigate these emissions, their high cost and limited durability have fueled interest in advanced in-cylinder combustion strategies. One such strategy is Low Temperature Combustion (LTC), which led to the development of Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) in 2006. Advancing this, the 2015 Direct Dual Fuel Stratification (DDFS) method used dual direct injectors for low- and high-reactivity fuels, allowing precise control of combustion timing and heat release to enhance efficiency and reduce emissions. To further advance this innovation, the proposed project introduces an Intelligent Charge Compression Ignition (ICCI) strategy by integrating a high-pressure dual-fuel injector system capable of delivering ammonia (NH₃) and biofuels. NH₃ is increasingly gaining attention as a carbon-free energy carrier with high energy density and safety advantages over hydrogen, making it especially suitable for marine, aviation, and industrial power applications. This project aims to develop and experimentally validate a flex-fuel engine platform that can operate on pure ammonia or ammonia blended with renewable fuels. By modifying the RCCI strategy into an ICCI framework and incorporating closed-loop control systems, the engine will be optimized for clean, efficient combustion across a variety of operating conditions. Project Objectives: • Develop a high-pressure dual-fuel injector system for ammonia and renewable fuel delivery. • Design and build an ammonia flex-fuel engine equipped with the ICCI combustion strategy. • Investigate the combustion behavior of NH₃ in various renewable fuel blends within the developed engine. • Achieve high thermal efficiency and low emissions suitable for real-time transportation and power generation applications. • Map performance and emissions data for NH₃-diesel, NH₃-H₂, and NH₃-biofuel blends operating in RCCI mode under diverse conditions. • Apply advanced computational tools such as multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), response surface methodology (RSM), and fuzzy inference systems for multi-objective optimization of engine parameters. Upon completion, this project will offer key insights into ammonia combustion and a scalable path for integrating NH₃-based flex-fuel engines into India’s clean energy ecosystem, contributing to research, optimization frameworks, and retrofittable engine designs aligned with sustainability goals.