UNIVERSITY VISVESVARAYA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MANUFACTURING SCIENCE

AND ENGINEERING

Presentation on
HYDROGEN FUELLED IC ENGINE
by
Sachin
Jamakhandi
ST

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

WORKING

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

Introduction

In recent years, the concern for cleaner air, along with stricter air pollution
regulations and the desire to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels have
rekindled the interest in hydrogen as a vehicular fuel.

Basically getting an internal combustion engine to run on hydrogen is not

difficult but getting an internal combustion engine to run well, however, is
more of a challenge.

Hence, in this presentation, basically we will be looking at the hydrogen

properties that makes it suitable for use as a fuel, its advantages,
drawbacks and various characteristics compared to gasoline.

How HICEs Work

2H+0=

2H0 + heat
H behaves like octane
Compressed H2 takes up more
room than gasoline
Unlike gasoline, which needs strict
air-fuel ratio
More explosive than gasoline,
timing critical
Injected fuel delivery

BMW Hydrogen 7
Series IC Engine

BMW HICE bus engine

Hydrogen properties as a fuel

wide range of flammability

low ignition energy

high auto ignition temperature

high flame speed at stoichiometric ratios

high diffusivity

Design modifications
Spark

plugs: cold rated spark plugs and non platinum tips.

Ignition

systems: avoid uncontrolled ignition and/or spark plug gap can

be reduced.
Injection

systems: use timed injection by using either port injection or

direct Injection.
Hot

spots: avoiding hot spots in cc to avoid pre ignition.

Compression

ratio: selecting an optimal value of cr for higher efficiency.

Cost to convert ICE to HICE

3 lacs

Efficiency

65%

Power output compared to ICE

Upto 120%

24kg of petrol would power a conventional vehicle

400km
8kg of hydrogen would power a HICE for 400km
To store 8kg hydrogen (as a gas) you would need 10
tanks of 45 liters each.

Comparison of performance characteristics

Comparison of brake
thermal efficiency of the
fuels is shown in Fig1.
Here brake thermal
efficiency of hydrogen is
much better than the
brake thermal efficiency
of gasoline engine even
at a low speed.
Fig1. engine speed vs bte

Comparison of emission
characteristics
Fig2 illustrates NOx levels
of both engines.
Significant decrease in
NOx emission is observed
with hydrogen operation.
Almost 10 times decrease
in NOx can be noted,
easily. The cooling effect
of the water sprayed
plays important role in
this reduction. Also
operating the engine with
a lean mixture is kept
Nox levels low.

Fig2. engine speed vs NOx emissions

versus engine speed for

both engines. Although
excess air for complete
combustion is present in
the cylinder, the engine is
not capable of burning the
total fuel. It was expected
that hydrogen fuelled
engine must have zero CO
emission.
As it is seen in Fig3 some
amount of CO is still
present. This is due to the
burning of lubricating oil
film inside the engine
cylinder. As engine speed
increases, CO emission
tends to decreases.

Fig3. engine speed vs CO emissions

The temperature caused

by combustion is very
high inside the cylinder.
As the piston expends the
heat evaporates some
amount of oil. In addition
to this evaporated oil,
incompletely burned oil
also contributes to HC
emission shown in Fig4.

Fig4. engine speed vs HC emissions

Advantages
)

)
)
)
)

HICEs have the benefits of being inexpensive and

easy to install.
Produces virtually near zero emission.
Potential supply is unlimited.
Most abundant element on Earth.
Only by product is water.

Disadvantages

Pre ignition and back fire.

Low density necessitates larger intake of
gas.
Need more space to store gaseous
hydrogen

conclusion
Power and torque loss occurs at low speed hydrogen operation. At high speed

hydrogen gives better performance as compare to gasoline operation.

Similarly Thermal efficiency and Brake mean effective pressure of hydrogen is

more at higher speed.

NOx emission of hydrogen fuelled engine is about 9-10 times lower than gasoline

fuelled engine.
Emission of CO, HC and CO2 of hydrogen is very less so hydrogen is environment

friendly.
Short time of combustion produces lower exhaust gas temperature for hydrogen.

Hydrogen is a very good candidate as an engine fuel. Appropriate changes in

References
Murat Ciniviz, Huseyin kose, Hydrogen use in internal combustion engine: A review, international
journal of automotive engineering and technologies, 2011.
VVN Bhaskara, Dr. R Hari Prakash, Dr B Durga Prasad, Hydrogen fuelled ic engine an overview,
( IJITR) International journal of innovative technology and research Volume No. 1, Issue No. 1,
December-January 2013, 046-053.
B.Rajendra Prasath, E.Leelakrishnan, N. Lokesh, H. Suriyan, E. Guru Prakash, K. Omur Mustaq Ahmed
, Hydrogen Operated Internal Combustion Engines A New Generation Fuel , International Journal of
Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering , (ISSN 2250-2459, Volume 2, Issue 4, April 2012)
Erol Kahramana, S. Cihangir Ozcanlib, Baris Ozerdemb, An experimental study on performance and
emission characteristics of a hydrogen fuelled spark ignition engine International Journal of Hydrogen
Energy. 32 (2007) 2066 - 2072
Das LM, Gulati R, Gupta PK,A comparative evaluation of the performance characteristics of a spark
ignition engine using hydrogen and compressed natural gas as alternative fuels, International Journal
of Hydrogen Energy. 2000;25(8):783-93
Das LM, Hydrogen engine: research and development programes in Indian Institute of Technology,
Delhi, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2002;27(9):953-65
Karim GA,A comparative evaluation of the performance characteristics of a spark ignition engine
using hydrogen and compressed natural gas as alternative fuels, International Journal of Hydrogen
Energy. 2000;25(8):783-93

The BMW Hydrogen 7

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