Title: Heavy-duty diesel engine fuel consumption comparison with diesel and biodiesel measured at different altitudes

Authors: Chunxiao Hao; Yunshan Ge; Xin Wang

Addresses: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Vehicle Emission Control and Simulation, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China ' National Laboratory of Automotive Performance and Emission Test, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China ' National Laboratory of Automotive Performance and Emission Test, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China

Abstract: This paper devoted to a comparison of fuel consumption of a diesel engine fuelled with diesel and biodiesel. Comparisons were conducted at sea level, 1600 m and 3300 m. A 6.7L, six cylinder turbocharged heavy-duty diesel engine was introduced. The brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) over the full engine map were measured and plotted. The results indicated that the fuel consumption with diesel fuelling increased with altitude in all the operating conditions except high-speed, high-load mode; while the fuel consumption with biodiesel fuelling mainly increased with altitude under low-speed, low-load and middle-speed, low-load conditions. Under most of the testing conditions, the fuel consumption with biodiesel fuelling was insensitive to the change of altitude. The comparison of fuel consumption between diesel and biodiesel fuelling demonstrated that diesel was still the more economic option for diesel engines operating at sea level. However, biodiesel fuelling could provide a better fuel economy under middle-speed conditions at high altitudes, particularly at 3300 m.

Keywords: fuel consumption; diesel engine; biodiesel; high altitude; bench testing; diesel/biodiesel blend.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVP.2020.106987

International Journal of Vehicle Performance, 2020 Vol.6 No.2, pp.263 - 276

Received: 14 Aug 2019
Accepted: 03 Dec 2019
Published online: 29 Apr 2020 *

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