Analysis of Energy Efficiency in a Test Engine with Different Fuel Formulations Through Experimental Tests and Numerical Diagnostics

Abstract

This study conducted experimental tests to investigate alternative fuels to gasoline and their impact on the efficiency of internal combustion engines. A total of 36 tests were carried out using five types of fuels, optimizing the mixtures to highlight differences in energy density. The results showed that fuels with higher energy density produced more work per liter, though with lower efficiency in chemicalto- mechanical conversion. Additionally, a numerical simulation tool in Python was developed to analyze engine pressure traces and obtain detailed thermodynamic information. The method includes gas mixture modeling, a 0D compression model, and a two-zone combustion model, optimizing experimental data by minimizing the differences between simulated and real pressures. This tool demonstrated the impact of different fuel formulations on performance and combustion, contributing to future improvements in engine design and fuel selection.