Investigation on the effect of compression ratio on the performance and emission characteristics of pongamia biodiesel diesel blends in CI engine using response surface methodology

Abstract

The present work focusses on the interactive effect of variables such as compression ratio, blend and loading conditions on the performance and emission characteristics of biodiesel in diesel engine. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on the factorial design of 3n is used to design the experiments. The experiments are conducted on single cylinder, water cooled CI engine according to the design matrix and results are tabulated. Mathematical models are developed to study the interactive effect of performance parameters such as Brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), Brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and emission parameters such as carbon monoxide (CO), unburnt hydro carbon (UHC) using regression methodology. Optimization of the problem is formulated using desirability approach to get better performance and lower CO, UHC emissions. Statistical analysis revealed the optimum combination for the blend B60, CR-18 and load 42% is considered for the pongamia biodiesel-diesel blends.