Investigations on performance of diesel engine by varying injection timings with design modification on piston crown

Purpose Investigations are carried out with the aim of improving performance of a diesel engine with the design modification on piston crown to stimulate the uniform combustion by inducing turbulence in the incoming charge. Design/methodology/approach A stirrer is introduced at the top of the piston so as to inculcate more turbulence to the incoming charge by improving the rate of fuel vaporization. Whirling motion is created in the combustible mixture by providing rotating blades on the cavity/bowl of the reciprocating piston head. By putting a simple link mechanism, the oscillatory motion of connecting rod will rotate the blade by an angle of 60 degrees. Findings The investigations are carried out with and without swirl piston at 17.5 compression ratio and 200 bar injection pressure by varying injection timings. Originality/value Finally, the result shows that by using the modified piston, nearly 3 per cent of efficiency increased and 31 per cent of NOx emissions are reduced compared to that of a normal piston with 80 per cent load at standard injection timing.