Thermal balance of a LPG fuelled, four stroke SI engine with water addition

The effect of water injection on a spark ignition engine thermal balance and performance has been experimentally investigated. A four stroke, four cylinder conventional engine was used with LPG (liquid petroleum gas) as fuel. Different water to fuel ratios by mass were used with variable engine speed ranging from 1000 to 4500 rpm. The results showed that as the water injection level to the engine increased, the percentage of useful work increased, while the losses other than unaccounted losses decreased. Additionally, the specific fuel consumption decreases, while the engine thermal efficiency increases. The average increase in the brake thermal efficiency for a 0.5 water to fuel mass ratio is approximately 2.7% over the use of LPG alone for the engine speed range studied. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.