Performance evaluation of an IC Engine using Oxyhydrogen as a fuel supplement

Abstract

Commonly used fuels such as petrol and diesel have definite energy values and the extent of energy retrieval is limited due to the operating principle of the IC engine. Water upon electrolysis dissociates into hydrogen and oxygen, both the gases together in a common duct called as oxyhydrogen is used to increase the overall energy content of the primary fuel with a proportionate increase in efficiency. In the present investigation, this method is used to generate oxyhydrogen and feed it as a supplement fuel into the air intake manifold of a four stroke diesel engine test rig coupled to a rope brake dynamometer. The performance of the engine is monitored with the supply of oxyhydrogen intake at different electrolyte concentrations. Tests were also done with an accelerometer installed on the engine block to verify the effect of oxyhydrogen fuel on the engine vibration. The results indicate increase of 4% in brake thermal efficiency with the use of sodium hydroxide electrolyte and the efficiency peaked at 75% of rated load on the engine.