Flow simulation through wankel engine throttle using computational fluid dynamics

The paper focuses on the airflow through the throttle in the Wankel engine (Aixro XR50). The author's main challenge was to adapt a Wankel engine for hydrogen injection system, which required a very new full electronic throttle to be installed. Thus, an injector adapter and flow meter were mounted in this engine. The engine will be used as a stationary power unit to generate electricity for small households. Using hydrogen instead of hydrocarbon fuel will reduce the emission of green house gases. The simulation was in the AVL Fire using Computational Fluid Dynamic for 9 different throttle opening angles, i.e. ranging from 20 to 90 centigrade, i.e. 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 centigrade. The boundary conditions being as the pressure at the inlet and outlet of the throttle module correspond to the real values in the engine. The data on the properties of the flowing medium (air) were selected by default from the AVL Fire library. The authors use the k-zeta-ef model of turbulence to simulate flow through a Wankel engine throttle. The simulation results include the distributions of pressure, velocity and stream lines. The dependence of the mass flow rate as a function of the throttle position angle was presented. The turbulence disappears when the throttle opening angle of 60 centigrade is crossed. For full throttle the velocity at the pipe walls decreases to about 12 m/s. The highest velocity throughout the model occurs just where the throttle is mounted.