Optimization of IC Engines and Engines Combustion Systems

Dear Colleagues,

The last decade has brought about very rapid development of vehicles and their drives. The increasing use of supercharging and increased engine thermodynamic indicators has significantly reduced the energy consumption needed to drive vehicles. The use of direct petrol injection and the resulting cylinder charge stratification enabled the engine to operate on lean and very lean mixtures, effectively reducing the emission of toxic compounds: hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide.

The thermal engine, including the internal combustion engine, has been the main device for converting primary energy contained in the intermolecular bonds of hydrocarbon fuels into mechanical energy for the propulsion of vehicles, working and production machines for almost 2 centuries. It has played and continues to play a fundamental role in ensuring social mobility and productivity. According to numerous studies and expertises, electricity and electric drives can only complement and cannot fully replace internal combustion engines. Liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon fuels, thanks to their energy density and their ability to transport relatively easily, can be used anywhere, in almost any weather conditions, in areas without adequate energy infrastructure. The limitation for the more widespread use of electricity is the lack of a sufficiently efficient and economically justified possibility of accumulating and transporting sufficiently large energy resources. However, the modern dominant criterion in drive assessments becomes the environmental impact and its emission neutrality. In some European countries, there are even plans to introduce the ban on the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engines after 2025 (Norway), 2030 (UK) or 2050 (European Union). It is currently difficult to assess how realistic these plans are.

To date, the vast majority of experts dealing with energy processing issues (including e.g. The German Scientific Society of Vehicle and Motor Technology – Wissenschaftlicher Gesellschaft für Kraftfahrzeug- und Motorentechnik e.V, position of June 2017) believed that the internal combustion engine would remain the primary source of propulsion in the years to come and that its consistent improvement would also enable it to meet environmental requirements in the future.

Drawing inspiration from observing the significant development of the design and technology of internal combustion engines over the last 10-15 years, it is worth asking ourselves: is everything already really known about physic-chemical engine processes, or has everything that was possible to optimize them have been done? After all, new manufacturing technologies (e.g. 3-D printing), new research and diagnostic methods (or their new applications, e.g. electromagnetic analyses, optical and laser observations and analyses), fuel cells are constantly emerging. More and more such effects of interdisciplinary research are used in the research and diagnosis of internal combustion engines, including in the construction and manufacture of their components.

We are all aware that our existence and the quality of our lives depend on the ability to process primary energy efficiently, without irreparably destroying our environment. From time to time, questions must therefore be asked as to what has already been achieved, what methods and what else could be done using other more advanced methods.

The proposed special edition of the journal Energies should be used to at the very partial assessment of the current state of development of internal combustion engines, mainly in terms of energy processing efficiency and their impact on the surrounding environment. It should also be used to inspire further developments, the search for new techniques and technologies in energy processing and in the propulsion of machinery and vehicles. We hope that the publications gathered in this edition will stimulate further discussion on the directions of development of thermal engines and will inspire young researchers and engine makers to look for new and more effective technical solutions. We encourage you to take an active part in such a discussion by publishing your research achievements, conclusions and thoughts on further development prospects.

Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Wisłocki
Prof. Dr. Miroslaw Wyszynski
Guest Editors

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• Internal Combustion Engines
• Combustion process and systems
• Lean-burn combustion
• Novel or alternative ignition or self-ignition systems
• Natural or synthetic fuels
• Liquid and gaseous fuels
• Systems and methods of optimal cylinder charge exchange and mixture formation processes
• Active and passive systems for toxic compounds emission
• Waste heat and waste energy recovery in IC engines
• New and modern materials and technologies for applying in power-train development