An experimental investigation of Perkins A63544 diesel engine performance using D-Series fuel

This paper reports the results of an investigation using a newly developed fuel mixture called ‘D-Series fuel’ on a Perkins A63544 direct injection diesel engine. The biodiesel and bioethanol fuels were added to diesel fuel in a manner that specifications of the formed mixture did not change considerably. The performance of the engine under test was then evaluated without any modification or change in engine components and systems using the D-Series fuel. The obtained data was statistically analyzed using two factors completely randomized design to study the effects of the engine speeds and fuel blend types on the engine power, torque, and specific fuel consumption. The analysis of variance showed that the engine speeds and fuel types had statistically significant effects at 1% probability level (P < 0.01) on the average values of the engine power, torque and specific fuel consumption. The mean values of engine power were increased in the range of 59.14–69.5 kW with increasing the engine speed. The engine power did not show significant difference for all the fuel blends except for the D65B25E10, 65% diesel, 25% biodiesel and 10% bioethanol, blend which decreased the engine power. The engine torque was decreased with increasing the engine speed for all the fuel blends in range of 319–296 N m. The maximum torque reduction was about 25 N m for neat petro-diesel fuel. The engine torque was decreased significantly (P < 0.01) when the engine speed ranged from 1600 to 2000 rpm. The engine specific fuel consumption was increased significantly when the engine speed ranged from 1900 to 2000 rpm. The engine specific fuel consumption was greater for all the fuel blends when compared to neat diesel fuel. The D93B5E2 fuel blend could be suggested as an appropriate alternative for neat petro-diesel fuel, though the D86B10E4 and D79B15E6 blends could be also suggested for greater ratios of biodiesel and bioethanol application in D-Series fuel application.