Numerical Research on Effects of Variable Port Timing on Performance of Marine Low-Speed Two-Stroke Engine

Enhancing the effective expansion ratio to further improve the fuel consumption, this study implemented a kind of Variable Port Timing (VPT) by designing a vertically moving sleeve on the outside of the scavenging port of a low-speed two-stroke diesel engine with a 340 mm bore. A 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was constructed and calibrated to investigate the influence of the VPT strategy on the engine performance and the internal gas exchange process. The results indicated that the VPT can reduce the negative work from the compression stroke and increase the expansion work from the expansion stroke, which effectively enhances the fuel economy. However, the reduction in the mass flow rate would lead to the severe deterioration of the turbocharging system’s performance. The related matching analysis between the sleeve and the scavenging ports revealed that the sleeve velocity had a minimal influence on the scavenging flow rate, while increasing the height of the scavenging port can restore a certain mass flow rate, but will decrease the in-cylinder swirl intensity, deteriorating the combustion in the cylinders. The optimal approach is to raise the position of the scavenging port, achieving a Scavenging Port Closing (SPC) at a 235°CA, which will restore the scavenging flow rate of the original level to 90.7% and improve the indicated fuel consumption by 2.9 g/kWh.