CFD Simulation Study of Passive Pre-Chamber Ignition Applied to Next-Generation Spark-Ignition Engines

Lecture Topic: CFD Simulation Study of Passive Pre-Chamber Ignition Applied to Next-Generation Spark-Ignition Engines
Expert: Raul Payri
Date: August 30, 2025
Time: 10:00
Location: Energy and Power Building, Room 1517 (Tencent Meeting ID: 187-422-984)
Organizer: Energy Research Institute

Speaker Profile:
Raul Payri earned his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, in 1999, and currently serves as the Director of the CMT Institute at the same university. His research primarily focuses on fuel injection, spray, and combustion in thermal machinery. Since 2010, Professor Payri has led or participated in 35 research projects funded by the European Union and the Spanish government, with total funding exceeding €5 million. Additionally, he has overseen 26 projects in collaboration with internationally renowned companies such as Daimler, BMW, Jaguar, Peugeot, Ford, General Motors, Renault, Fiat, Delphi, and Caterpillar, with funding totaling over €2.4 million. To date, he has published 144 SCI-indexed papers and 80 international conference papers, with an h-index of 40, ranking first in citation frequency among mechanical engineering researchers in Spain. Professor Payri serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious international journal International Journal of Engine Research and is an editorial board member of Atomization and Sprays. He also chaired the 28th European Conference on Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems (ILASS-Europe). Furthermore, he is one of the three coordinators of the Engine Combustion Network, responsible for organizing monthly online meetings and an annual international workshop.

Lecture Summary:
The concept of passive pre-chamber ignition is becoming an attractive solution to increase the thermal efficiency of future SI engines for passenger cars, due to its ability to accelerate the combustion process. Furthermore, combining this ignition strategy with diluted mixtures (either with air or exhaust gases) has the potential to further enhance engine performance. However, there are still significant obstacles related to understanding the fundamental physicochemical aspects of the concept (turbulence, aerodynamics, energy conversion, jet dynamics, pre-chamber geometry...), which ultimately have limited the integration of this technology into production.

This presentation aims to extend the level of knowledge of this ignition concept using a state-of-the-art CFD model, validated with an extensive set of experimental measurements and following a methodology specifically developed for this work.

Faculty and students are welcome to attend!