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Low-Carbon Transportation
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Low-Carbon Transportation

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (19 May 2024) | Viewed by 8181

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shuofeng Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Energy and Power Engineering, Beijing Lab of New Energy Vehicles and Key Lab of Regional Air Pollution Control, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
Interests: optimization control of the combustion process for pure hydrogen and hydrogen-enriched internal combustion engines; new enhanced internal combustion engine technology for hybrid power systems
Prof. Dr. Wenbin Yu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Shandong University, No.17923, Jingshi Rd., Jinan 250061, China
Interests: new energy vehicles; advanced powertrain digital twins; virtual testing technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Qinghe Luo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: combustion, performance, and environmental effects of hydrogen internal combustion engines; mechanism of combustion and heat transfer interaction of hydrogen–air mixture
Dr. Du Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Interests: low-carbon fuel combustion; chemical kinetic modeling; laminar flame dynamics; internal combustion engine with carbon neutral fuel; novel swirl flame; catalytic combustion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Both zero-carbon internal combustion engines and fuel cells possess numerous benefits, thereby playing a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions within the transportation sector. A primary advantage of internal combustion engines lies in their capability to utilize a variety of zero-carbon fuels, such as hydrogen and ammonia. This characteristic implies they can adapt flexibly to varied energy supply scenarios. Moreover, the established design maturity of internal combustion engines enables the use of existing manufacturing and maintenance infrastructure, thus reducing the cost of transition. Conversely, fuel cells excel in their extraordinarily high energy conversion efficiency. The operation of fuel cells is notably quiet, rendering them especially suitable for urban environments. In conclusion, both zero-carbon internal combustion engines and fuel cells, with their distinct advantages, play a substantial role in mitigating carbon emissions within the transportation sector.

This Special Issue aspires to offer a platform where researchers can disseminate the latest advancements related to zero-carbon internal combustion engines and fuel cells. It emphasizes basic research, optimization methodologies, numerical simulations, and experimental investigations. Pertaining to zero-carbon internal combustion engines, we invite original research articles and reviews covering, but not limited to, the following areas:

  1. Basic research on the mechanization of zero-carbon fuels and the combustion processes;
  2. Optimization techniques for enhancing the efficiency and minimizing the emissions of low-carbon and zero-carbon internal combustion engines;
  3. Optimization strategies for enhancing the efficiency and lifespan of fuel cells;
  4. Applications of low-carbon and zero-carbon internal combustion engines and fuel cells across diverse sectors, including automotive, marine, and aviation.
  5. Digital twins and virtual testing technology in transportation.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Shuofeng Wang
Prof. Dr. Wenbin Yu
Dr. Qinghe Luo
Dr. Du Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • internal combustion engines
  • fuel cells
  • hydrogen
  • ammonia
  • combustion
  • efficiency
  • optimization
  • digital twins
  • transportation

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1552 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Simulation of Energy Scenarios in the Transition to Sustainable Mobility in the Ecuadorian Transport Sector
by Johana Atiaja, Flavio Arroyo, Víctor Hidalgo, José Erazo, Abel Remache and Dely Bravo
Sustainability 2024, 16(15), 6640; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156640 - 3 Aug 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1078
Abstract
In Ecuador, the growth of the transportation sector has significantly increased greenhouse gas emissions. According to experts, this sector currently contributes to 49.8% of total greenhouse gas emissions in this country. This poses significant challenges for environmental sustainability, emphasizing the urgent need for [...] Read more.
In Ecuador, the growth of the transportation sector has significantly increased greenhouse gas emissions. According to experts, this sector currently contributes to 49.8% of total greenhouse gas emissions in this country. This poses significant challenges for environmental sustainability, emphasizing the urgent need for effective strategies to mitigate these emissions and promote environmentally friendly practices. Therefore, this study focuses on developing a dynamic simulation of energy scenarios for the year 2035 in the transportation sector, with the goal of transitioning to sustainable mobility, as fossil fuels are the main pollutants in the country. This study proposes system dynamics models using VENSIM 6.0b software to estimate the total energy demand and pollutant emissions in the transportation sector. The results suggest that if Ecuador aligns with global mobility trends and implements public policies promoting the use of electric vehicles, total CO2 emissions could potentially decrease from 50,161,432 kilobarrels of oil equivalent (kBOE) to 20,589,720 kBOE by the year 2035. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Transportation)
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22 pages, 6007 KiB  
Article
Coupling Global Parameters and Local Flow Optimization of a Pulsed Ejector for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
by Chao Li, Baigang Sun and Lingzhi Bao
Sustainability 2024, 16(10), 4170; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16104170 - 16 May 2024
Viewed by 952
Abstract
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), as an important utilization of hydrogen energy, contribute to the sustainable development of global energy. Pulsed ejectors have a high potential for improving the hydrogen utilization of PEMFCs in the full operating range by circulating unconsumed hydrogen. [...] Read more.
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), as an important utilization of hydrogen energy, contribute to the sustainable development of global energy. Pulsed ejectors have a high potential for improving the hydrogen utilization of PEMFCs in the full operating range by circulating unconsumed hydrogen. In this study, a pulsed ejector applied to a 120 kW fuel cell was designed, and the flow characteristics were analysed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Based on the data from the CFD model, the global optimization of the ejector was carried out using the Gaussian process regression (GPR) surrogate model and the grey wolf optimization (GWO) algorithm. The local structure was then further optimized using an adjoint method coupling streamlining modification that takes into account the local flow characteristics. The CFD results showed that, under a fixed structure, increasing the pressure difference between the secondary flow and the ejector outlet would promote boundary layer separation, shorten the shockwave chain length, change the effective flow area of the secondary flow, and lower the entrainment ratio (ER). The analytical results from the GPR model indicated significant interactions among the structural parameters. The globally optimized ejector using GPR and GWO improved the hydrogen entrainment ratio from 1.42 to 3.12 at the design point. Furthermore, the results of streamlining local optimization show that the entrainment ratio increased by 1.67% at the design point and increased by up to 3.99% over the full operating range compared to the optimized ejector by global optimization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Transportation)
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20 pages, 4511 KiB  
Article
Experimental Investigations of the Hydrogen Injectors on the Combustion Characteristics and Performance of a Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine
by Min Huang, Qinghe Luo, Baigang Sun, Shiwei Zhang, Kangda Wang, Lingzhi Bao, Qian Li, Xuelin Tang and Wei Deng
Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 1940; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051940 - 27 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2052
Abstract
Hydrogen is regarded as an ideal zero-carbon fuel for an internal combustion engine. However, the low mass flow rate of the hydrogen injector and the low volume heat value of the hydrogen strongly restrict the enhancement of the hydrogen engine performance. This experimental [...] Read more.
Hydrogen is regarded as an ideal zero-carbon fuel for an internal combustion engine. However, the low mass flow rate of the hydrogen injector and the low volume heat value of the hydrogen strongly restrict the enhancement of the hydrogen engine performance. This experimental study compared the effects of single-injectors and double-injectors on the engine performance, combustion pressure, heat release rate, and the coefficient of variation (CoVIMEP) based on a single-cylinder 0.5 L port fuel injection hydrogen engine. The results indicated that the number of hydrogen injectors significantly influences the engine performance. The maximum brake power is improved from 4.3 kW to 6.12 kW when adding the injector. The test demonstrates that the utilization of the double-injector leads to a reduction in hydrogen obstruction in the intake manifold, consequently minimizing the pumping losses. The pump mean effective pressure decreased from −0.049 MPa in the single-injector condition to −0.029 MPa in the double-injector condition with the medium loads. Furthermore, the double-injector exhibits excellent performance in reducing the coefficient of variation. The maximum CoVIMEP decreased from 2.18% in the single-injector configuration to 1.92% in the double-injector configuration. This result provides new insights for optimizing hydrogen engine injector design and optimizing the combustion process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Transportation)
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28 pages, 21216 KiB  
Article
Impact of the Structural Parameters on the Performance of a Regenerative-Type Hydrogen Recirculation Blower for Vehicular Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
by Xu Liang, Huifang Kang, Rui Zeng, Yue Pang, Yun Yang, Yunlu Qiu, Yuanxu Tao and Jun Shen
Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 1856; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051856 - 23 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1422
Abstract
The compact structure and stable performance of regenerative blowers at small flow rates render them attractive for the development of hydrogen recirculation devices for fuel cells. However, its optimization of structural parameters has not been yet reported in the literature. Along these lines, [...] Read more.
The compact structure and stable performance of regenerative blowers at small flow rates render them attractive for the development of hydrogen recirculation devices for fuel cells. However, its optimization of structural parameters has not been yet reported in the literature. Along these lines, in this work, a mechanistic study was carried out in terms of examining the role of the flow channel structure on the performance of a regenerative-type hydrogen recirculation blower for the fabrication of automotive fuel cells. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) model of the regenerative blower was established, and the accuracy of the proposed model was verified through experimental data. The impact of structural parameter interactions on the performance of the regenerative blower was investigated using CFD technology, response surface methodology (RSM), and genetic algorithm (GA). First, the range of the structural parameters was selected according to the actual operation, and the influence of a single geometric factor on the efficiency was thoroughly investigated using CFD simulation. Then, a second-order regression model was successfully established using RSM. The response surface model was solved using GA to obtain the optimized geometric parameters and the reliability of the GA optimization was verified by performing CFD simulations. From our analysis, it was demonstrated that the interaction of the blade angle and impeller inner diameter has a significant impact on efficiency. The entropy generation analysis showed also that the internal flow loss of the optimized regenerative blower was significantly reduced, and the design point efficiency reached 51.7%, which was significantly improved. Our work provides a novel solution for the design of a recirculation blower and offers a reference for the optimization of regenerative-type hydrogen blowers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Transportation)
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17 pages, 4777 KiB  
Article
Simulation Study on the Combustion and Emissions of a Diesel Engine with Different Oxygenated Blended Fuels
by Xiuzhen Li, Qiang Liu, Yanying Ma, Guanghua Wu, Zhou Yang and Qiang Fu
Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 631; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16020631 - 11 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1490
Abstract
Aiming to achieve the goal of efficient and clean combustion in internal combustion engines, simulations are used to change the physicochemical properties and molecular configuration of fuels by adding oxygenated fuels such as alcohols, esters, ethers, etc., so as to achieve the purpose [...] Read more.
Aiming to achieve the goal of efficient and clean combustion in internal combustion engines, simulations are used to change the physicochemical properties and molecular configuration of fuels by adding oxygenated fuels such as alcohols, esters, ethers, etc., so as to achieve the purpose of improving combustion and reducing emissions. In this paper, blends of oxygenated fuels, including n-butanol, DME, DMC, and diesel fuel with different oxygen-containing functional groups, were selected for simulation to reveal the chemical mechanisms of fuel oxygen on combustion and pollutant generation in the combustion system and to deeply explore the mechanism and influence law of the different forms of oxygen bonding on the generation and oxidation of carbon smoke. At the same fuel oxygen content, the differences in the fuel physicochemical properties and reaction paths resulted in different effects of the different oxygenated fuels on the in-cylinder oxidative activity and different inhibition abilities of carbon smoke precursors. Compared with pure diesel, n-butanol, and DME, which promoted OH generation, DMC inhibited OH generation, so the oxidation activity of diesel/n-butanol was the highest, and that of diesel/DMC was the lowest; meanwhile, the two O atoms in the DMC molecule formed CO2 with one C atom, which reduced the utilization efficiency of the O atoms, whereas each O atom in the n-butanol and DME fuels took away one C atom, so the utilization efficiency of O atoms was higher. The individual oxygenated fuels themselves had different abilities to contribute to carbon smoke precursors, and the above combined factors led to reductions of 8.7%, 32.6%, and 85.4% in soot emissions from the addition of DMC, DME, and n-butanol compared to pure diesel fuel, respectively, at the same oxygen content. At a medium load, the addition of n-butanol, DME, and DMC reduced NOx emissions by 0.5%, 1.7%, and 3.3%, respectively. Thus, it is shown that DMC has a more significant effect on NOx emission reduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Transportation)
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