Abstract
Applying Porous Medium (PM) as a heat reactor in diesel engine has been considered as a promising concept to approach a near-zero emission system. It takes full advantage of PM geometry and material characteristics to perform homogeneous combustion, therefore reduces significantly emission under all operational conditions. The surface characteristic of PM plays a key role in fuel vaporization process inside the combustion chamber. This paper summarizes the results of our recent effort in applying plasma technology to improve its surface characteristic. The research activities focused on preventing reactor surface from forming, sticking of soot and unburned liquid fuel. It helped to increase specific area, energy recirculation efficiency and enhance vaporization ability of fuel during injection process.
Keywords:Diesel engine, Porous medium, Surface treatment, Wettability, Plasma technology.