EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF USING LNG IN VEHICLES

Year 2016, Issue: 4, 21 - 26, 01.12.2016

Nafiz Kahraman Mehmet Ali Bektur Hayrettin Atay

Abstract

Nowadays fossil rooted fuels used in the internal combustion engines being exhausted and taking form harmful
exhausted gases conclusion of burning these fuels soiling environment have cause to increase investigations
about alternative fuels used in the internal combustion engines. If a fuel use in an internal engine, that can be
easily evaporate, easily mixed with air, get high energy, easily burn, easily obtain. Liquid hydrocarbon fuels
which obtained in fossil (petrol), includes nearly all these properties. Because of this, diesel and gasoline which
are the famous petrol products raise the first line. By this time, petrol reserves limited and not separated on
regularly. And by the extremely usage of these, that causes various local air currents, air pollution and potential
climatic currents. Lots of various alternative fuels were attempted since diesel and gasoline become a fuel in
internal engines. Lots of these alternative fuels get low emissions than diesel and gasoline. But that can not
found market place because of these limited reserves and higher prices. Nowadays, few of alternative fuels use
as a commercial mark. It is necessary using alternative fuel in vehicles because of high petrol price and air
pollution is a result of using fossil fuels in vehicles. Although natural gas (NG) is fossil fuel but in gas form is
cleaner than petrol and diesel, and has large reserve than petrol. Because of these reasons NG becomes an
important alternative fuel. Unfortunately, storing the NG as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) form brings many
problems. The most important problem is especially in small vehicle like cars; 200 bar resistant tanks are heavy
and big volume. As a result of this, the vehicle’s distance of range using CNG is different according to tank
volume that is about 150 km. However, storing the NG as Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) form in the same tank
volume, the tank’s weight becomes lower, by the same time distance of range approaches the petrol using
vehicles. In this study, we work at the properties of natural gas (LNG) and the usage of NG in internal engines.
Experiments were studied at Erciyes University Mechanical Engineering’s Engines Laboratory. Ford brand, 105
Hp, 1800 cc motor was used in experiment. Exhaust emissions was measured in SUN MGA 1500 gas analyser.

Keywords

LNG, Alternative Fuel, Storing of Natural Gas, Vacuum Insulation