Study at TCU

Reseacher

Name OIKAWA Masakuni
Official Title Associate Professor
Affiliation Faculty of Science and Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering
E-mail oikawam@tcu.ac.jp
Web
  1. http://www.risys.gl.tcu.ac.jp/Main.php?action=profile&type=detail&tchCd=5002086
  2. http://www.comm.tcu.ac.jp/heetarl/index-en.html
Profile My research subject is a hydrogen internal combustion engine. In recent years, "hydrogen" is expected as a secondary energy to store the electric power obtained from solar power generation and wind power generation, which have large output fluctuations. Hydrogen internal combustion engines are once again attracting attention, especially in Europe, as a technology for using this "hydrogen" in fields such as trucks and ships. While hydrogen internal combustion engines have the advantage of being able to utilize conventional technology, one of the challenges is the large amount of NOx emitted during high-load operation. Therefore, we have achieved high efficiency and low NOx emissions of hydrogen internal combustion engines by applying the original combustion technology using a high-pressure hydrogen injector that was originally developed. For further improvement of thermal efficiency and zero emission, we are observing the influence of the shape of the combustion chamber and the shape of the jet hole on the engine performance, the flame propagation in the combustion chamber and the shape of the jet using a visualization engine.
Research Field(Keyword & Summary)
  1. (1)Research on direct injection hydrogen internal combustion engine

    This research aims to improve the thermal efficiency by reducing cooling loss, which is essential for increasing thermal efficiency in a hydrogen engine while maintaining high power. We have proposed a new combustion process called the Plume Ignition Combustion Concept (PCC), in which with an optimal combination of hydrogen injection timing and controlled jet geometry, the plume of the hydrogen jet is spark-ignited to accomplish combustion of a rich mixture.

  2. (2)Research on engine tribology

    Reducing piston ring tension and lowering oil viscosity are most effective items for reducing friction of piston-cylinder system and improving thermal efficiency of internal combustion engines. However, these items will cause an increase in lubricating oil consumption (LOC) as a trade-off effect. In this study, for an oil consumption elucidation, we measure the piston land pressure and piston ring behavior during engine actual operation.

Representative Papers
  1. (1)Effect of Modified Combustion Chamber Configuration and Enhanced Squish Flow on Improving Thermal Efficiency in Jet-Plume-Controlled Direct-Injection Near-zero Emission Hydrogen Engines, International Journal of Engine Research, https://doi.org/10.1177/14680874221135277, Nov. 2022
  2. (2)The Verification of Engine Analysis Model Accuracy by Measuring Oil Film Pressure in the Main Bearings of a Motorcycle High-Speed Engine Using a Thin-Film Sensor, Lubricants, Vol.10, Issue11, Nov.2022
  3. (3)Measurement of Piston Pin-Bore Oil Film Pressure under Engine Operation, Lubricants,Vol10, Issue10,Oct. 2022
  4. (4)Effect of high compression ratio on improving thermal efficiency and NOx formation in jet plume controlled direct-injection near-zero emission hydrogen engines, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol47, Issue73, Aug.2022
  5. (5)Effect of supercharging on improving thermal efficiency and modifying combustion characteristics in lean-burn direct-injection near-zero-emission hydrogen engines, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol47, Issue2, Jan.2022
  6. (6)Realization of High Thermal Efficiency Near-zero Emissions and Additional Improved Performance by Optimizing Injected Spray Configuration and Injection Timing in Direct Injection Hydrogen Engines,Transactions of the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan,Vol.51,No.1,Jan. 2020
  7. (7)Research on evaluation of hydrogen jet behavior and assessment of cooling loss reduction by measuring local heat flux in direct injection hydrogen engines,Transactions of the JSME,Vol.85,No.875,Jul. 2019
  8. (8)Near-zero emissions with high thermal efficiency realized by optimizing jet plume location relative to combustion chamber wall, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy,International Journal of Hydrogen Energy,Vol44,Issue 18,Apr. 2019
  9. (9)Attainment of High Thermal Efficiency and Near-zero Emissions by Optimizing Injected Spray Configuration in Direct Injection Hydrogen Engines, SAE Technical Papers,Dec. 2019
  10. (10)Optimization of Hydrogen Jet Configuration by Single Hole Nozzle and High Speed Laser Shadowgraphy in High Pressure Direct Injection Hydrogen Engines, International Journal of Automotive Engineering,Vol3,Issue 1,Jan. 2012
Research Grants/Projects including subsidies, donations, grants, etc. 2022-2023 NEDO Green Innovation Fund Projects
2021-2022 NEDO Feasibility Study Program
2019-2020 Subsidy for Building Simulation Platforms to Accelerate Development of Next-Generation Vehicles(METI)
2018 Cross-ministerial Straregic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP)
Recruitment of research assistant(s) No
Affiliated academic society (Membership type) (1)JSAE (Regular member) (2)JSME (Regular member) (3)JAST(Regular member) (4)JIME(Regular member) (5)IEEJ(Regular member)
Education Field (Undergraduate level) Thermodynamics (1), Studies Machine Design and Drafting (b)
Education Field (Graduate level) Thermodynamics(Adv.), Internal combustion engine(Adv.)

Affiliation