A diesel engine test setup was developed to carry out the study
on dual fuel engines. A four stroke compression ignition engine,
model Ashok Leyland ALUWO4CT, turbocharged with
inter-cooler and gen-set was used for the experimental
investigation [1]. Detailed specification and operating parameters
for the present work is given in Table 2. The diesel engine
is modified by attaching hydrogen gas cylinder with the intake
manifold to work on dual fuel mode through flame traps, mass
flow meters. It is followed by a one-way non-return valve and
common flame arrestor by keeping turbo charger and its
bypass active. Down draft gasifier is used for generation of
producer gas using rice husk. This is directly connected to the
inlet manifold through the valve for the controlling of its
supply. The engine was coupled to a 62.5 kW D.C. generator.
The load on the engine was varied by introducing five water
pumps and twelve 3 kW industrial water heaters in a set of
four each. The power is based on the electrical output of the
installation. The engine was run at a constant speed of 1500
RPM. A schematic layout of the diesel engine test setup used
during the experiments is shown in Fig. 1.
The rice husk is fed to the gasifier through its top opening.
Air enters in the combustion zone and producer gas generated
leaves near the bottom of the gasifier at the temperature of
about 500 C. The hot producer gas is allowed to cool by passing
through the water cooler where its temperature is reduced to