International Engineering Research Journal Page No 97-104

Intake Manifold design for multi-point fuel

injection CNG engine
Shailesh B. Sonawane, Student,Dr. K. D. Sapate,Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Department,Trinity College of Engineering and Research, Pune.
 all the cylinders,elimination of unnecessary turbulence and
Abstract— The drivability of the vehicle is mostly depends on eddies in the manifold,minimum possible resistance in intake
the torque produced by the engine and is a very critical manifold, engine packaging constraints needs to be addressed
parameter.Volumetric efficiency of an engine mostly decides the properly.
torque characteristics. Better torque curve can be achievedwith
The combustion process of a natural gas engine is
an overall improvement in volumetric efficiency throughout the
engine operating conditions, which facilitates improved homogenous combustion. The concentration of charge in the
drivability. By tuning the intake manifold the volumetric cylinder must be in the flammable range, too lean or too rich
efficiency of an engine can be improved to achieve the desired in a mixture cannot form reliable combustion. Moreover, rich
performance. gas mixtures impact unfavorably with engine power, economy
Minimum possible resistance in intake manifold, Uniform and emissions. Therefore, in order to keeps the quantity of
distribution of air through all the cylinders, elimination of flammable mixed gas entering the cylinders at the required
unnecessary turbulence and eddies in the manifold, engine
packaging constraints needs to be addressed properly to achieve value; the volume of intake manifold has to be increase
the optimum intake manifold design. Through this project, focus compare to diesel engine.
is given on the study of the effects of various parameters on the The intake manifold guides the air to the cylinder head. The
intake manifold design. The base engine considered for this general construction is that a plenum is followed by intake
project work is diesel engine which is converted to dedicated runners (pipes) which go to the valves. The manifold may look
CNG application and for this engine new Intake manifold is different in different types of engines but the common
designed. For that the existing intake manifold is analyzed and
which founds unsuitable for the CNG application. So new intake function is that it should evenly distribute the intake air/charge
manifold which reduces swirl effect is initially designed and to the cylinders. Intake manifold consists of typically of a
accordingly runner length and plenum volume is finalized. Then plenum, to the inlet of which bolts the throttle body, with
by using 1D simulation software the effect of various runner individual runners feeding branches which lead to each
length and plenum volume on engine performance characteristics cylinder or plenum can feed the branches directly.
such as power, torque, and volumetric efficiency is checked. Then Mardani AH Sera et al, simulated effect of various mixer
on the basis of 1D simulation result the actual Intake Manifold is
manufactured and same is checked for swirl test and actual types (Venturi Mixer, Fan Mixer, Venturi burner Mixer) and
engine test. It was found that the required, simulated and actual found that there is an increase of 8% of power output due to
tested airflow with the newly designed Intake Manifold are the used of this advanced intake system. And the CNG fuelled
within the 10% margin. engine is totally produced lesser emissions of CO, CO2 and
hydro carbon (HC) compared to that of gasoline [2].
Index Terms— Intake Manifold, CNG BadihJawad et al, studied the various engine parameters to
get maximum engine performance and found out that intake
I. INTRODUCTION manifold design is also one of the major factors deciding
A properly designed Intake Manifold is vital for the optimal maximum engine performance [3].
performance of an IC Engine. The main task of an Intake NeginMaftouni et al, simulated the the effect of Intake
Manifold is to distribute air between cylinders properly. An Manifold Runners Length on the Volumetric Efficiency by
uneven air distribution leads to Non-uniform cylinder using 3-D CFD Model. they found out that uniformdistribution
volumetric efficiency, power loss, and increased fuel of air to all cylinders, Minimum possible resistance in IM
consumption.The volumetric efficiency of an engine can be runners, utilization the pressure waves to improve induction
improved by tuning the intake manifold to achieve the desired process, elimination of the the unnecessary turbulence and
performance. To achieve the optimum intake manifold design eddies in intake manifold, throttle body position correctly are
various parameters such as uniform distribution of air through some of the parameters which needs to be keep in focus while
designing intake manifold [4].
This paper is submitted on 10th May 2016 for the review. L. J. Hamilton et al studied the Effect of Intake geometry on
Shailesh B. Sonawane is now studying in Trinity college of Engineering
and Research, Pune and pursuing his masters in Design engineering. (E-mail:
engine performance. They investigated that intake manifold
[email protected]). tuning, intake manifold runner length and bend pipes plays an
Dr. K. D. Sapate is guide for this particular project and he is working as a important role in volumetric efficiency and subsequently to
Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department in Trinity college of torque characteristics. Also engine/vehicle packaging system
Engineering and Research, Pune. (E-mail: [email protected])
plays an important role while designing intake manifold [7].
 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 97-104

Devananda B Pai et al, found out Simulation based

approach for Optimization of Intake Manifold. The modeling
of the engine was done using GT-POWER software and the
effect of manifold runner length and plenum volume and
runner diameter on the performance was studied. When
plenum volume is increased it was seen that it gives better
performance at higher rpm but throttle response is less. The
runner diameter is varied and is found that as the runner
diameter was decreased the peak torque and volumetric
efficiency is increasing at a lower rpm and reducing at higher
rpm [9].
D. Saravanan et al, designed and developed Flow Based
Dual Intake Manifold System to get better torque availability
at Partially Open Throttle (POT) condition improves
drivability at city driving condition and better torque at Wide
Open Throttle (WOT) condition improves cruising at highway
driving condition. With the flow based Dual Intake Manifold
system more than 47% improvement in Torque and Power is
observed at 25% throttle position and upto 11% improvement
in torque and power is observed at 50% throttle position, this
significantly improves the drivability at POT conditions [12].
As modern engines are expected to feature good response
characteristics, maximum performance, i.e. high torque and
low fuel consumption while keeping the pollutant emissions at
minimum the intake manifold have to meet the following
clearly defined main requirements:
Uniform air distribution of air to all cylinders
Minimum possible resistance in Intake Manifold runners
Utilization of pressure waves to improve induction process
Eliminate the unnecessary turbulence and eddies Fig. 1. Work methodology.
Throttle body positioning
Low pressure loss III. INTAKE MANIFOLD DESIGN
Intake manifold optimization mainly consists of properly The combustion process of a natural gas engine is
design of below mentioned parameters. homogenous combustion. The concentration of mixed gas in
Intake manifold runner length the cylinder must be in the flammable range, too lean or too
Intake manifold runner diameter rich in a mixture cannot form reliable combustion. Moreover,
Intake manifold plenum volume rich gas mixtures impact unfavorably with engine power,
economy and emissions. Therefore, in order to keeps the
II. WORK METHODOLOGY quantity of flammable mixed gas entering the cylinders at the
For completing any task or achieving any goal a systematic required value; the volume of intake manifold plays an
approach is necessary. So for completing the desired result of important role.The existing Intake manifold is checked for the
this project work a methodology is finalized. In which the suitability for modified SI engine. And it is tested on swirl test
activity starts with the selection of engine, then analyzing the rig for Mean Swirl Number Values.
existing Intake manifold for its suitability for CNG engine
application, then proposing new Intake manifold on the basis
of available literature and engine boundary conditions, then
simulation with the different cases and finally the actual
testing. The detailed activities are well represented in the flow
chart as shown in Fig.1.

Fig. 2. Mean Swirl number for Diesel Intake Manifold.

Fig. 2. shows that the mean swirl number increases with the
use of short runner intake manifold i.e. diesel engine intake
 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 97-104

manifold. This higher swirl is not desirable for CNG radius (going towards straight runners) does not however
application. Also it is found that existing quantity governed change the flow velocity profile much. The compactness of
Diesel engine Intake manifold volume is about 60% of engine the system is more important in this case. Its design is mainly
displacementwhich is not suitable for quality governed CNG depend on the space available as longer the runner length
engine application. more it is beneficial but restricted it is mostly depend on
engine boundary condition. Also the runner should be as
straight as possible it should not have angled connection
towards cylinder as it will create more swirl which is not
suitable for SI engine, specifically for CNG. Accordingly
runner volume with 1.6 lit volume is finalized, which is
around ~50% of engine capacity.
So the new Intake manifold having total volume of 3.96
liters which is around 1.15~.2 times of engine displacement
volume is designed and is further considered for 1D
simulation analysis.

Fig. 3. Diesel Intake Manifold having angled short runners.

On the basis of the specific fuel consumption data and

knowing that this is stoichiometric engine, the air flow
required for different RPM is calculated and is tabulated as
below.
TABLE I:
AIR FLOW REQUIREMENT
Required Air Flow Power Torque
RPM
kg/h kW N-m
3000 322.0 78.00 248.4
Fig. 4. Proposed Intake Manifold having straight long
2000 230.2 58.19 278
runners.
1800 207.2 52.38 278
1600 184.2 46.56 278
1400 161.2 40.74 278 IV. 1D SIMULATION ANALYSIS
1200 127.0 30.14 240 Simulation is the process of formulating a model of a
1000 103.0 23.03 220 physical system representing the actual processes and
analyzing the same. Usually the model is a mathematical
The area immediately downstream where the runners join is representation of actual processes through a set of algebraic,
referred as distribution area or the plenum. Generally plenum differential or integral functions and analysis is made by using
diameter in case of round plenum is around three fourth of computer. In modern research, computer simulation has
bore diameter. A larger plenum volume leaves more available become a powerful tool. It saves time and is also economical
air to the engine within its reach and so long as the air can be compared with experimental study.
replenished in time through the intake system, and then engine The finalized intake manifold is then used for 1D
never has to work hard to get intake air because there is simulation. Where the engine performance characteristics such
always enough of it sitting there in the larger plenum. As as power, torque, volumetric efficiency can be obtained for
plenum volume gets smaller, it become easier for the engine to different RPM. Three different cases each for plenum volume
rapidly consume all of the air in the plenum and thus it would and runner length are considered.
have to spend a lot of effort trying to suck air in all way Theoretically calculated plenum volume & runner length is
through the entire intake system to stay alive. So on the basis considered as base case. Then two separate conditions (130%
of literature review the Plenum volume is decided as 2.40 lit, base plenum volume & 70% base plenum volume) are taken
which is around 60~70% of engine displacement volume. for simulation purpose. And similarly with increased &
The next critical part of the Intake manifold is runner decreased runner length simulation is carried out. The 1D
length. Intake runner will connect the intake manifold to simulation case set up and Intake manifold 1D simulation
intake port. The intake length is one such parameter that is model is shown in fig. 5.
depending upon cylinder bore diameter. And it is mostly kept
twice the bore diameter. A straighter runner would result in a
more uniform flow profile in the runner as all the flow travels
approximately the same distance. Increasing the runner bend
 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 97-104

Fig. 5. 1D simulation case set up

The Intake manifold is made up of straight, bend and curved

portion. So for the accurate results it is required to split the
intake manifold in different sections and the same is replicated
in simulation model. Below figure shows the discretized 3D
model and converted 1D model of proposed intake manifold.

Fig. 7. Converted1D
Model

V. SIMULATION STUDY RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

1D simulation gives the good insight in deciding the
optimized runner length and plenum volume. Different cases
are simulated and the graphs showing the effect of runner
length and plenum volume on engine performance for various
engine RPMS are simulated.
Effect of Runner length on various engine performance
characteristics are shown in below figures.

Fig. 6. Discretized 3D Model

Fig. 8. Effect of different Runner length on brake power

Fig. 9. Effect of different Runner length on BSFC

 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 97-104

Fig. 10. Effect of different Runner length on Air Flow Fig. 13. Effect of different Plenum Volume on BSFC

Fig. 11. Effect of different Runner length on Volumetric

Efficiency Fig. 14. Effect of different Plenum Volume on Air Flow
Rate
It is observed that there is minimal improvement
(Maximum 2%) observed with increasing runner length. So it
is not advisable to increase runner length by 100mm to get
only 2% of volumetric efficiency. As the height of the intake
manifold with 300 mm runner length is too big to
accommodate it on the engine due to packaging constraints.
Whereas there is drop in volumetric efficiency and air flow
with 100 mm runner length. Also CNG injector positioning on
shorter runner length is having engine boundary limitations so
it is not suitable.
Hence runner length (190mm) is suitable for this engine
operation. Fig. 15. Effect of different Plenum Volume on volumetric
efficiency.
Effect of Plenum volume on various engine performance It is seen that there is minimal improvement observed with
characteristics are shown in below figures. increasing Plenum volume. So it is not advisable to increase
plenum volume to get minimal improvement of volumetric
efficiency. Whereas there is drop in volumetric efficiency and
deterioration inBSFC observed due to reduced plenum
volume. Hence base plenum volume is suitable for this engine
operation.
The same manifold is tested for mean flow coefficient and
swirl on swirl test rig. As we know for diesel engine swirl is
important for air fuel mixing point of view. As diesel is in
liquid form it should mix properly with air hence more swirl is
required. So for diesel engine intake manifold is designed in
such a way that the runners usually helps in generating more
swirl.
Fig.12. Effect of different Plenum Volume on Brake Power But for the CNG engine as fuel is in gaseous form already,
less swirl is desirable for proper burning. So considering this
phenomenon Intake manifold is designed in such a way that
swirl is killed. And same has been observed on swirl test rig
 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 97-104

and results are shown graphically. VI. CONCLUSION

It can be seen that the existing intake manifold is designed The performance and torque requirement for the engine
for diesel engine where in mean swirl value found higher determine the geometry of the intake manifold-in particular
(Swirl No is ranging from 1.78 to 2.01) and for CNG intake the diameter, the length and the plenum volume of the air
manifold it drops and ranges from 1.4 to 1.5 which is desirable distributor.
and as required. The Diesel engine Intake manifold is not suitable for CNG
engine application. The properly designed intake manifold can
improve the volumetric efficiency of an engine.
While converting diesel engine to spark ignition engine
various components of the engine needs to be changed. Intake
manifold is one of the critical components for achieving the
desired engine performance.
As CNG is quality governed engine the air or charge should
be kept as a reservoir in intake manifold so for CNG engine
Fig. 16. Mean swirl number for diesel and CNG intake intake manifold plenum volume should be large as compared
manifold to diesel engine.
Also for CNG engines the runner length and its orientation
The newly designed intake manifold is then tested on actual should be such that swirl should be reduced as swirl is not
engine and actual air flow is measured. It was found out that desirous for CNG engines.
there is around 10% of deviation in the simulated and The volume of an intake manifold is defined by the length
measured air flow rate values. This deviation is because all and cross-section of its runner as well as by the volume of the
actual boundary conditions cannot be simulated as it is very distributor or the plenum.
difficult to define in the software. So the designed intake 1D simulation tool is used for finding the effect for different
manifold is suitable for CNG engine application. The graph of runner length and plenum volume on the engine performance
simulated and measured airflow rate is shown in fig.18. and it was observed that 190mm runner length is optimum for
desired engine performance, wherein plenum volume should
be around 60% of engine displacement.
The actual Intake manifold is further tested on swirl test rig
and the intake manifold has less swirl number value compared
to diesel intake manifold. And same manifold is further tested
on engine. And measured air flow value was similar to
simulated air flow value with around 10% of max deviation
which is also acceptable considering simulation limitations.
This approach of intake manifold design can be adapted for
optimum design. Difference between existing and proposed
Intake manifold volume is tabulated in below table.

Fig. 17. Actual intake manifold on engine test bed TABLE II

INTAKE MANIFOLD VOLUMES
Diesel engine Intake CNG Engine Intake
Manifold Manifold
Intake Manifold 60% of engine capacity 100 - 110 % of engine
Volume capacity
Plenum Volume 35 % of engine capacity 60 - 70 % of engine
capacity
Runner volume 25% of engine capacity 40 - 50% of engine
capacity

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 International Engineering Research Journal Page No 97-104

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