Reactivity controlled compression ignition
Reactivity controlled compression ignition is a form of internal combustion developed at the Engine Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, by the research group of Wisconsin Distinguished Professor Rolf Reitz.
During RCCI combustion, well-mixed low-reactivity fuel and oxidizer are compressed but not reaching auto-ignition. Later, still during compression cycle, high-reactivity fuel is injected to form a local mixture of low- and high-reactivity fuel. Finally the whole fuel charge is ignited near top dead center of the piston by injection of high-reactivity fuel. The RCCI combustion process requires two different fuels. Low-reactivity fuel gets injected into the intake ports with low pressure during the intake stroke. High-reactivity fuel gets injected into the cylinder with high pressure at the end of compression stroke. A throttle characteristic to Otto engines is not needed. Because of compression ignition and lack of throttle control, RCCI resembles much the diesel process.
RCCI patents are controlled by University of Wisconsin Madison’s Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
