Analysis of the pre-injection configuration in a marine engine through several MCDM techniques

The present manuscript describes a computational model employed to characterize the performance and emissions of a commercial marine diesel engine. This model analyzes several pre-injection parameters, such as starting instant, quantity, and duration. The goal is to reduce nitrogen oxides (NON), as well as its effect on emissions and consumption. Since some of the parameters considered have opposite effects on the results, the present work proposes a MCDM (Multiple-Criteria Decision Making) methodology to determine the most adequate pre-injection configuration. An important issue in MCDM models is the data normalization process. This operation is necessary to convert the available data into a non-dimensional common scale, thus allowing ranking and rating alternatives. It is important to select a suitable normalization technique, and several methods exist in the literature. This work considers five well-known normalization procedures: linear max, linear max-min, linear sum, vector, and logarithmic normalization. As to the solution technique, the study considers three MCDM models: WSM (Weighted Sum Method), WPM (Weighted Product Method) and TOP SIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution). The linear max, linear sum, vector, and logarithmic normalization procedures brought the same result: -22 degrees CA ATDC pre-injection starting instant, 25% pre-injection quantity and 1-2 degrees CA pre-injection duration. Nevertheless, the linear max min normalization procedure provided a result, which is different from the others and not recommended.