An experimental investigation on the partially premixed combustion (PPC) of neat n-butanol by using the two-stage injection strategy has been conducted. The results indicate that compared to the gasoline PPC

the n-butanol PPC is more sensitive to the injection timing

and the stable operation scope is narrower due to the higher pressure rise rate (PRR)

but the THC

NOx and soot emissions are lower. On the other hand

the two stage injection strategy can effectively reduce the PRR. As the interval between pilot injection and main injection increases

the PRR firstly reduces rapidly and then increase eventually. With the higher pilot injection ratio

the longer interval control method should be adopted to reduce the PRR. By using the optimized two stage injection strategy

the poor controllability can be significantly improved

which is beneficial to achieve the high efficient combustion on a broader operation scope.