The working process of a porous medium (PM) engine, characterized as periodic contact type and fueled with liquid fuel as Isooctane, is simulated by using an improved version of KIVA-3V. A modified volume-averaged method is proposed for describing the interaction between fuel droplets and the solid phase of the PM. The improved version of KIVA-3V was validated by simulating the experiment of Zhdanok for the superadiabatic combustion of CH(4)-air mixtures under filtration in a packed bed. Good agreement between experimental data and computational results for the speed of combustion wave is achieved. The influences of initial PM temperature, PM structure and valve opening timing on the realization of compression ignition in the PM engine are also verified. Initial PM temperature is the crucial factor in guaranteeing the realization of the compression ignition of the PM engine. Considering influential factors, such as the properties of the PM, the compression ratio, the equivalence ratio, and the heat transfer between gas and solid phase of the PM should obtain optimized initial PM temperature. The variation in PM structure affects the convective heat transfer between the gas and solid phase and the dispersion effect of the PM. Compression ignition all can be realized in PM engines with four kinds of PM. Compression ignition is achieved at the considered four valve opening timings. Value opening timing has influence on the average temperature of the PM engine and the working of the PM engine does not allow earlier or later valve opening timing. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.