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Diesel spray experimentation at controlled high-temperature and high-pressure conditions is intended to provide a more fundamental understanding of diesel combustion than can be achieved in engine experiments. This level of understanding is needed to develop the high-fidelity multi-scale CFD models that will be used to optimize future engine designs. Several spray chamber facilities capable of high-temperature, high-pressure conditions typical of engine combustion have been developed, but because of the uniqueness of each facility, there are uncertainties about their operation. The Engine Combustion Network (ECN) is a worldwide group of institutions using combustion vessels, whose aim is to advance the state of spray and combustion knowledge at engine-relevant conditions. A key activity is the use of spray chamber facilities operated at specific target conditions in order to leverage research capabilities and advanced diagnostics of all ECN participants.

Multiple-injection strategies are characterized by a complex and transient interplay between high- and low-temperature reactions. Tracking low-temperature reaction products such as formaldehyde (CH2O) is particularly important to understand ignition phenomena and the so-called “combustion recession” that is observed in experiments. Experimentally, it is often difficult to discriminate between formaldehyde and other species such as poly-aromatic hydrocarbons, which is why a selective excitation approach is used in this work. Simultaneous high-speed imaging of the chemically-excited hydroxyl radical (OH*) is used to improve indication of flame location and second stage ignition. During experiments in a constant-volume vessel, two 0.5-ms injections of n-dodecane, separated by 0.5-ms dwell time, are injected into a 900-K ambient.