Search Results

Despite ongoing research efforts directed at reducing engine-out emissions, diesel engines are known to be one of the largest sources of atmospheric particulate matter (i.e., soot). Quantitative measurements are of primary importance to address soot production during the combustion process in the cylinder of diesel engines. This study presents the capabilities of an extinction-based diagnostic developed to quantitatively measure the soot volume fraction in n-dodecane sprays injected in a high-pressure, high-temperature vessel. Coupled with high-speed imaging, the technique yields time-resolved measurements of the soot field by relying on a diffused back-illumination scheme to improve extinction quantification in the midst of intense beam steering. The experiments performed in this work used two wavelengths, which, when combined with the Rayleigh-Debye-Gans theory, provide information about the optical and physical properties of soot.

The 4th Workshop of the Engine Combustion Network (ECN) was held September 5-6, 2015 in Kyoto, Japan. This manuscript presents a summary of the progress in experiments and modeling among ECN contributors leading to a better understanding of soot formation under the ECN “Spray A” configuration and some parametric variants. Relevant published and unpublished work from prior ECN workshops is reviewed. Experiments measuring soot particle size and morphology, soot volume fraction (fv), and transient soot mass have been conducted at various international institutions providing target data for improvements to computational models. Multiple modeling contributions using both the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) Equations approach and the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) approach have been submitted. Among these, various chemical mechanisms, soot models, and turbulence-chemistry interaction (TCI) methodologies have been considered.

Combustion issued from an eight-hole, direct-injection spray was experimentally studied in a constant-volume pre-burn combustion vessel using simultaneous high-speed diffused back-illumination extinction imaging (DBIEI) and OH* chemiluminescence. DBIEI has been employed to observe the liquid-phase of the spray and to quantitatively investigate the soot formation and oxidation taking place during combustion. The fuel-air mixture was ignited with a plasma induced by a single-shot Nd:YAG laser, permitting precise control of the ignition location in space and time. OH* chemiluminescence was used to track the high-temperature ignition and flame. The study showed that increasing the delay between the end of injection and ignition drastically reduces soot formation without necessarily compromising combustion efficiency. For long delays between the end of injection and ignition (1.9 ms) soot formation was eliminated in the main downstream charge of the fuel spray.

Soot formation in high-pressure n-dodecane sprays is investigated under conditions relevant to heavy-duty diesel engines. Sprays are injected from a single-hole diesel injector belonging to the family of engine combustion network (ECN) Spray D injectors. Soot is quantified using a high-speed extinction imaging diagnostic with incident light wavelengths of 623 nm and 850 nm. Previously, soot measurements in a high-pressure spray using 406-nm and 520-nm incident light demonstrated a minimal wavelength dependence in the complex refractive index of soot (m), as demonstrated by a near unity ratio of the non-dimensional extinction coefficients (ke,406 nm/ke,520 nm). The present work, however, demonstrates a significant difference in m for measurements with infrared incident light. During the quasi-steady period of the spray combustion event, the experimentally determined ke ratio (ke,623 nm/ke,850 nm) is 1.42 ± 0.27.

Modeling plume interaction and collapse for direct-injection gasoline sprays is important because of its impact on fuel-air mixing and engine performance. Nevertheless, the aerodynamic interaction between plumes and the complicated two-phase coupling of the evaporating spray has shown to be notoriously difficult to predict. With the availability of high-speed (100 kHz) Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) experimental data, we compare velocity field predictions between plumes to observe the full temporal evolution leading up to plume merging and complete spray collapse. The target “Spray G” operating conditions of the Engine Combustion Network (ECN) is the focus of the work, including parametric variations in ambient gas temperature. We apply both LES and RANS spray models in different CFD platforms, outlining features of the spray that are most critical to model in order to predict the correct aerodynamics and fuel-air mixing.

The Leaner Lifted-Flame Combustion (LLFC) strategy offers a possible alternative to low temperature combustion or other globally lean, premixed operation strategies to reduce soot directly in the flame, while maintaining mixing-controlled combustion. Adjustments to fuel properties, especially fuel oxygenation, have been reported to have potentially beneficial effects for LLFC applications. Six fuels were selected or blended based on cetane number, oxygen content, molecular structure, and the presence of an aromatic hydrocarbon. The experiments compared different fuel blends made of n-hexadecane, n-dodecane, methyl decanoate, tri-propylene glycol monomethyl ether (TPGME), as well as m-xylene. Several optical diagnostics have been used simultaneously to monitor the ignition, combustion and soot formation/oxidation processes from spray flames in a constant-volume combustion vessel.

With the global adoption of diesel common rail systems and the wide variation in composition of local commercial fuels, modern fuel injection systems must be robust against diverse fuel properties. To bridge the knowledge gap on the effects of compositional variation for real commercial fuels on spray combustion characteristics, the present work quantifies ignition and soot formation/oxidation in three unique, international diesel blends. Schlieren imaging, excited-state hydroxyl radical (OH*) chemiluminescence imaging and diffused back-illumination extinction imaging were employed to quantify vapor penetration, ignition, and soot formation and oxidation for high-pressure sprays in a constant-volume, pre-burn chamber. The three fuels were procured from Finland, Japan and Brazil and have cetane numbers of 64.1, 56.1 and 45.4, respectively.

Quantitative measurements of the total radiative heat transfer from high-pressure diesel spray flames under a range of conditions will enable engine modelers to more accurately understand and predict the effects of advanced combustion strategies on thermal loads and efficiencies. Moreover, the coupling of radiation heat transfer to soot formation processes and its impact on the temperature field and gaseous combustion pollutants is also of great interest. For example, it has been shown that reduced soot formation in diesel engines can result in higher flame temperatures (due to less radiative cooling) leading to greater NOx emissions.