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This paper reports on the development of novel time resolved spectroscopic imaging techniques for the study of spark ignition phenomena in combustion cells and an SI-engine. The techniques are based on planar laser induced fluorescence imaging (PLIF) of OH radicals, on fuel tracer PLIF, and on chemiluminescence. The techniques could be achieved at repetition rates reaching several hundreds of kilo-Hz and were cycle resolved. These techniques offer a new path along which engine related diagnostics can be undertaken, providing a wealth of information on turbulent spark ignition.

A 0.5 liter optical HCCI engine firing a mixture of n-heptane (50%) and iso-octane (50%) with air/fuel ratio of 3 is studied using large eddy simulation (LES) and laser diagnostics. Formaldehyde and OH LIF and in-cylinder pressure were measured in the experiments to characterize the ignition process. The LES made use of a detailed chemical kinetic mechanism that consists of 233 species and 2019 reactions. The auto-ignition simulation is coupled with LES by the use of a renormalized reaction progress variable. Systematic LES study on the effect of initial temperature inhomogeneity and turbulence intensity has been carried out to delineate their effect on the ignition process. It was shown that the charge under the present experimental condition would not be ignited without initial temperature inhomogeneity. Increasing temperature inhomogeneity leads to earlier ignition whereas increasing turbulence intensity would retard the ignition.

This paper presents large eddy simulation (LES) and experimental studies of the combustion process of ethanol/air mixture in an experimental optical HCCI engine. The fuel is injected to the intake port manifolds to generate uniform fuel/air mixture in the cylinder. Two different piston shapes, one with a flat disc and one with a square bowl, were employed to generate different in-cylinder turbulence and temperature field prior to auto-ignition. The aim of this study was to scrutinize the effect of in-cylinder turbulence on the temperature field and on the combustion process. The fuel tracer, acetone, is measured using laser induced fluorescence (LIF) to characterize the reaction fronts, and chemiluminescence images were recorded using a high speed camera, with a 0.25 crank angle degree resolution, to further illustrate the combustion process. Pressure in the cylinder is recorded in the experiments.

In this paper an alternative method for collecting laser induced fluorescence (LIF) signals from engines with limited optical access is presented. An endoscopic detection system has been used for LIF visualisation of both gaseous and liquid fluids in a DISI-engine. The use of an endoscope made it possible to monitor parts of the combustion chamber that could not be accessed through the piston with conventional optics. Brief investigations of the signal collection efficiency have been performed on the endoscopic system as well as on a system based upon conventional optics. The technique shows promising results and the use of endoscopic detection systems should be considered as a complement to using advance design quarts piston crowns for conventional detection through the piston.

High-speed laser diagnostics was utilized for single-cycle resolved studies of the formaldehyde distribution in the combustion chamber of an HCCI engine. A multi-YAG laser system consisting of four individual Q-switched, flash lamp-pumped Nd:YAG lasers has previously been developed in order to obtain laser pulses at 355 nm suitable for performing LIF measurements of the formaldehyde molecule. Bursts of up to eight pulses with very short time separation can be produced, allowing capturing of LIF image series with high temporal resolution. The system was used together with a high-speed framing camera employing eight intensified CCD modules, with a frame-rate matching the laser pulse repetition rate. The diagnostic system was used to study the combustion in a truck-size HCCI engine, running at 1200 rpm using n-heptane as fuel. By using laser pulses with time separations as short as 70 μs, cycle-resolved image sequences of the formaldehyde distribution were obtained.

High-speed laser diagnostics was utilized for single-cycle resolved studies of the fuel distribution in the combustion chamber of a truck-size HCCI engine. A multi-YAG laser system consisting of four individual Nd:YAG lasers was used for planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) imaging of the fuel distribution. The fundamental beam from the lasers at 1064 nm was frequency quadrupled in order to obtain laser pulses at 266 nm suitable for excitation of acetone that was used as fuel tracer. Bursts of up to eight pulses with very short time separation were produced, allowing PLIF images with high temporal resolution to be captured within one single cycle event. The system was used together with a high-speed framing camera employing eight ICCD modules, with a frame-rate matching the laser pulse repetition rate.

This paper presents an investigation of a Volvo Direct Injection Spark Ignition (DISI) engine, where the fuel distribution and the in-cylinder flow field have been mapped by the use of laser techniques in an engine with optical access. Along with the experimental work, CFD-modelling of flow and fuel distribution has been performed. Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) visualisation of the fuel distribution in a DI-engine has been performed using an endoscopic detection system. Due to the complex piston crown geometry it was not possible to monitor the critical area around the sparkplug with conventional, through the piston, detection. Therefore, an endoscope inserted in the spark plug hole was used. This approach gave an unrestricted view over the desired area. In addition, the in-cylinder flow fields have been monitored by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) through cylinder and piston. The results from both the LIF and the PIV measurements have been compared with CFD-modelling at Volvo.

Basic optical properties have been investigated in order to characterize the HCCI-combustion process. Basic optical properties of a Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine have been investigated in order to characterize the combustion process. The absorption of light propagating through the combustion chamber has been spectrally resolved for four different fuels. Significant differences between the fuels could be detected. Complementary information could be obtained by recording spontaneous emission of radiation during combustion. Raman point measurements were used to quantify cycle-to-cycle variations of the equivalence ratio. The homogeneity of the charge was monitored by the use of two-dimensional tracer LIF. That method was also utilized to investigate the flame development. The experiments were performed in a six-cylinder, truck-sized engine with one cylinder modified to allow for optical access.

In this work, constant volume combustion is studied using a zero-dimensional FORTRAN code, which is a wide-ranging chemical kinetic simulation that allows a closed system of gases to be described on the basis of a set of initial conditions. The model provides an engine- or reactor-like environment in which the engine simulations allow for a variable system volume and heat transfer both to and from the system. The combustion chamber is divided into two zones as burned and unburned ones, which are separated by an assumed thin flame front in the combustion model used for this work. Equilibrium assumptions have been adopted for the modeling of the thermal ionization, where Saha's equation was derived for singly ionized molecules. The investigation is focused on the thermal ionization of NO as well as for other species. The outputs generated by the model are temperature profiles, species concentration profiles, ionization degree and an electron density for each zone.

In-cylinder crank-angle resolved imaging of fuel and OH was obtained using planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) in a Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine. Investigations were carried out to ascertain the extent to which the combustion process in an HCCI engine is affected by the charge homogeneity. In the experiments, the heterogeneity of the charge was varied and the effect on the combustion process was monitored. The result shows a heterogeneous combustion with large spatial and temporal variations, even with a homogeneously premixed charge. It is therefore concluded that the charge inhomogeneity has a modest effect on the combustion process.