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This article deals with application of a pre-chamber type ignition device in a heavy duty engine operated with natural gas. A particular pre-chamber ignition strategy called Avalanche Activated Combustion (originally ‘Lavinia Aktyvatsia Gorenia’ in Russian), commonly referred to as LAG-ignition process, has been studied by performing a parametric study of various pre- and main chamber mixture strength combinations. This strategy was first proposed in 1966 and has been mostly applied in light duty automotive engines. A majority of published data are results from developmental studies but the fundamental mechanism of the LAG-ignition process is unclear to date. To the best of authors' knowledge, the study presented in this article is the first generalized study to gain deeper understanding of the LAG-ignition process in heavy duty engines operating with natural gas as fuel for both chambers.

Stoichiometric operation of Spark Ignited (SI) Heavy Duty Natural Gas (HDNG) engines with a three way catalyst results in very low emissions however they suffer from bad gas-exchange efficiency due to use of throttle which results in high throttling losses. Variable Geometry Turbine (VGT) is a good practice to reduce throttling losses in a certain operating region of the engine. VTG technology is extensively used in diesel engines; it is very much ignored in gasoline engines however it is possible and advantageous to be used on HDNG engine due to their relatively low exhaust gas temperature. Exhaust gas temperatures in HDNG engines are low enough (lower than 760 degree Celsius) and tolerable for VGT material. Traditionally HDNG are equipped with a turbocharger with waste-gate but it is easy and simple to replace the by-pass turbocharger with a well-matched VGT.

Combination of flow field measurements, shown in this paper, give new information on the effect of engine run parameters to formation of different flow fields inside piston bowl. The measurements were carried out with particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique in optical engine. Good set of results was achieved even though the feasibility of this technique in diesel engines is sometimes questioned. Main challenge in diesel engines is background radiation from soot particles which is strong enough to conceal the PIV signal. Window staining in diesel engine is also a problem, since very high particle image quality is needed for velocity analysis. All measurements were made in an optical heavy-duty diesel engine. Optical design of engine was Bowditch type [1]. The engine was charged and equipped with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). The exhaust gas level was monitored by oxygen concentration and the level was matched to former soot concentration measurements.