Search Results

The effects of spray targeting on mixing, combustion, and pollutant formation under a low-load, late-injection, low-temperature combustion (LTC) diesel operating condition are investigated by optical engine measurements and multi-dimensional modeling. Three common spray-targeting strategies are examined: conventional piston-bowl-wall targeting (152° included angle); narrow-angle floor targeting (124° included angle); and wide-angle piston-bowl-lip targeting (160° included angle). Planar laser-induced fluorescence diagnostics in a heavy-duty direct-injection optical diesel engine provide two-dimensional images of fuel-vapor, low-temperature ignition (H2CO), high-temperature ignition (OH) and soot-formation species (PAH) to characterize the LTC combustion process.

Low-temperature combustion (LTC) strategies for diesel engines are of increasing interest because of their potential to significantly reduce particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. LTC with late fuel injection further offers the benefit of combustion phasing control because ignition is closely coupled to the fuel injection event. But with a short ignition-delay, fuel jet mixing processes must be rapid to achieve adequate premixing before ignition. In the current study, mixing and pollutant formation of late-injection LTC are studied in a single-cylinder, direct-injection, optically accessible heavy-duty diesel engine using three laser-based imaging diagnostics. Simultaneous planar laser-induced fluorescence of the hydroxyl radical (OH) and combined formaldehyde (H2CO) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are compared with vapor-fuel concentration measurements from a non-combusting condition.

Laser plasma ignition has been pursued by engine researchers as an alternative to electric spark-ignition systems, potentially offering benefits by avoiding quenching surfaces and extending breakdown limits at higher boost pressure and lower equivalence ratio. For this study, we demonstrate another potential benefit: the ability to control the timing of ignition with short, nanosecond pulses, thereby optimizing the type of mixture that burns in rapidly changing, stratified fuel-air mixtures. We study laser ignition at various timings during single and double injections at simulated gasoline engine conditions within a controlled, high-temperature, high-pressure vessel. Laser ignition is accomplished with a single low-energy (10 mJ), short duration (8 ns) Nd:YAG laser beam that is tightly focused (0.015 mm average measured 1/e₂ diameter) at a typical GDI spark plug location.

For better understanding of soot formation and oxidation processes in a biodiesel spray flame, the morphology, microstructure and sizes of soot particles directly sampled in a spray flame fuelled with soy-methyl ester were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The soot samples were taken at different axial locations in the spray flame, 40, 50 and 70 mm from injector nozzle, which correspond to soot formation, peak, and oxidation zones, respectively. The biodiesel spray flame was generated in a constant-volume combustion chamber under a diesel-like high pressure and temperature condition (6.7 MPa, 1000K). Density, diameter of primary particles and radius of gyration of soot aggregates reached a peak at 50 mm from the injector nozzle and was lower or smaller in the formation or oxidation zones of the spray.