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A recently developed spark plug equipped with fiber-optic flame-arrival detectors has been used to measure the motion and rate of growth of the early flame kernel. The cylinder pressure and gas velocity in the spark gap were measured simultaneously with the flame kernel measurements, permitting the data to be analyzed on a cycle-by-cycle basis to identify cause-and-effect correlations between the measured parameters. The data were obtained in a homogeneous-charge research engine that could be modified to produce three very different flow fields: (1) high swirl with high turbulence intensity, (2) tumble vortex with moderate turbulence intensity, and (3) negligible bulk motion with low turbulence intensity. The results presented show a moderate correlation between the combustion duration and the rate of growth of the flame kernel, but virtually no correlation with either the magnitude or direction of movement of the flame kernel away from the spark gap.

A photographic study is presented illustrating the influence of mixture motion on flame propagation in an internal combustion engine. Variation in swirl and turbulence levels was achieved by rotating the orientation of a shroud on the intake valve. Laser Doppler velocimetry was used to characterize the precombustion fluid motion. A flexible shadowgraph system was developed for visualizing in-cylinder events. The results show that cyclic variation is not necessarily decreased by increasing the burn rate. The fastest burn achieved in this study occurred with high swirl, when the flame remained attached to the spark plug. If random detachment of the flame occurred, however, cyclic variation was greatly enhanced.

Hot-wire anemometer and laser Doppler velocimeter measurements have been taken in a motored reciprocating engine and compared to assess the validity of hot-wire measurements. The procedure used to account for the sensitivity of the hot wire to changes in the gas temperature is extensively investigated. The results presented show that for the optimum conditions of known flow direction, low turbulence level, and low compression ratio, the hot-wire anemometer can provide useful mean velocity results. Accurate hot-wire turbulence intensity measurements appear to be possible only for the intake and exhaust strokes.

A hot-wire anemometer was used to study the air motion in a motored i.c. engine. Measurements were made of the mean velocity, turbulence intensity, and integral scales of turbulence. The engine speed was varied from 500 to 2500 rpm, and the hot-wire probe was traversed both across the combustion chamber clearance volume and down into the piston sweep volume. The latter traverse was accomplished by probe-accommodating “wells” built into the piston crown, which were subsequently shown to severely disrupt the flow during the compression and expansion strokes. The results show the mean velocity and turbulence intensity to vary linearly with engine speed, and the turbulence scales to be a function of geometry only. The structure of turbulence was found to be inhomogeneous in the clearance volume and the upper portion of the sweep volume.

Measurements are presented for the turbulence intensities and mean velocities obtained in a research engine in which a grid was used to create a flow field characterized by negligible mean motions and homogeneous and isotropic turbulence at the time of ignition. Pressure measurements for homogeneous stoichiometric combustion indicate a very low level of cyclic variation. The combustion-induced mean flow field is shown to be characteristic of a one-dimensional compression of the unburned gases, which produces a small increase in the bulk turbulent kinetic energy ahead of the flame. Most of the effect of combustion appears to occur locally, as the turbulence in the preflame gases close to the flame front is strongly amplified in the direction of flame propagation. Parallel to the flame surface there is little effect until the flame has propagated nearly all the way across the chamber.

An experiment is described for the direct measurement of the turbulent burning velocity during premixed combustion in a spark ignition engine. The gas velocity is measured using a high data rate laser Doppler velocimeter system that resolves the unburned gas motion on an individual cycle basis. The ensemble-averaged flame speed is determined from ionization probe measurements of the time of flame arrival at discrete positions along the path of flame propagation. The difference between the cycle-resolved unburned gas velocity and the ensemble-averaged flame speed gives a direct measurement of the turbulent burning velocity that is unbiased by cyclic variations in the combustion rate. The value of burning velocity obtained is shown to be in close agreement with an empirical model previously determined.

Laser Doppler velocimetry has been used to measure velocity and turbulence intensity profiles in the wall boundary layer of a spark-ignited homogeneous-charge research engine. By using a toroidal contoured engine head it was possible to bring the laser probe volume to within 60 μm of the wall. Two different levels of engine swirl were used to vary the flow Reynolds number. For the high swirl case under motored operation the boundary layer thickness was less than 200 μm, and the turbulence intensity increased as the wall was approached. With low swirl the 700-1000 μm thick boundary layer had a velocity profile that was nearly laminar in shape, and there was no increase in turbulence intensity near the wall. When the engine was fired the boundary layer thickness increased for both levels of swirl.