Henrik Bladh

Laser-induced fluorescence of formaldehyde in combustion using third harmonic Nd : YAG laser excitation

Formaldehyde (CH2O) is an important intermediate species in combustion processes and it can through laser-induced fluorescence measurements be used for instantaneous flame front detection. The present study has focussed on the use of the third harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser at 355 nm as excitation wavelength for formaldehyde, and different dimethyl ether (C2H6O) flames were used as sources of formaldehyde in the experiments. The investigations included studies of the overlap between the laser profile and the absorption lines of formaldehyde, saturation effects and the potential occurrence of laser-induced photochemistry. The technique was applied for detection of formaldehyde in an internal combustion engine operated both as a spark ignition engine and as a homogenous charge compression ignition engine.

Flame propagation visualization in a spark-ignition engine using laser-induced fluorescence of cool-flame species

The flame propagation in a spark-ignition engine has been studied using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) of species formed during the first ignition stage of hydrocarbon combustion. The detected two-dimensional LIF images showed the distribution of unburned regions. For the excitation, two Nd:YAG lasers operating at 355 nm were used for two consecutive measurements within the same engine cycle with adjustable time separation between the pulses. Two ICCD cameras that were synchronized to each of the laser pulses recorded pairs of fluorescence images, i.e. the movement of the flame front could be tracked. It is well known that formaldehyde is excited using a wavelength of 355 nm and a spectral signature of this species was also identified in engine LIF spectra. Programme routines were developed and used for evaluation of the flame propagation velocity from the fluorescence images. This paper presents the potential and the characteristics of the experimental technique as well as the evaluation procedure. The measurements of cool-flame intermediates have also been compared with measurements of fuel-tracer as an indicator of unburned fuel–air mixture. A good agreement between position and shape of the signal areas was obtained at crank angles where both fluorescence signal from cool-flame species excited at 355 nm and added 3-pentanone excited at 266 nm could be detected.

Are Sooting Premixed Porous-Plug Burner Flames One-Dimensional? A Laser-Based Experimental Investigation

The one-dimensional character of sooting premixed porous-plug (McKenna) burner flames has been examined, motivated by recent investigations where the one-dimensionality has been questioned. The examination employs laser diagnostic techniques to measure different characteristics: temperature using rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) and soot properties using laser-induced incandescence and elastic light scattering. Special attention has been paid to the influence of an outer shroud gas flow of either nitrogen or air. The nitrogen shroud gas leads to flame cooling at the outer edge, whereas the air shroud results in heating through the oxidation of CO/H2/soot. This generally results in a more inhomogeneous spatial particle size profile for the nitrogen shroud flame, with smaller particle sizes at the flame edge. The present results emphasize the need to characterize burner and operating conditions accurately, and also, regarding parameters that at first glance seem less relevant, such as the shroud gas, to provide useful data for comparison between laboratories.

A Study of In-Cylinder Soot Oxidation by Laser Extinction Measurements During an EGR-Sweep in an Optical Diesel Engine

Two competing in-cylinder processes, soot formation and soot oxidation, govern soot emissions from diesel engines. Previous studies have shown a lack of correlation between the soot formation rate and soot emissions. The current experiment focuses on the correlation between soot oxidation rates and soot emissions. Laser extinction is measured using a red (690nm) laser beam, which is sent vertically through the cylinder. This wavelength is long enough to minimize absorption interference from poly-aromatic hydrocarbons, while still in the visible regime. It is modulated at 72 kHz in order to produce 10 pulses per crank angle degree at an engine speed of 1200 rpm. The intake oxygen concentration is varied between 9% and 21%. The time resolved extinction measurements are used to estimate soot oxidation rates during expansion. High-speed video imaging is used in conjunction with the laser-extinction technique to indicate the location of the sooting regions, and to assess beam steering effects. The oxidation processes are described using single exponential decay fits and an attempt to correlate them with the late cycle rate of heat release was made. (Less)

Accurate method for predicting light scattering from soot aggregates with subparticles of arbitrary shape and structure

Soot particles can be formed in hydrocarbon flames as a result of an inefficient combustion process. The particles are near-spherical, and at later stages in the soot growth process, they form chainlike sparse aggregates. When applying optical diagnostic methods, this aggregation influences the evaluation of soot properties based on assumptions of isolated particles. In this paper an efficient and accurate method for calculating scattering of light from these structures is presented. The method can handle aggregates with several hundred subparticles with no restrictions on shape, internal structure, or coagulation of the subparticles. The basic idea is that the induced dipole moments of the subparticles are determined from the solution of a quasi-static problem that can be solved with high accuracy by, e.g., the finite element method.

Soot Formation in Unstrained Diffusion Flames

The formation of soot particles has been investigated in CH4/O2 diffusion flames using a unique burner design, which allows the creation of a nearly unstrained planar reaction sheet. Spatially resolved soot volume fractions were obtained using laser-induced incandescence. These soot measurements and the sooting limits were obtained as a function of bulk flow across the flame and mixture strength. Samples were collected using thermophoretic sampling and analyzed using electron microscopy, revealing a broad range of microstructures including particles with unusually large primary diameters and carbon nanotubes. A theoretical model is presented, which confirms that under certain conditions the 1D nature of the flow field of the burner and the strong adverse temperature gradient on the fuel side of the flame result in the soot particles being held in place by thermophoretic forces and allowed to grow for very long time periods. Some of these so-called super aggregates reached sizes of tens of microns and became visible to the naked eye in the soot layer.