Mattias Richter

A study of the homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion process by chemiluminescence imaging

An experimental study of the Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) combustion process has been conducted by using chemiluminescence imaging. The major intent was to characterize the flame structure and its transient behavior. To achieve this, time resolved images of the naturally emitted light were taken. Emitted light was studied by recording its spectral content and applying different filters to isolate species like OH and CH.Imaging was enabled by a truck-sized engine modified for optical access. An intensified digital camera was used for the imaging. Some imaging was done using a streak-camera, capable of taking eight arbitrarily spaced pictures during a single cycle, thus visualizing the progress of the combustion process. All imaging was done with similar operating conditions and a mixture of n-heptane and iso-octane was used as fuel.Some 20 crank angles before Top Dead Center (TDC), cool flames were found to exist. They appear with a faint structure, evenly distributed throughout the combustion chamber. There was no luminosity recorded between the end of cool flames and the start of the main heat release. Around TDC the main heat release starts. Looking at a macro scale, we find that the charge starts to burn simultaneously at arbitrary points throughout the charge. Since the thermal boundary layer is colder than the bulk of the charge, the local heat release is delayed close to the walls. As a result, the total heat release is slowed down. Ensemble averaged1 images show this wall boundary effect clearly when plotted against CAD. The peak intensity at the main combustion event is one order of magnitude greater than that of the cool flame and the structure is a lot more protruding.Since spontaneous emission imaging is a line-of-sight integration, the flame structure appears a bit smeared. The micro scale structure is very similar from one cycle to another, but there are large variations between cycles on the macro scale. (Less)

Application of structured illumination for multiple scattering suppression in planar laser imaging of dense sprays

A novel approach to reduce the multiple light scattering contribution in planar laser images of atomizing sprays is reported. This new technique, named Structured Laser Illumination Planar Imaging (SLIPI), has been demonstrated in the dense region of a hollow-cone water spray generated in ambient air at 50 bars injection pressure. The idea is based on using an incident laser sheet which is spatially modulated along the vertical direction. By properly shifting the spatial phase of the modulation and using post-processing of the successive recorded images, the blurring effects from multiple light scattering can be mitigated. Since hollow-cone sprays have a known inner structure in the central region, the efficiency of the method could be evaluated. We demonstrate, for the case of averaged images, that an unwanted contribution of 44% of the detected light intensity can be removed. The suppression of this diffuse light enables an increase from 55% to 80% in image contrast. Such an improvement allows a more accurate description of the near-field region and of the spray interior. The possibility of extracting instantaneous flow motion is also shown, here, for a dilute flow of water droplets. These results indicate promising applications of the technique to denser two-phase flows such as air-blast atomizer and diesel sprays.

The Hcci Combustion Process in a Single Cycle-High-Speed Fuel Tracer Lif and Chemiluminescence Imaging

The HCCI Combustion Process in a Single Cycle - High-Speed Fuel Tracer LIF and Chemiluminescence Imaging

The Influence of Charge Inhomogeneity on the HCCI Combustion Process

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.

Simultaneous PIV/PH-PLIF, Rayleigh thermometry/OH-PLIF and stereo PIV measurements in a low-swirl-flame

The diagnostic techniques for simultaneous velocity and relative OH distribution, simultaneous temperature and relative OH distribution, and three component velocity mapping are described. The data extracted from the measurements include statistical moments for inflow fluid dynamics, temperature, conditional velocities, and scalar flux. The work is a first step in the development of a detailed large eddy simulation (LES) validation database for a turbulent, premixed flame. The low-swirl burner used in this investigation has many of the necessary attributes for LES model validation, including a simplified interior geometry; it operates well into the thin reaction zone for turbulent premixed flames, and flame stabilization is based entirely on the flow field and not on hardware or pilot flames.

Application of a high-repetition-rate laser diagnostic system for single-cycle-resolved imaging in internal combustion engines

High-repetition-rate laser-induced fluorescence measurements of fuel and OH concentrations in internal combustion engines are demonstrated. Series of as many as eight fluorescence images, with a temporal resolution ranging from 10 micros to 1 ms, are acquired within one engine cycle. A multiple-laser system in combination with a multiple-CCD camera is used for cycle-resolved imaging in spark-ignition, direct-injection stratified-charge, and homogeneous-charge compression-ignition engines. The recorded data reveal unique information on cycle-to-cycle variations in fuel transport and combustion. Moreover, the imaging system in combination with a scanning mirror is used to perform instantaneous three-dimensional fuel-concentration measurements.

Three-dimensional laser induced fluorescence of fuel distributions in an HCCI engine

Three-dimensional imaging of fuel tracer planar laser-induced fluorescence in a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine is presented. A high-speed multiple Nd:YAG laser and detection system, in combination, with a scanning mirror, are used to collect eight images, with an equidistant separation of 0.5 mm. Three-dimensional isoconcentration surfaces calculated from the data are visualized. Three-dimensional imaging offers new opportunities to study different combustion events, specifically the topology of flame structures. For example, it is possible to distinguish if separate islands in a fluorescence image really are separate or if it is an effect from wrinkling in and out of the laser sheet. The PLIF images were also analyzed by identifying five intensity ranges corresponding to increasing degrees of reaction progress. The gradual fuel consumption and thus combustion was then analyzed by calculating the volumetric fraction of these intensity ranges for different crank angle positions. The occurrence of multiple isolated ignition spots and the observed gradual decrease in fuel concentration indicates that HCCI combustion relies on distributed reactions and not flame propagation. (Less)

Optical Diagnostics Applied to a Naturally Aspirated Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Engine

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. The results obtained are believed to be valuable in future applications of optical diagnostics in similar environments.

Simultaneous OH- and Formaldehyde-LIF Measurements in an HCCI Engine

Simultaneous OH- and formaldehyde LIF measurements have been performed in an HCCI engine using two laser sources working on 283 and 355 nm, respectively. Two ICCD camera systems, equipped with long-pass filters, were used to collect the LIF signals. The simultaneous images of OH and formaldehyde were compared with heat-release calculated from the pressure-trace matching the cycle for the LIF measurements. The measurements were performed on a 0.5-l, single-cylinder optical engine equipped with port-fuel injection system. A blend of iso-octane and n-heptane was used as fuel and the compression ratio was set to 12:1. The width of the laser sheet was 40 mm and hence covered approximately half of the cylinder bore. At some 20 CAD BTDC low temperature reactions are present and formaldehyde is formed. The formaldehyde signal is then rather constant until the main heat-release starts just before TDC, where the signal decreases rapidly to low values. From some 15 CAD to 5 CAD BTDC the formaldehyde is uniformly distributed in the imaged area. As formaldehyde decreases, OH increases and follows the main rate of heat release curve, though with a slight lag in phase. Thereafter OH is formed in the areas from which the formaldehyde has disappeared and the OH signal is present to some 20 CAD ATDC. (Less)

Investigations of blue emitting phosphors for thermometry

Blue emitting phosphors are investigated and reported for possible use in thermometry. Currently reported thermographic phosphors in general have the drawback of long emission lifetimes obstructing the possibility to time gate for background discrimination. An additional problem is that many thermographic phosphors have emission in the red spectral region, making them vulnerable for black body radiation at high temperatures. This work reports the temperature sensitivity for nine phosphors considered suitable for accurate temperature measurements in harsh conditions both in single points and in two dimensions (2D).