Toluene laser-induced fluorescence for in-cylinder temperature imaging in internal combustion engines

A single-laser single-camera imaging technique was demonstrated for in-cylinder temperature distribution measurements in a direct-injection internal combustion engine. The single excitation wavelength two-color detection technique is based on toluene laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). Toluene-LIF emission spectra show a red-shift with increasing temperature. Temperature can thus be determined from the ratio of the signal measured in two separate wavelength ranges independent of the local tracer concentration, laser pulse energy, and the intensity distribution. An image doubling and filtering system is used for the simultaneous imaging of two wavelength ranges of toluene LIF onto the chip of a single camera upon excitation at 248 nm. The measurements were performed in a spark-ignition engine with homogeneous charge and yielded temperature images with a single-shot precision of approximately ±?6%.     

Local fuel concentration measurements in internal combustion engines using spark-emission spectroscopy

Spectrally resolved visible and ultraviolet emissions are investigated as a basis for wide-range, individual-cycle measurement of the local fuel concentration in spark-ignition engines. The 388-nm CN emission intensity, normalized by the spark-discharge energy during the observation interval (typically 150 μs at the start of the glow discharge), is found to be the most useful measure of fuel concentration when data are required over a wide range. Calibration data for homogeneous propane–air and isooctane–air mixtures over a wide range of cylinder gas conditions at the time of ignition collapse to a single curve when the fuel concentration is expressed in terms of the number density of carbon atoms. The carbon number densities measured in this study correspond to fuel–air equivalence-ratios in the range 0–3 at 95% throttle conditions. Random and systematic errors are 10% or less. Applied to an engine in which liquid fuel is injected directly into the cylinder, the technique reveals substantial cyclic fluctuations in the fuel concentration at the spark gap for early fuel injection (intended to produce a homogeneous fuel–air mixture in the combustion chamber) and large fuel-concentration fluctuations for late fuel injection (which produces a highly stratified mixture). The results also show that for stratified operation with a fixed fuel-injection timing, a spark timing that is later than optimum leads to incomplete combustion in many cycles due to fuel–air ratios that are too lean for good ignition and rapid flame development. Received: 6 November 2001 / Revised version: 6 May 2002 / Published online: 25 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-586/986 0176, E-mail: todd.fansler@gm.com     

Experimental investigation of in-duct insertion loss of catalysts in internal combustion engines

Acoustic performance characteristics of catalysts in the exhaust system are important in the development of predictive tools for the breathing system of internal combustion engines. To understand the wave attenuation behavior of these elements with firing engines, dynamometer experiments are conducted on a 3.0L V-6 engine with two different exhaust systems: one with the catalysts on the cross-over pipe, and the other that replaces the catalysts with equal length straight pipes. The instantaneous crank-angle resolved pressure data are acquired at wide open throttle and 500 rpm intervals over the operating range of the engine (from 1000 to 5000 rpm) at various locations in both exhaust systems. The effect of the catalyst is then isolated and discussed in terms of insertion loss at critical locations in the exhaust system. The analysis is presented both in terms of time-domain and order-domain. The predictive capability of a finite-difference based time-domain nonlinear approach is also demonstrated as applied to large amplitude waves in the exhaust system of firing engines.     

Quantitative high-speed burned gas temperature measurements in internal combustion engines using sodium and potassium fluorescence

When sodium- and potassium-containing fuel additives are used in internal combustion engines, the bright fluorescence that sodium and potassium atoms emit in the burned gas zone offers a large potential for spectroscopic combustion analysis. To utilize this potential quantitatively, it is crucial to fully understand all physical and chemical processes involved. This includes (1) the temperature dependence of the fluorescence intensity due to gas-phase collisions, (2) the pressure, temperature and equivalence ratio effects on thermodynamic equilibria in the burned gas zone and (3) pressure and temperature-dependent line shapes for quantitative correction of fluorescence reabsorption. High-speed imaging of sodium and potassium fluorescence in a spark-ignited, direct injection, single-cylinder research engine was conducted under well-controlled homogeneous operating conditions at equivalence ratios ranging from 0.71 to 1.43, cylinder pressure from 3 to 15 bar and burned gas temperatures from 1,700 to 2,600 K. This study demonstrates that the influence of pressure, temperature and equivalence ratio on the fluorescence signals of sodium and potassium is understood quantitatively and establishes the potentials and limitations of this tool for burned gas temperature measurements with high temporal and two-dimensional spatial resolution in a homogeneously operated internal combustion engine.     

Methodological specifics of the study of micro HPP based on internal combustion engines with air cooling and cogeneration

The article considers some aspects of the research methodology of micro heat power plants based on internal combustion engines with air cooling and cogeneration based on energy balance equations and the laws of heat transfer. The research is conducted for such a setup based on the Hitachi internal combustion engine with 2.4 kW capacity. It has shown the efficiency of cogeneration use in the form of useful heat flow from air, cooling the cylinder head, with its further heating by utilizing the heat of flue gases in an additional plate heat exchanger. It has been shown that the cogeneration can save fuel costs 3–10 times compared with heat guns, depending on the duration of the setup use.     

A new dual-type DMA for measuring nanoparticles emitted from combustion engines

A new dual-type differential mobility analyzer (dual-type DMA) was developed in order to detect transient number concentrations of airborne nanoparticles with diameters centralized at around 10 nm (for nuclei mode particles) and 100 nm (for accumulation mode particles) in automobile exhaust gas. The apparatus divides the gas sample into two parts, and each part is sent through one of two coaxially nested sections for analysis. For the scanning mode measurement, the nanoparticles are charged by ²⁴¹Am and their size distributions are determined by varying the applied voltage over 2 min. The transient mode measurement, on the other hand, fixes the voltages for the two sections at peaks near 10 and 100 nm in order to monitor the transient behavior of the exhaust nanoparticles. The measurement principles and design of the dual-type DMA are detailed and the results for time response experiments are presented using model nanoparticles charged by a corona charger. The transient concentrations of the nuclei mode and the accumulation mode particles from a diesel engine were shown to be detected by this method, when ²⁴¹Am was used for charging the particles.This revised version was published online in August 2005 with a corrected issue number.     

A new dual-type DMA for measuring nanoparticles emitted from combustion engines

A new dual-type differential mobility analyzer (dual-type DMA) was developed in order to detect transient number concentrations of airborne nanoparticles with diameters centralized at around 10 nm (for nuclei mode particles) and 100 nm (for accumulation mode particles) in automobile exhaust gas. The apparatus divides the gas sample into two parts, and each part is sent through one of two coaxially nested sections for analysis. For the scanning mode measurement, the nanoparticles are charged by ²⁴¹Am and their size distributions are determined by varying the applied voltage over 2 min. The transient mode measurement, on the other hand, fixes the voltages for the two sections at peaks near 10 and 100 nm in order to monitor the transient behavior of the exhaust nanoparticles. The measurement principles and design of the dual-type DMA are detailed and the results for time response experiments are presented using model nanoparticles charged by a corona charger. The transient concentrations of the nuclei mode and the accumulation mode particles from a diesel engine were shown to be detected by this method, when ²⁴¹Am was used for charging the particles.     

液体火箭发动机中声腔抑制不稳定燃烧的声学分析

发展了声腔的分析和数值模型,对液体火箭发动机不稳定燃烧的抑制作用进行了评定,通过迭代计算研究了二维流动和温度分布变化对声腔调 谐和稳定性能的影响,对不同的声腔几何尺寸和温度梯度的稳定性计算结果表明,燃烧带有较大开口面积的声腔会更大程度地改变振荡的空间分布,这种改变而且影响了驱动和抑制燃烧的机理,讨论了在声腔设计安排中正确选择声腔的几何尺寸,且比较了不同长度和不同直径声腔的阻尼特性,通过考察声吸收系统的方法来最优化系统的阻尼,得到了可供设计参考的结论。     

波纹穿孔板吸声特性研究

研究了平面波垂直入射和掠入射两种情况下波纹穿孔板对声波的耗散作用, 结果表明在这两种情况下波纹穿孔板的声学特性都有别于平板穿孔板。在垂直入射条件下, 通过“等效穿孔率”可以在中、低频率范围内使波纹穿孔板和平板穿孔板的吸声特性“重合”。波纹穿孔板在高频范围会出现异于平板穿孔板的双尖峰现象, 进一步研究发现这是由波纹板形状导致的背腔深度的连续变化所引起的。在掠入射条件下, 波纹穿孔板与平板穿孔板无法通过“等效穿孔率”替代。波纹穿孔板的板高和板长对其声学性能都有明显影响, 当波纹穿孔板夹角(板高与1/4板长对应的正切角)相同时, 在板长小于75 mm范围内波纹穿孔板有相似的声学性能。

     

阻性管道消声器消声量方程的一个新算法

将阻性管道消声器消声量特征方程（组）转化为常微分方程（组），由此给出消声量计算的一个新方法。该方法毋需迭代因而不存在计算稳定性问题，计算量小，初值的迭取也很简单，适合于扁矩形、任意矩形及圆形等各种截面管道消声器，尤其对多变量、考虑平均流影响的情形更为有效。     

Experimental study of internal flow structures in cylindrical rotating detonation engines

The internal flow structures of detonation wave were experimentally analyzed in an optically accessible hollow rotating detonation combustor with multiple chamber lengths. The cylindrical RDC has a glass chamber wall, 20 mm in diameter, which allowed us to capture the combustion self-luminescence. A chamber 70 mm in length was first tested using C₂H₄O₂ and H₂–O₂ as propellants. Images with a strong self-luminescence region near the bottom were obtained, confirming the small extent of the region where most of the heat release occurs as found in our previous research. Based on the visualization experiments, we tested RDCs with shorter chamber walls of 40 and 20 mm. The detonation wave was also observed in the shorter chambers, and its velocity was not affected by the difference in chamber length. Thrust performance was also maintained compared to the longer chamber, and the short cylindrical RDC had the same specific impulse tendency as the cylindrical (hollow) or annular 70-mm chamber RDC. Finally, we calculated the pressure distributions of various chamber lengths, and found they were also consistent with the measured pressure at the bottom and exit. We concluded that the short-chamber cylindrical RDC with equal length and diameter maintained thrust performance similar to the longer annular RDC, further expanding the potential of compact RDCs.     

A generalized scheme for analysis of multifarious commercially used mufflers

Commercial automotive mufflers are often too complex to be broken into a cascade of one-dimensional elements with predetermined transfer matrices. The one-dimensional (1-D) scheme presented in this paper is based on an algorithm that uses user-friendly visual volume elements along with the theory of transfer matrix based muffler analysis. This work attempts to exploit the speed of the one-dimensional analysis with the flexibility, generality and user-friendliness of three-dimensional analysis using geometric modeling. A code based on the developed algorithm has been employed to demonstrate the generality of the proposed method in analyzing commercial mufflers by considering three very diverse classes of mufflers with different kinds of combinations of reactive, perforated and absorptive elements. Though the examples used in the paper are not very complex for they are meant to be just representative cases of certain classes of mufflers, yet the algorithm can handle a large domain of commercial mufflers of high degree of complexity. Results from the present algorithm have been validated through comparisons with both the analytical (plane wave based) and the more general, three-dimensional FEM based results. The forte of the proposed method is its power to construct the system matrix consistent with the boundary conditions from the geometrical model to evaluate the four-pole parameters of the entire muffler and thence its transmission loss, etc. Thus, the algorithm can be used in conjunction with the transfer matrix based muffler programs to analyze the entire exhaust system of an automobile.     

On an Integrated Transfer Matrix method for multiply connected mufflers

The commercial automotive mufflers are generally of a complicated shape with multiply connected parts and complex acoustic elements. The analysis of such complex mufflers has always been a great challenge. In this paper, an Integrated Transfer Matrix method has been developed to analyze complex mufflers. Integrated transfer matrix relates the state variables across the entire cross-section of the muffler shell, as one moves along the axis of the muffler, and can be partitioned appropriately in order to relate the state variables of different tubes constituting the cross-section. The paper presents a generalized one-dimensional (1-D) approach, using the transfer matrices of simple acoustic elements, which are available from the literature. The present approach is robust and flexible owing to its capability to construct an overall matrix of the muffler with the transfer matrices of individual acoustic elements and boundary conditions, which can then be used to evaluate the transmission loss, insertion loss, etc. Results from the present approach have been validated through comparisons with the available experimental and three-dimensional finite element method (FEM) based results. The results show good agreement with both measurements and FEM analysis up to the cut-off frequency.     

Modelling compression ignition engines by incorporation of the flamelet generated manifolds combustion closure

Tabulated chemistry models allow to include detailed chemistry effects at low cost in numerical simulations of reactive flows. Characteristics of the reactive fluid flows are described by a reduced set of parameters that are representative of the flame structure at small scales so-called flamelets. For a specific turbulent combustion configuration, flamelet combustion closure, with proper formulation of the flame structure can be applied. In this study, flamelet generated manifolds (FGM) combustion closure with progress variable approach were incorporated with OpenFOAM® source code to model combustion within compression ignition engines. For IC engine applications, multi-dimensional flamelet look-up tables for counter flow diffusive flame configuration were generated. Source terms of non-premixed combustion configuration in flamelet domain were tabulated based on pressure, temperature of unburned mixture, mixture fraction, and progress variable. A new frozen flamelet method was introduced to link one dimensional reaction diffusion space to multi-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) physical space to fulfill correct modelling of thermal state of the engine at expansion stroke when charge composition was changed after combustion and reaction rates were subsided. Predictability of the developed numerical framework were evaluated for Sandia Spray A (constant volume vessel), Spray B (light duty optical Diesel engine), and a heavy duty Diesel engine experiments under Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes turbulence formulation. Results showed that application of multi-dimensional FGM combustion closure can comprehensively predict key parameters such as: ignition delay, in-cylinder pressure, apparent heat release rate, flame lift-off , and flame structure in Diesel engines.     

Electrical charging of engines in the efflux of combustion products. Experimental results

The electrical charging of jet engines during efflux of combustion products is studied. Measurements are made of the electrical current beyond the exit section of a nozzle as a function of such parameters as the characteristic length of the space charge region, the electrical potential of the engine, and the pressure of the surrounding medium. Possible practical applications of the results (estimating the charging current and the rate of rise and maximum value of the potential on a flight vehicle) are discussed. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 55–59 (August 1999)     

Infrared borescopic characterization of corona and conventional ignition for lean/dilute combustion in heavy-duty natural-gas engines

Natural gas (NG) is attractive for heavy-duty (HD) engines for reasons of cost stability, emissions, and fuel security. NG requires forced ignition, but conventional gasoline-engine ignition systems are not optimized for NG and are challenged to ignite mixtures that are lean or diluted with exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR). NG ignition is particularly difficult in large-bore engines, where it is more challenging to complete combustion in the time available. High-speed infrared (IR) in-cylinder imaging and image-derived quantitative metrics were used to compare two ignition systems in terms of the early flame-kernel development and cycle-to-cycle variability (CCV) in a heavy-duty, natural-gas-fueled engine that had been modified to enable exhaust-gas recirculation and to provide optical access via borescopes. Imaging in the near IR and short-wavelength IR yielded strong signals from the water emission lines, which acted as a proxy for flame front and burned-gas regions while obviating image intensification (which can reduce spatial resolution). The ignition systems studied were a conventional system and a high-frequency corona system. The air/fuel mixtures investigated included stoichiometric without dilution and lean with EGR. The corona system produced five separate elongated, irregularly shaped, nonequilibrium-plasma streamers, leading to immediate formation of five spatially distinct wrinkled flame kernels around each streamer. Compared to the conventional spark ignition, which produces a single flame kernel that exhibits an initial laminar growth regime before wrinkling, corona ignition's early achievement of higher flame surface areas significantly shortened the ignition delay, resulting in reduced overall combustion duration and CCV for each mixture. Additionally, although the lean, dilute mixture produced higher CCV than the stoichiometric, minimally diluted mixture with both igniters, the mixtures ignited by the corona system suffered less than those ignited by the conventional system. Image-based measurements of CCV agreed with those based on in-cylinder pressure.