Engineering Cars for Combustion Diagnostic Applications

Abstract

Although the controlled use of combustion has been employed for a long time in the propulsion, automotive and energy conversion fields, much remains to be learned about the fundamental chemical and fluidynamic processes and their interaction. This is particularly important in this era of energy scarcity and environmental concern if combustion processes are to be made more efficient and cleaner. Despite the instrumental hostility of practical combustion devices, the combustion process itself is delicately stabilized and easily perturbed. Not surprisingly, the application of nonintrusive laser spectroscopy to this field is anticipated to afford considerable advances in combustion technology in the coming years. In addition to being nonperturbing, laser diagnostic techniques can possess concurrently high spatial and temporal resolution, traits not normally displayed by traditionally-employed physical probing.