Evaluation of in-cylinder endoscopic two-colour soot pyrometry of diesel combustion

Abstract

Flame temperature and soot concentration imaging was performed using endoscopic two-colour (2C) soot pyrometry to investigate the characteristics of in-cylinder diesel engine combustion processes and provide validation data for engine simulation and design. To appropriately interpret the 2C image results, this paper focuses on the uncertainty and challenges of the technique, the line-of-sight nature of the measurement and presents comparable information for validation exercises. A line-of-sight flame light intensity model was created to explore how the temperature T and soot concentration KL measured by the 2C technique can relate to non-uniform flame temperature and soot distributions. It was found that T and KL measured from the 2C technique were likely to relate differently to the actual distribution depending on where in the flame the measurement was taken and on assumptions made about the flame spatial structure. Assessment has been made of the range of the maximum and minimum flame temperatures (assumed to correspond to reaction zone temperature and flame centreline respectively) that are consistent with measured temperature T and soot concentration KL. The analysis of uncertainties, flame temperature and soot distribution along the line-of-sight, and image averaging allows for better quantitative comparison of 2C soot pyrometry images to CFD simulation, which increases confidence in simulation-driven engine development.