In-Flame And In-Cylinder Flow/Turbulence Measurements Near The Glow Plug Using Flame Image Velocimetry And Particle Image Velocimetry In An Optical Compression-Ignition Engine

Abstract

The present study implements two diagnostic methods based on tracking of seeded olive oil droplets (PIV: particle image velocimetry) and pattern changes detected in high-speed flame movies (FIV: flame image velocimetry) in a small-bore optical diesel engine. For each measurement, a total of 100 engine cycles are recorded and processed to address the inherent cyclic variations. The ensemble-averaged flow fields and turbulence intensity distribution extracted from individual cycles via the spatial filtering method are discussed with a particular interest in the influence of glow plug on flow and turbulence, i.e. rigid body and fluid interaction. The PIV results show a swirl flow structure forms and rotates with its centre shifted towards the exhaust side, leading to an asymmetric swirl structure. By comparing a PIV laser plane tilted towards the glow plug and a 10 mm horizontal plane below the cylinder head with no glow flow-plug interaction, it is observed that the flow-plug interaction causes the flow winding around the plug tip to generate complex flow structures and new vortices downstream of the plug. The tilted plane and 10-mm plane show similar bulk flow magnitude distribution patterns; however, the flow-plug interaction generates high turbulence in the tilted plane right downstream of the plug tip where new vortices form, which lasts for a few crank angles. The spatially averaged flow magnitude and turbulence intensity are measured higher in the 10-mm plane where there is no flow-plug interaction, suggesting the increased turbulence is a localised behaviour. The flame-plug interaction is also investigated during the combustion event using the FIV method. The level of flame-plug interaction is adjusted by changing the inter-jet spacing angle of two nozzle holes with one case showing high interaction and the other displaying low interaction. From the FIV measurements, the most significant effect of the flame-plug interaction is observed as the further penetration of the wall bounced flame for the high interaction case. This is due to the glow plug as a rigid body blocking the swirl flow and promoting the flame penetration back towards the centre of the combustion chamber upon the piston-bowl wall impingement. The measured turbulence intensity is also higher thanks to the enhanced wall bounced flame in addition to more significant flame-plug interaction at the interface.