Laminar Burning Velocity of Premixed Ethanol–Air Mixtures with Laser-Induced Spark Ignition Using the Constant-Volume Method

Abstract

Ethanol is a widely used gasoline alternative because of its renewability. Laser-induced spark ignition (LISI) is a promising ignition technique for internal combustion engines because of its advanced lean-burning capability and flexibility in ignition location and energy. However, determining laminar burning velocities of ethanol–air mixtures with LISI is difficult because of its irregular three-lobe flame profile. In this paper, LISI and spark ignition (SI) were used to ignite premixed ethanol–air mixtures in a constant-volume combustion chamber at the initial temperature and pressure of 358 K and 0.1 MPa, respectively. The constant-volume method (CVM), which uses pressure history data as inputs rather than flame images as in the constant-pressure method (CPM), was applied for LISI to overcome the aforementioned issue. Additionally, two chemical kinetic mechanisms were used to obtain simulated laminar burning velocities. When SI is used, laminar burning velocities obtained from the CVM were 1.1–6.3% hig...