Simultaneous 2D single-shot imaging of oh concentrations and temperature fields in an si engine simulator

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) temperature measurements in engines are required for the detailed understanding of the combustion process. Because of the unsteady and turbulent nature of engine combustion, these measurements must be performed on a single-shot basis to obtain cycle-resolved results. Details of the flame front structure are also important to know for the numerical modeling of internal combustion processes. Simultaneous measurements of temperature and hydroxyl radical distributions provide such data sets. The combustion of methane in a fully transparent square piston engine was studied with a combination of 2D laser-induced fluorescence of hydroxyl radicals and 2D Rayleigh scattering. A tunable KrF excimer laser at 248 nm was used for the measurementsThe wavelength of the laser was tuned to excite the P 2 (8) transition in the OH (3,0) band of the A-X system. Spectral filtering of the resulting fluorescence to detect solely the fluorescence from the (3,2) band significantly reduces the effect of collisional quenching imposed to the fluorescence to the predissociating v ′=3 level by vibrational energy transfer (VET) to lower vibrational levels. Using a second camera, which only records the Rayleigh signals after appropriate filtering, allows the simultaneous measurement of temperature fields with a single laser. The analysis of corresponding OH and temperature images allowed the decision that the combustion conditions are in a regime where the flamelet approach for modeling is appropriate. Good agreement with model predictions has been achieved for the peak temperatures.