Early Flame Research Articles

Experimental and numerical investigations of charge motion and combustion in lean-burn natural gas engines

It is important to understand the lean-burn combustion process of large-bore natural gas engines and influences on it in order to improve next generations of gas engines to meet the increasing requirements for high efficiencies and low emissions. The investigations in this study focus on the ignition and early flame propagation phase using optical experiments on a single-cylinder research engine, since both phases highly influence the subsequent main-combustion. Scavenged prechambers with different operating conditions and a tangential and radial nozzle alignment as well as unscavenged prechamber and direct spark plug ignition are compared. Beside the phenomenology of the ignition system itself, the interaction of the main-chamber charge motion and the ignition system is important to understand. Therefore, different valve timings (conventional timings and Miller cycle) as well as a low and high turbulence setup are subject of the study. Numerical simulations of the cold flow are used to understand the charge motion and mixture formation in the prechamber as well as in the main-chamber. The experiments depict an enhancement of the first flame propagation phase using a scavenged prechamber due to hot turbulent jets emerging from the nozzles. Furthermore, an influence of the nozzle geometry and the boundary conditions on the jet development and on the early flame propagation is observed. It is seen by the optical measurements that cycle-to-cycle variations can originate from the hot turbulent jets and its influence on the ignition of the main-chamber charge. Further, the optical measurements show that a low in-cylinder swirl and turbulence due to Miller cycle has an impact on the interaction between the in-cylinder charge motion and the jets. A comparison between high turbulence and low turbulence in-cylinder flows on the combustion is carried out. It is shown that the scavenged prechamber can compensate the lack of turbulence in the main-chamber. Hence, the scavenged prechamber enhances the flame propagation due to induced turbulence in the main-chamber and larger flame front surfaces generated by penetrating flame torches.

Experimental investigation of the stochastic early flame propagation after ignition by a low-energy electrical discharge

In the context of explosion protection, very conservative safety factors need to be considered, e.g. in the design of electrical devices. This is due to standards which are mainly based on empirical data as opposed to a detailed knowledge of the underlying physiochemical processes. In this work, the early phase of ignition of burnable gas mixtures close to their respective minimum ignition energy is investigated experimentally by means of high-speed schlieren imaging. Our data quantifies how the ignition process at such low energies becomes less repeatable which is evidenced by a high scattering of the flame propagation. It was found that, depending on the mixture, the flow field induced by the electrical discharge may exhibit a considerable effect on the ignition process. This effect is more pronounced for mixtures which are characterized by a large Lewis number, thus, leading to a more random flame propagation.

Lean combustion analysis using a corona discharge igniter in an optical engine fueled with methane and a hydrogen-methane blend

The robustness of combustion initiation is one of the main issues of actual spark-ignition engines, especially for highly-diluted or lean mixtures. In this work, the effects on combustion stabilization obtained by the usage of a radio-frequency corona igniter were evaluated on a single-cylinder optical engine. The comparison with a conventional spark igniter was carried out using pure methane fuel and a blend of hydrogen and methane. For each combination of fuel and igniter, the combustion stability was explored at different air–fuel ratios, from stoichiometric conditions to the lean stable limit (up to λ = 2.0 with the corona igniter and the hydrogen-methane mixture). The combustion analysis was carried out by using the synchronized indicating and imaging data. The latter is essential to estimate the contribution of the corona igniter, which was found to be considerable only before the 5% of mass fraction burned. The corona effect igniter, with respect to a conventional spark igniter, was able to extend the lean stable limit of about 0.15 λ units with methane fuel, and about 0.10 λ units with the hydrogen-methane blend in the tested engine point. Early flame analysis confirmed the capability of corona igniter to improve combustion onset speed and to obtain a more stable and repeatable flame kernel. The findings of this study can help for a better implementation of corona ignition with gaseous low-carbon fuels, and in particular to achieve a higher lean limit extension without the drawback of a performance decay given by a substantial hydrogen enrichment.

Experimental determination of flame speed and flame stretch using an optically accessible, spark-ignition engine

The current research experimentally studied flame speed and stretch under engine in-cylinder conditions. A direct-injection, spark-ignition, and optically accessible engine was utilized to image the flame propagation, and E10 was selected as the fuel. Also, three fuel–air mixtures (stoichiometric, lean, and rich) were examined. The flame front was located by processing high-speed images. This study introduces a novel approach for calculation of equivalent spherical flame radius for analysis of flame speed and stretch. Flame front propagation analysis showed that during the flame propagation period, the stretch decreased until the flame front touched the piston surface. This was a common trend for stoichiometric, lean, and rich mixtures, which occurred because the flame radius was the dominant factor in the stretch calculation. In addition, the rich fuel–air mixture showed a lower flame stretch compared to stoichiometric or lean mixture. This was the result of a lower Markstein number for the rich fuel–air mixture. To study the sensitivity of different fuel–air mixtures to the flame stretch, the trajectory of the flame centroid was tracked until the flame front touched the piston surface. The results showed that the end centroid for the lean mixture deviated from the start point more than those of the rich and stoichiometric mixtures because the lean mixture had a higher flame stretch and lower flame speed. Furthermore, comparing the flame stretch at three different engine speeds revealed that increasing the engine speed increased the flame stretch, especially during the early flame development period. According to previous studies which discussed flame stretch as a flame extinguishment mechanism, the probability of flame extinction is higher when the engine speed is higher. Also, uncertainty analysis was conducted to determine the effect of camera setting on the flame stretch. Results showed that a maximum relative uncertainty of 4.5% occurred during the early flame development.

Early flame propagation of hydrogen enriched methane-air mixtures at quasi laminar conditions in a rapid compression expansion machine

The temporal evolution of the kinematic properties of hydrogen enriched, lean premixed methane-air flames was studied experimentally in a rapid compression expansion machine (RCEM) during transient operation. Schlieren imaging was used to capture the flame front propagation, while the temporally evolving flow field was simultaneously acquired by particle image velocimetry (PIV). A statistical analysis based on probability density functions (PDFs) of non-dimensional formulations of the flame curvature, stretch rate and displacement speed was performed to study the effect of the onset of flame instabilities on the aerodynamic characteristics of the propagating flame kernel. It was found that initial perturbations stemming from the presence of the spark plug electrodes and from the gas expansion led to the formation of large scale cusps related to the hydrodynamic instability, which is manifested by a notable negative skewness of the curvature PDF, validating recent numerical findings. Under the influence of thermal-diffusive effects, small scale cellular structures develop along the flame front beyond a certain radius, with their appearance shifting to earlier times with increasing hydrogen content or for leaner mixtures. The increasing width of the normalized curvature and stretch rate PDFs is proposed as an indicator for the onset of this type of instability. The adopted methodology allows to track the self-acceleration of the propagating flame front effecting from hydrogen enrichment of methane. The findings of this study provide valuable physical insight and aid in the development of more accurate models, capable of capturing these complex phenomena.

Large-eddy simulation study of combustion cyclic variation in a lean-burn spark ignition engine

Multi-cycle large-eddy simulation (LES) was performed to investigate combustion cyclic variability (CCV) in a single cylinder spark ignition engine with a homogeneous lean (λ = 1.25) isooctane-air mixture. The aim was to obtain physical insights into the early stage of combustion and its influence on CCV. Propagation of the flame was modeled by a transport equation for the filtered flame surface density within the LES framework. The ignition process was represented by the imposed stretch spark ignition model (ISSIM-LES). Ten consecutive cold flow LES cycles followed by two initialization cycles (12 cycles in total) were used to perform the reactive simulations concurrently. The simulation results were compared with experimental data. Although the number of computed cycles was fairly low, the LES was able to reproduce the cyclic variability observed in experiments both quantitatively and qualitatively. Firstly, validation of the simulation was done by comparing measured pressure traces. Secondly, correlations between the timing of the 10% fuel burnt mass fraction with early flame kernel growth and initial-to-turbulent transition period (in which there was an asymmetric flame kernel that persisted through the early development periods) were determined. Thirdly, calculated results of the flame propagation were analyzed at two cross-sections (in swirl and tumble planes) of the combustion chamber, which highlighted differences in instantaneous flame structures and propagation characteristics between the fastest and slowest cycles. Good overall agreement was obtained between the measurements and simulation data. The results revealed that the instantaneous velocity and fluctuation of flows around the spark vicinity affect growth of the early flame kernel and cause combustion cyclic variability.

Experimental Investigation and Modeling of Early Flame Propagation Stages in Operating Conditions Representative of Modern High Efficiency Spark Ignition Engines

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The present social context imposes effective reductions of transport greenhouse gases and pollutant emissions. To answer to this demand, car manufacturers adopted technologies such as downsizing, turbocharging, intense in-cylinder aerodynamics and diluted combustion process. In this context, to master mixture ignition is crucial to ensure an efficient heat release. To get to a clearer knowledge about the physics holding early stages of premixed mixture combustion, the PRISME institute in the framework of the French government research project ANR MACDOC generated a consistent experimental database to study ignition and spherical flame propagation processes in a constant volume vessel in laminar and turbulent environment. This allows to have a detailed description of the flame dynamics of an air / isooctane mixture depending on thermochemical properties of the mixture and nature of the diluent (O<sub>2</sub>, H<sub>2</sub>O, CO<sub>2</sub> and synthetic stoichiometric exhaust gas recirculation), as well as on turbulence intensity and ignition energy. A system simulation model based on the coherent flame model approach was then setup at IFP Energies nouvelles accounting for the influence of the flame stretch, through the integration of a non-linear formulation of the mixture Markstein number, and the flame wrinkling due to turbulence. The model allowed to have a deeper insight in the interpretation of experiments and to dissociate the interacting phenomena holding the combustion process. This modeling improving seems to be a necessary step to model next generation spark ignition engines operating under steady and transient conditions.</div></div>

A Numerical Study of Lean Propane-Air Flame Acceleration at the Early Stages of Burning in Cold and Hot Isothermal Walled Small-Size Tubes

In this study, the problem of lean propane-air premixed flame acceleration from closed to open end during the early stages of burning in small-size tubes with isothermal walls was considered. In particular, the effects of tube radius, slip/non-slip wall conditions, and the wall temperature on the flame propagation and shape were investigated numerically. Five stages of flame propagation are identified: 1) spherical expansion of the flame front; 2) finger shape expansion of the flame front before touching the wall; 3) flame propagation in the tube subjected to flame-wall interactions; 4) transformation of the flame shape into tulip form; 5) conversion of the tulip shape flame to finger. Our results show that the tube radius, wall condition and its temperature significantly affect flame propagation regimes even in the first instance of the flame propagation in the tubes. We find that increasing tube radius has, overall, the effect of increasing the flame propagation speed in isothermal tubes. Also, depending on tube radius and wall condition, the wall temperature can increase or decrease the flame propagation speed in the isothermal tubes. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that imposing either slip or non-slip condition on the tube’s walls impressively affects flame acceleration and its configuration in the early stages. We observe that, unlike flame propagation forms in the tubes with slip walls, the early exponential flame propagation phase in the tubes was generally followed by a linear flame propagation phase in the tubes with a non-slip wall condition. We obtain that flame propagation in tubes with slip wall conditions are more sensitive to variations in tube radius and wall temperature compared to non-slip conditions. We also see that, contrary to the exponential flame propagation phase, increasing the non-slip wall temperature reduces the flame propagation speed in the linear part of the flame propagation, while such an increase in temperature leads to oscillations in the flame propagation speed in the tubes with slip walls.

Application of different numerical models capable to simulate combustion of alternative fuels in internal combustion engine

PurposeThe internal combustion engine operated on gaseous fuels shows great potential in terms of integration of the renewable and traditional sources for an effective solution for clean energy production challenge. Different fuel mixtures that can be used to power the engine are characterized by various combustion properties, which can affect its overall efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to provide reasonable answer, how the operation condition can change due to different fuel, without enormous cost of prototyping processes using physical models a digital model can be seen as promising technique.Design/methodology/approachPresented work discusses the application, and extensive description of two commercial codes Ansys Fluent and Forte for modeling stationary engine fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG) and biogas. To check the model accuracy, all carried out numerical results were compared against experimental data collected at in-house test rig of single cylinder four stroke engine. The impacts of tested gaseous fuel on the engine working conditions and emission levels were investigated.FindingsCarried out simulations showed good agreement with experimental data for investigated cases. Application on numerical models give possibility to visualize flame front propagation and pollutant formation for tested fuels. The biogas fuel has shown the impaired early flame phase, which led to longer combustion, lower efficiency, power output, repeatability and in some cases higher HC and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions as a result of combustion during the exhaust stroke. Looking at the CO formation it was observed that it instantly accrue with flame front propagation as a result of methane oxidation, while for NOx formation revers effect was seen.Originality/valueThe application of new approach for modeling combustion process in stationary engines fueled by CNG and alternative biogas fuel has been discussed. The cons and pros of the Forte code in terms of its application for engine prototaping process has been discussed.

A semi-empirical laminar-to-turbulent flame transition model coupled with G equation for early flame kernel development and combustion in spark-ignition engines

It has been reported that early combustion in a spark-ignition engine determines the subsequent combustion. Also, the early combustion has a very strong correlation with cycle-to-cycle variability, which limits engine operating range. As such, accurate modeling of the early flame development is very important in accurate simulation of spark-ignition engine combustion. During the early flame development, the flame kernel, initiated by spark, grows initially at laminar flame speed. As the kernel grows, the flame surface wrinkles due to surface instability and interacts with the flow turbulence as the flame transitions from laminar to turbulent flame. In this study, a semi-empirical model is proposed to simulate the laminar-to-turbulent flame transition process during early spark-ignition combustion. A hyperbolic tangent function was used to emulate the laminar-to-turbulent flame speed transition process. The proposed transition function was evaluated during early flame kernel development for both Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes and large eddy simulation models against combustion analysis data from high-speed optical particle image velocimetry. Difference in Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes and large eddy simulation transition function was analyzed and discussed.

Computationally efficient prediction of cycle-to-cycle variations in spark-ignition engines

Cycle-to-cycle variations are important to consider in the development of spark-ignition engines to further increase fuel conversion efficiency. Direct numerical simulation and large eddy simulation can predict the stochastics of flows and therefore cycle-to-cycle variations. However, the computational costs are too high for engineering purposes if detailed chemistry is applied. Detailed chemistry can predict the fuels’ tendency to auto-ignite for different octane ratings as well as locally changing thermodynamic and chemical conditions which is a prerequisite for the analysis of knocking combustion. In this work, the joint use of unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations for the analysis of the average engine cycle and the spark-ignition stochastic reactor model for the analysis of cycle-to-cycle variations is proposed. Thanks to the stochastic approach for the modeling of mixing and heat transfer, the spark-ignition stochastic reactor model can mimic the randomness of turbulent flows that is missing in the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes modeling framework. The capability to predict cycle-to-cycle variations by the spark-ignition stochastic reactor model is extended by imposing two probability density functions. The probability density function for the scalar mixing time constant introduces a variation in the turbulent mixing time that is extracted from the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations and leads to variations in the overall mixing process. The probability density function for the inflammation time accounts for the delay or advancement of the early flame development. The combination of unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes and spark-ignition stochastic reactor model enables one to predict cycle-to-cycle variations using detailed chemistry in a fraction of computational time needed for a single large eddy simulation cycle.

Numerical study of fuel and turbulence distributions in an automotive-sized scavenged pre-chamber

This article presents a numerical study of the fuel and turbulence distributions in a pre-chamber at spark-time. The study has been conducted in the framework of the H2020 Gas-On project, dealing with the development of a lean-burn concept for an automotive-sized gas engine equipped with a scavenged pre-chamber. The test case considered studies a 7-hole pre-chamber with circumferentially-tilted orifices mounted on the cylinder head of a rapid compression-expansion machine (RCEM), consistent with the experimental test rig installed at ETH Zurich. An accurate description of turbulence and fuel distributions are key quantities determining the early flame development within the pre-chamber. Both quantities have an influence on the overall combustion characteristics and therefore on the engine performance. For this purpose, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is employed to complement experimental investigations in terms of data completeness. The performance of the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)-based turbulence model is compared with large-eddy simulation (LES) through ensemble averaging of multiple LES realizations, in which the fuel injection rate evolution into the pre-chamber has been perturbed. Overall, RANS results show that the distributions of the turbulent kinetic energy and fuel concentration at spark-time agree well with the LES ensemble-averaged counterparts. This constitutes a prerequisite in view of the combustion phase and the accuracy reported provides further confidence in this regard.

An experimental study of the detailed flame transport in a SI engine using simultaneous dual-plane OH-LIF and stereoscopic PIV

Understanding the detailed flame transport in IC engines is important to accurately predict ignition and combustion phasing, rate of heat release and assess engine performance. This is particularly important for RANS and LES engine simulations, which often struggle to accurately predict flame propagation and heat release without first adjusting model parameters. Detailed measurements of flame transport in technical systems are required to guide model development and validation.This work introduces an experimental dataset designed to study the detailed flame transport and flame/flow dynamics for spark-ignition engines. Simultaneous dual-plane OH-LIF and stereoscopic PIV are used to acquire 3D measurements of unburnt gas velocity (U⇀gas), flame displacement speed (SD) and overall flame front velocity (U⇀Flame) during the early flame development. Experiments are performed in an optical engine operating at 800 and 1500 RPM with premixed, stoichiometric isooctane-air mixtures. Analysis reveals several distinctive flame/flow configurations that yield a positive or negative flame displacement for which the flame progresses towards the reactants or products, respectively. For the operating conditions utilized, SD exhibits and inverse relationship with flame curvature and a strong correlation between negative SD and convex flame contours is observed. Trends are consistent with thermo-diffusive flames, but have not been quantified in context of IC engines. Flame wrinkling is more severe at the higher RPM, which results in a broader SD distribution towards higher positive and negative velocities. Spatially-resolved distributions of U⇀gas and SD are presented to describe in-cylinder locations where either convection or thermal diffusion is the dominating mechanism contributing to flame transport. Findings are discussed in relation to common engine flow features, including flame transport near solid surfaces. Findings provide a first insight into the detailed flame transport within a technically relevant environment and are designed to support the development and validation of engine simulations.

Effects of oxygen concentrations on the ignition and quasi-steady processes of n-heptane spray flames using large eddy simulation

Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) is a frequently used technique to reduce the production of NOx. The effect of EGR on the early flame evolution, two-stage ignition process and spray flame structures for n-heptane spray flames are investigated using large eddy simulation. The two-stage ignition process is identified based on the formation of key species and early heat release process. Results demonstrate that a longer ignition delay (ID) and flame lift-off length (LOL) under lower oxygen concentration conditions could increase the mixing time for fuel and air. However, the first-stage ignition still initiates in fuel-richer regions for the cases with higher EGR rates due to the lack of oxygen. In contrast, compared to the case with the same initial oxygen content but at a higher gas temperature of 1000 K, the first-stage ignition moves to stoichiometric mixture fraction regions at 900 K. The combustion mode analysis based on hydroxyl and formaldehyde is conducted to distinguish between the low- and high-temperature combustion regions. Most importantly, to study the stabilization mechanism, the chemical explosive mode analysis (CEMA) is conducted based on analysis on the local flow time scale and the chemical time scale. During the early stage of ignition, a balance between reaction and mixing implies that cool flame propagates from the ignition spots through the entire flow field. And during the quasi-steady state, autoignition plays a dominant role.

Application of The Chain Code and Fourier Analysis Techniques for The Investigation of Wrinkles and Distortions on Early Flames

The study of flame commencement and growth in SI engine has attracted the attention of many researchers due to its strong dependence to the in-cylinder flow and its capability to influence flame propagation characteristics in SI engines. Optical visualisation has been one of the prominent techniques utilized in this study of the early flame properties. This work shows the application of Elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA) and image processing tools for the investigation of the early flame details from its shape features. An endoscopic ICCD camera was used to capture the flame images, at an interval of 2° CA starting from ignition onset for a period of 30° CAs (about 3 ms), from a CNG DI single cylinder SI engine operation in stratified and homogeneous charge conditions. The intake configuration was adjusted to acquire tumble or swirl induction, and engine speed was made to vary between 1500 and 2100 rpm. The sequences of collected images were processed to investigate wrinkles, distortion and growth rate of the early flame within the 3 ms combustion duration. Some tools of image processing, such as intensity enhancement, filtering, thresholding and boundary tracing, were applied. Once the flame boundary identified, it was chain coded, and elliptic Fourier function was utilised to characterise the contour. For this purpose, a computer programming code was proposed by the authors for automatic processing of the flame image data. The application of the elliptic Fourier analysis was found useful in the investigation of the early flame characteristics from its shape features; led to the portrayal of wrinkles and distortion levels quantitatively in a simpler way.

Effects of spark plug type and ignition energy on combustion performance in an optical SI engine fueled with methane

Increasing thermal efficiency and reducing cycle-to-cycle variations are the main challenges for modern natural gas engines. In this study, the role of different spark-ignition methods in improving engine performance was investigated in an optical engine fueled with methane, and cycle-to-cycle variations and flame evolutions were addressed under lean combustion conditions. The experimental results show that there are close correlations between spark plug types and ignition energy with combustion stability: under medium ignition energy conditions, multi-claw spark plugs behave the optimal performance in combustion stability and thermal efficiency, whereas different spark plug types show almost identical capability in combustion performance under both low and high ignition energy conditions. Meanwhile, compared with spark plug types, high ignition energy has a greater influence on combustion stability improvement. Optical flame images show that the improved combustion stability is contributed by faster flame development. To identify the fundamental reasons, an empirical criterion of mass fraction burned was adopted to quantify early flame evolutions. It shows that multi-claw spark plug and high ignition energy mainly promote initial flame propagation, manifesting lower cycle-to-cycle variations in this combustion stage. The results shall give insights into the application of multi-claw spark plug and high ignition energy on the improvement of natural gas engine performance while controlling cyclic variation.

Experimental investigations on the cyclic variability of a large bore CNG engine

Experiments were used to explore the cyclic variability of a CNG engine. The experiments were conducted on a large bore (12V190) engine fuelled with pre-mixed natural gas. The influences of the ignition advance angle, the excess air ratio and the ignition energy on the cyclic variability were investigated. At each test condition there were acquired in-cylinder pressure traces of 100 consecutive cycles. Cyclic variability was quantified by the variation of indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) in this paper. The experimental results showed that the cyclic variation was increased while increasing the dilution levels. And, the cyclic variation was reduced with the increase of the ignition advance angle. Meanwhile, the cyclic variation could not be significantly reduced just by increasing the ignition energy on the specified engine. The reason can be that the most important influence exerted by the ignition energy is the formation of early flame kernel. In order to significantly reduce the cyclic variations, there is also necessary the improvement of the gas mixture’s motion state in the cylinder.

DNS and LES of spark ignition with an automotive coil

The cycle to cycle combustion variability which is observed in spark-ignition engines is often caused by fluctuations of the early flame development. LES can be exploited for a better understanding and mastering of their origins. For that purpose appropriate models taking into account energy deposition, mixture ignition and transition to propagation are necessary requirements. This paper presents first DNS and LES of spark ignition with a real automotive coil and simplified pin-pin electrodes. The electrical circuit characteristics are provided by ISSIM while the energy deposition is modelled by Lagrangian particles. The ignition model is first evaluated in terms of initial spark radius on a pin-pin ignition experiment in pure air performed at CORIA and EM2C laboratories, showing that it pilots the radius of the torus formed by the initial shock wave. DNS of a quiescent lean propane/air mixture are then performed with this ignition system and a two-step mechanism. The impact of the modelled transferred energy during glow phase as well as the initial arc radius on the minimum ignition energy (MIE) are examined and compared to experimental values. Replacing the two-step chemistry by an analytically reduced mechanism leads to similar MIE but shows a different ignition kernel shape. Finally, LES of turbulent ignition using a Lagrangian arc model show a realistic prediction of the arc shape and its important role on the energy transfer location and thus on the flame kernel shape.

Flame development analysis in a diesel optical engine converted to spark ignition natural gas operation

The conversion of heavy-duty diesel engines to spark-ignition natural gas operation has the potential to decrease the use of conventional petroleum-based fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A better understanding of the fundamentals such as early natural gas flame development in re-entrant bowl combustion chambers can accelerate this conversion. This paper details an optical investigation of flame luminosity inside a conventional heavy-duty diesel engine converted to spark-ignition natural gas operation by replacing the diesel fuel injector with a spark plug and adding a port-fuel gas injector in the intake manifold. Knock-free lean-burn experiments were performed at medium engine load using methane as fuel. Combustion images confirmed that kernel inception played an important role in the subsequent flame propagation. In addition, flame luminosity images of individual engine cycles showed strong flame wrinkling and counterclockwise rotation due to increased turbulence inside the re-entrant bowl. However, the flame front for the mean cycle was relatively circular. Flame luminosity also suggested a thick flame and a high turbulent flame speed for early inside-the-bowl flame propagation, at the operating conditions investigated. Higher surface-to-volume ratio in the squish region increased the heat transfer to the surroundings and reduced flame propagation, which increased the late combustion period. The separation of the combustion process into two distinct zones (i.e., inside and outside the piston bowl) created a secondary peak or “bump” in the heat release of individual cycles. The data suggests that the combustion strategy should optimize the mass of fuel that burns inside the squish region. In addition, the moderate rate of pressure-rise and lack of knocking showed promise for heavy-duty diesel engines converted to spark-ignition natural gas operation.

Evaluation of a novel miniaturised microwave resonating igniter: The Flat Panel Igniter

This study evaluates the ignition performance of a new miniaturised igniter that operates based on microwave resonance phenomenon. This igniter, named Flat Panel Igniter (FPI), consists of a flat ceramic panel with a metal strip inlay on the top surface acting as a resonance cavity. The FPI and a standard spark plug is used to ignite air–propane mixtures at various equivalence ratio inside a constant volume chamber. The results show that FPI requires much less ignition energy than spark plug at any given equivalence ratio. Furthermore, at the same energy, ignition with FPI results in a faster ignition delay and a shorter burnt duration. FPI ignition also allows for better lean limit as the ignition energy increases. Observation at non-reactive condition shows that the plasma from FPI is a lot larger than that of the spark plug, most likely due to the enhancement by MW energy. Via optical spectroscopy, FPI spectrum is also shown to be much more intense than the spark plug, with a higher level of OH* radicals and slightly higher temperature. Schlieren images of the combustion shows a more spherical appearance of the resulting flame, suggesting that the design of the FPI will induce less heat loss to the early flame kernel and hence facilitate faster flame growth. The igniters were also tested under the influence of cross flow by injecting an air stream across the plasma location. Due to its geometry the FPI plasma has a longer stretch distance compared to the spark discharge from spark plug and interestingly, the FPI does not suffer from blow-off even at high flow speed where spark plug suffers from very early blow-off and restrikes. Overall, the FPI has been shown to be a promising igniter that outperforms the traditional spark plug to enable further advancement in engine design.