Flame initiation in a spark-ignition engine

Journal Article · Thu May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986 · Combust. Flame; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-2180(86)90062-3· OSTI ID:5286923

Tagalian, J; Heywood, J B

The goal of this study was to measure the flame speed in the very early stages of combustion in an operating spark-ignition engine. The engine used for the experiments has a square cross-section and two parallel walls of quartz, allowing for a visualization of the entire combustion chamber. The combustion chamber has a flat-topped piston with a planar ''cylinder'' head. The engine was operated at 1400 rpm and 0.5 atm intake pressure, and used a premixed propane-air mixture with a fuel-air equivalence ratio of 0.9. A Z-Schlieren setup was used where light from a point source, before entering the engine, reflects on a spherical mirror, then on a planar one; the light leaving the engine is reflected on a planar mirror and the part of the beam which passed through the spark plug region is focused by a converging lens. High-speed movies (using the Schlieren technique) were taken. These show an enlarged view of the spark plug region and thereby permit study of the flame travel during the first few crank angle degrees after the spark discharge which initiates combustion. The authors used a Hycam camera, operated at a speed close to one frame per crank angle degree.

• Research Organization: GIE. Peugeot SA.-Renault, Paris
• OSTI ID: 5286923
• Journal Information: Combust. Flame; (United States), Journal Name: Combust. Flame; (United States) Vol. 64:2; ISSN CBFMA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
330101* -- Internal Combustion Engines-- Spark-Ignition
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400301 -- Organic Chemistry-- Chemical & Physicochemical Properties-- (-1987)
400800 -- Combustion
Pyrolysis
& High-Temperature Chemistry
AIR
ALKANES
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
COMBUSTION CHAMBERS
COMBUSTION KINETICS
DISPERSIONS
ENGINES
FLAME PROPAGATION
FLUIDS
GASES
HEAT ENGINES
HYDROCARBONS
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
KINETICS
LOW PRESSURE
MIXTURES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PHOTOGRAPHY
PISTONS
PROPANE
REACTION KINETICS
SCHLIEREN METHOD
SPARK IGNITION ENGINES
VELOCITY