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Title: Fuel film thickness measurements using refractive index matching in a stratified-charge SI engine operated on E30 and alkylate fuels

Journal Article · · Experiments in Fluids
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [1]
  1. Technische Univ. Darmstadt (Germany). Dept. of Reactive Flows and Measurement Technology (RSM)
  2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
  3. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
  4. Beijing Inst. of Technology (China). School of Mechanical Engineering

This paper shows fuel film measurements in a spark-ignited direct injection engine using refractive index matching (RIM). The RIM technique is applied to measure the fuel impingement of a high research octane number gasoline fuel with 30 vol% ethanol content at two intake pressures and coolant temperatures. Measurements are conducted for an alkylate fuel at one operating case, as well. It is shown that the fuel volume on the piston surface increases for lower intake pressure and lower coolant temperature and that the alkylate fuel shows very little spray impingement. The fuel films can be linked to increased soot emissions. A detailed description of the calibration technique is provided and measurement uncertainties are discussed. The dependency of the RIM signal on refractive index changes is measured. The RIM technique provides quantitative film thickness measurements up to 0.9 µm in this engine. Finally, for thicker films, semi-quantitative results of film thickness can be utilized to study the distribution of impinged fuel.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Technische Univ. Darmstadt (Germany); Beijing Institute of Technology (China)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation and Fuels. Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Office (EE-3V); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); German Research Foundation (DFG); China Scholarship Council (CSC)
Grant/Contract Number:
NA0003525; 201506035029
OSTI ID:
1473928
Report Number(s):
SAND-2018-9957J; 667784
Journal Information:
Experiments in Fluids, Vol. 59, Issue 3; ISSN 0723-4864
Publisher:
SpringerCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 25 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)

Experimental study on the boiling criterion of the fuel film formed from spray/wall impingement journal November 2019
A numerical–experimental assessment of wall impingement models for spark-ignition direct-injection engines journal July 2019
Effect of engine conditions and injection timing on piston-top fuel films for stratified direct-injection spark-ignition operation using E30 journal September 2019

Figures / Tables (17)