Abstract
The combustion characteristics and minimum ignition energies using laser-induced spark ignition were demonstrated for quiescent methane-air mixtures in an optically-accessible, constant volume combustion chamber. Initial pressure and equivalence ratio as well as spark energy were varied in order to explore the flame behavior with laser-induced spark ignition. Shadowgraphs for the early stages of combustion process showed that the flame kernel becomes separated into two, one of which grows back towards the laser source. Eventually after a short period, the two flame kernels developed into two flame fronts propagating individually, which is unique in laser-induced spark ignition. For a given mixture, lower initial mixture pressure and higher spark energy resulted in shorter flame initiation period and faster flame propagation. The results of minimum ignition energies for laser ignition shows higher values than electric discharge results, however, the difference decreases toward lean and rich flammability limits.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amann, C. A., 1985, “Cylinder-Pressure Measurements and Its Use in Engine Research”,SAE paper 852067, pp. 1–18.
Arcoumanis, C. and Bae, C. S., 1992, “Correlation Between spark Ignition Characteristics and Flame Development in a Constant-Volume Combustion Chamber”,SAE paper 920413, pp. 556–570.
Dale, J. D. and Oppenheim, A. K., 1981, “Enhanced Ignition for I. C. Engines with Premixed Gases”,SAE paper 810146, pp. 606–621.
Dale, J. D., Smy, P. R. and Clements, R. M., 1978, “Laser Ignited Internal Combustion Engine — An Experimental Study”,SAE paper 780329, pp. 1539–1548.
Gatowski, J. A., Balles, E. N., Chun, K. M., Nelson, F. E., Ekchian, J. A. and Hewood, J. B., 1984, “Heat Release Analysis of Engine Pressure Data”,SAE paper 841359, pp. 1–17.
Hickling, R. and Smith, W. R., 1974, “Combustion Bomb Tests of Laser Ignition”,SAE paper 740114, pp. 555–562.
Ho, C. M. and Santavicca, D. A., 1987, “Turbulence Effects on Early Flame Kernel Growth”,SAE paper 872100, pp. 505–512.
Kee, R. J., Rupley, F. M. and Miller, J. A., 1989, “CHEMKIN-II: A Fortran Chemical Kinetics Package for the Analysis of Gas-Phase Chemical Kinetics”,Sandia National Laboratories report, SAND89-8009.
Ko, Y., Anderson, R. W. and Arpaci, V. S., 1991, “Spark Ignition of Propane-Air Mixtures Near the Minimum Ignition Energy: Part I. An Experimental Study”,Combustion and Flame, Vol. 83, pp. 75–87.
Lewis, B. and von Elbe, G. 1987,Combustion, Flames, and Explosions of Gases, 3rd. Ed. Academic Press, New York.
Lim, E. H., McIlory, A., Ronny, P. D. and Syage, J. A., 1995, “Detailed Characterization of Minimum Ignition Energies of Combustible Gases Using Laser Ignition Sources”,ISTP-8, San Franscisco, pp. 176–184.
Medoff, L. D. and McIlroy, A., 1996, “Laser-Induced Spark Flameholding in Supercritical Subsonic Flow”, Paper 96-3133,AIAA 32nd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Lake Buena Vista, FL, pp. 1–12.
Mohamed, H., Ko, Y. S. and Chung, S. H., 1997, “Study on Laser Ignition Characteristics for Gasoline Engine”,Turbo and Power Machinery Research Center, Seoul National University.
Ronny, P. D., 1994, “Laser Versus Conventional Ignition of Flames”,Optical Engineering, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 510–521.
Seitzman, J. M., Paul, P. H. and Hanson, R. K., 1988, “Digital Imaging of Laser-Ignited Combustion”,AIAA Thermophysics, Plasmadynamics and Laser Conference, San Antonio, TX, pp. 1–5.
Spiglanin, T. A., McIlroy, A., Fournier, E. W., Cohen, R. B. and Syage, J. A., 1995, “Time-Resolved Imaging of Flame Kernels: Laser Spark Ignition of H2/O2/Ar Mixtures”,Combustion and Flame, Vol. 102, pp. 310–328.
Syage, R. B., Fournier, E. W., Rianda, R. and Cohen, R. B., 1988, “Dynamics of Flame Propagation Using Laser-Induced Spark Initiation: Ignition Energy Measurements”,J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 64, pp. 1499–1507.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mohamed, H., Ko, Y.S., Yoon, K.J. et al. An experiment of the combustion characteristics with laser-induced spark ignition. KSME International Journal 13, 82–89 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02946126
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02946126