Optical engines allow for the direct visualization of the phenomena taking place in the combustion chamber and the application of optical techniques for combustion analysis, which makes them invaluable tools for the study of advanced combustion modes aimed at reducing pollutant emissions and increasing efficiency. An accurate thermodynamic analysis of the engine performance based on the in-cylinder pressure provides key information regarding the gas properties, the heat release, and the mixing conditions. If, in addition, optical access to the combustion process is provided, a deeper understanding of the phenomena can be derived, allowing the complete assessment of new injection-combustion strategies to be depicted. However, the optical engine is only useful for this purpose if the geometry, heat transfer, and thermodynamic conditions of the optical engine can mimic those of a real engine. Consequently, a reliable thermodynamic analysis of the optical engine itself is mandatory to accurately determine a number of uncertain parameters among which the effective compression ratio and heat transfer coefficient are of special importance. In the case of optical engines, the determination of such uncertainties is especially challenging due to their intrinsic features regarding the large mechanical deformations of the elongated piston caused by the pressure, and the specific thermal characteristics that affect the in-cylinder conditions. In this work, a specific methodology for optical engine characterization based on the combination of experimental measurements and in-cylinder 0D modeling is presented. On one hand, the method takes into account the experimental deformations measured with a high-speed camera in order to determine the effective compression ratio; on the other hand, the 0D thermodynamic analysis is used to calibrate the heat transfer model and to determine the rest of the uncertainties based on the minimization of the heat release rate residual in motored conditions. The method has been demonstrated to be reliable to characterize the optical engine, providing an accurate in-cylinder volume trace with a maximum deformation of 0.5 mm at 80 bar of peak pressure and good experimental vs. simulated in-cylinder pressure fitting.
Considering the need of pollutant emissions reduction and the high cost of the after-treatment systems, in-cylinder solutions for pollutant reduction are becoming more and more relevant. Among different proposals, new piston geometries are considered an attractive solution for reducing both soot and nitrogen oxides emissions in compression ignition engines. For this reason, this paper evaluates the soot formation and combustion characteristics of a novel piston geometry proposal, called stepped lip-wave, for light-duty engines. It is compared with other two well-known bowl geometries: re-entrant and stepped lip. The study was performed in an optical single-cylinder direct injection compression ignition engine. Two optical techniques (2 color pyrometry and OH* chemiluminescence) were applied for analyzing soot formation in each piston geometry. Test were performed at different engine loads, fuel injection characteristics and exhaust gas recirculation configuration. The re-entrant piston presents higher soot formation and a slower late oxidation process in comparison with the other two geometries. Stepped lip and stepped lip-wave present similar soot formation levels. However, stepped lip-wave showed a more efficient and faster soot oxidation process during the final combustion stages. Results confirm the potential of the stepped lip-wave concept to reduce soot emissions and achieve a cleaner energy production system.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.