Rayleigh scattering density measurements of combustion in an enclosure

The railplug: Development of a new ignitor for internal combustion engines. Final report

“…Furthermore, one of the primary difficulties with plasma jet ignitors has been high electrode erosion rates due to the high electrical energies associated with these plugs. Tozzi and Dabora (1982) found the lifetimes of plugs they tested to be limited to about one hour of operation. A recent paper claims 40 hours of operation (Kupe et al, 1987), which is much better than prior plasma jet ignitors but translates into only 800 miles for an average speed of 20 mph (approximately the average over the 75 FTP driving cycle).…”

“…Early applications in bombs were reported by Oppenheim and coworkers (1978) and by coworkers (1978, 1981). Tozzi and Dabora (1982) applied pulsed jet ignitors to a CFR engine and found that they allowed operation down to 0 = 0.60, at which point the CO and HCs began to increase rapidly. Recent research in a combustion bomb (Oppenheim et al, 1989) has shown an increase in peak pressure and faster combustion compared to ignition by a spark plug.…”