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An auxiliary fueled prechamber ignition system can be used in an IC engine environment to provide lean limit extension with minimal cyclic variability and low emissions. Geometry and distribution of the prechamber orifices form an important criterion for performance of these systems since they are responsible for transferring and distributing the ignition energy into the main chamber charge. Combustion performance of nozzles with a single jet, dual diverging jets and dual converging jets for a methane fueled prechamber ignition system is evaluated and compared in a rapid compression machine (RCM). Upon entering the main chamber, the dual diverging jets penetrate the main chamber in opposite directions creating two jet tips, while the dual converging jets, after exiting the orifices, converge into a single location within the main chamber. Both these configurations minimize jet-wall impingement compared to the single jet.

Three dimensional numerical simulation of the transient turbulent jet and ignition processes of a premixed methane-air mixture of a turbulent jet ignition (TJI) system is performed using Converge computational software. The prechamber initiated combustion enhancement technique that is utilized in a TJI system enables low temperature combustion by increasing the flame propagation rate and therefore decreasing the burn duration. Two important components of the TJI system are the prechamber where the spark plug and injectors are located and the nozzle which connects the prechamber to the main chamber. In order to model the turbulent jet of the TJI system, RANS k-ε and LES turbulent models and the SAGE chemistry solver with a reduced mechanism for methane are used.

In this purely computational study, fluid dynamic simulations with active combustion are performed for a Turbulent Jet Ignition (TJI) system installed in a rapid compression machine. The simulations compare the effects that the location of the TJI system’s spark ignition source inside the TJI’s prechamber have on the combustion within the system through the use of four simulations, which are all identically setup with the same initial and boundary conditions except for the location of their respective ignition sources. The four ignition sources are located along the centerline of the axisymmetric prechamber and at varied distances from the orifice exit of the prechamber. Comparison of the simulations demonstrate that the locations furthest from the orifice produce better main chamber ignition as reflected in shorter 0-10% mass fraction burn times. Meanwhile all three of the test cases that were not closest to the orifice all produced similar 10-90% mass fraction burn times.

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of the turbulent jet ignition combustion process of a premixed methane-air mixture in a Rapid Compression Machine (RCM) was performed using the Converge computational software. Turbulent jet ignition is a prechamber initiated combustion system that can replace the spark plug in a spark ignition engine. The prechamber is a small volume chamber where an injector and spark plug are located and is connected to the main combustion chamber via one or multiple small orifices. Turbulent jet ignition is capable of enabling low temperature combustion, through either lean or dilute combustion. A RANS model, which included a k-ε turbulence model to solve the mean flow and the SAGE chemistry solver with a reduced methane mechanism to solve the chemistry, was used to model the turbulent jet ignition system.

Turbulent jet ignition is a pre-chamber ignition enhancement method that produces a distributed ignition source through the use of a chemically active turbulent jet which can replace the spark plug in a conventional spark ignition engine. In this paper combustion visualization and characterization was performed for the combustion of a premixed propane/air mixture initiated by a pre-chamber turbulent jet ignition system with no auxiliary fuel injection, in a rapid compression machine. Three different single orifice nozzles with orifice diameters of 1.5 mm, 2 mm, and 3 mm were tested for the turbulent jet igniter pre-chamber over a range of air to fuel ratios. The performance of the turbulent jet ignition system based on nozzle orifice diameter was characterized by considering both the 0-10 % and the 10-90 % burn durations of the pressure rise due to combustion.

Fully three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic simulations with detailed chemistry of a single-orifice turbulent jet ignition device installed in a rapid compression machine are presented. The simulations were performed using the computational fluid dynamics software CONVERGE and its RANS turbulence models. Simulations of propane fueled combustion are compared to data collected in the optically accessible rapid compression machine that the model's geometry is based on to establish the validity and limitations of the simulations and to compare the behavior of the different air-fuel ratios that are used in the simulations.