Search Results

Crank-angle resolved, gas temperatures are determined in the combustion chamber of a Volkswagen (VW) standard-production, port-injected SI engine. During idle, two different methods are applied: (1) a direct spectroscopic emission-absorption technique at a resonance line of potassium, seeded to the air stream to generate sufficient spectral absorptance (‘colouring’ technique), and (2) a more standard, indirect method in which temperatures are derived from pressure recordings using a two-zone thermodynamic model. Combustion temperatures obtained during idle with both the spectroscopic (1) and ‘two-zone’ (2) methods are in good agreement. In addition, the spectroscopic technique is extended to transient operating conditions where the ‘two-zone’ method is not applicable. Combustion temperatures measured during cold-start and abrupt load alteration are in good agreement with former investigations.

This work investigates the mixture formation process in a SI engine with air-assisted port fuel injection. The combination of this injection method with low flow velocities and wall temperatures, typical of engine starting and warm-up conditions, results in the build-up of a fuel film along the walls of the port. This in turn results in increased fuel consumption and high unburned hydrocarbon emissions. This investigation concluded that with the application of air-assisted injectors, the mixture formation process could be improved with a resulting reduction of the fuel-film build-up in the intake ports. Comparative measurements of the drop size distribution from conventional and air-assisted injectors showed that even very small amounts of air resulted in better fuel atomization. An experimental analysis of the effect of unsteady air flow on spray dispersion and fuel film creation characteristics of air supported injectors was undertaken for a straight test section.