High-speed Imaging from Consecutive Cycles 2001-01-3486

A new high-speed data handling method has been developed by advancing the Rutgers Super Imaging System (SIS) (having four units of infrared digital cameras) in order to capture successive in-cylinder spectral thermal images at high rates from consecutive cycles (HSI-CC).

The present HSI-CC method has been made possible by incorporating recent advancements in digital data handling peripheral devices and development of new dedicated computer programs including an MS Window-based operating system (WOS) for the SIS.

The SIS-HSI-CC permits simultaneous high-speed imaging of four (4) sets of 64 sequential images (or 128 images) at rates of over 2,000 frames/camera/sec in each cycle, which can be repeated for as many as 150 consecutive cycles. This amounts to a data volume of nearly 400 mega bytes (in 12-bit dynamic resolution) in an experiment. Key considerations for achieving the system performance include a new technique of storing the image data and relevant engine measurements (e.g. pressure-time and fuel injection histories) during the reaction period. The stored digital data is then transferred to two separate PC memory packs during the non-reacting period.

The image and corresponding engine data is reviewed in situ using the Rutgers Animation Program (RAP) (prior to conducting the next experiment). The RAP is a new computer program enabling simultaneous display on a PC screen of many (at present 50 pieces of animation) digital movies in a controlled manner, which is also used for analysis/presentation of raw and processed data. For example, the RAP can display results from 10 successive cycles of four geometrically identical spectral images and a matching pressure-time history per cycle.

This new SIS-HIS-CC-WOS-RAP is employed in investigation of flame development during the cold start on a spark-ignition engine. Some of the results discussed in this paper were obtained during the first 100 firing cycles from the engine at 13°C (55°F).