Natural gas ignition delay study under diesel engine conditions in a combustion bomb with glow plug assist

grantor: University of TorontoExperiments have been conducted in an optically accessible combustion bomb to determine how a natural gas jet interacts with a glow plug, as well as where and under what conditions it ignites in a high swirl combustion chamber. A Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine was used as a rapid compression device to provide bomb pressure charging. Photographs were taken with a high speed ICCD camera while changing glow plug temperature, peak bulk gas temperature, peak bulk gas pressure, injection angle, and local air swirl motion around the glow plug through the use of various shields. The research has shown that combustion chamber design, especially the use of a shield to minimize local air motion around the glow plug, is critical in obtaining ignition of natural gas in 2 ms or less at reasonable bulk gas and glow plug temperatures.M.A.Sc