Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fuel film thickness measurements using refractive index matching in a stratified-charge SI engine operated on E30 and alkylate fuels

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Experiments in Fluids Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study shows fuel film measurements in a spark-ignited direct injection engine using refractive index matching (RIM). The RIM technique is applied to measure the fuel impingement of a high research octane number gasoline fuel with 30 vol% ethanol content at two intake pressures and coolant temperatures. Measurements are conducted for an alkylate fuel at one operating case, as well. It is shown that the fuel volume on the piston surface increases for lower intake pressure and lower coolant temperature and that the alkylate fuel shows very little spray impingement. The fuel films can be linked to increased soot emissions. A detailed description of the calibration technique is provided and measurement uncertainties are discussed. The dependency of the RIM signal on refractive index changes is measured. The RIM technique provides quantitative film thickness measurements up to 0.9 µm in this engine. For thicker films, semi-quantitative results of film thickness can be utilized to study the distribution of impinged fuel.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alonso M, Kay PJ, Bowen PJ, Gilchrist R, Sapsford S (2010) A laser induced fluorescence technique for quantifying transient liquid fuel films utilising total internal reflection. Exp Fluids 48:133–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-009-0720-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alonso M, Kay PJ, Bowen PJ, Gilchrist R, Sapsford SM (2012) Quantification of transient fuel films under elevated ambient pressure environment. Atomiz Spr 22:79–95. https://doi.org/10.1615/AtomizSpr.2012004865

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dortmund Data Bank (2017) http://www.ddbst.com

  • Drake MC, Haworth DC (2007) Advanced gasoline engine development using optical diagnostics and numerical modeling. Proc Combust Inst 31:99–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2006.08.120

  • Drake MC, Fansler TD, Solomon AS, Szekely GA (2003) Piston fuel films as a source of smoke and hydrocarbon emissions from a wall-controlled spark-ignited direct-injection engine. SAE Technical Paper 2003-01-0547. https://doi.org/10.4271/2003-01-0547

  • Fansler TD, Reuss DL, Sick V, Dahms RN (2015) Combustion instability in spray-guided stratified-charge engines: a review. Int J Engine Res 16:260–305. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468087414565675

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fioroni G, Fouts L, Christensen E, McCormick R (2017) Heat of vaporization measured at NREL. Private communication

  • Geiler JN, Grzeszik R, Quaing S, Manz A, Kaiser SA (2017) Development of laser-induced fluorescence to quantify in-cylinder fuel wall films. Int J Engine Res 184:146808741773386. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468087417733865

    Google Scholar 

  • Han D, Steeper RR (2002) Examination of iso-octane/ketone mixtures for quantitative LIF measurements in a DISI engine. SAE Technical Paper 2002-01-0837. https://doi.org/10.4271/2002-01-0837

  • Haynes WM (ed) (2015) CRC handbook of chemistry and physics: a ready-reference book of chemical and physical data. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • He X, Ratcliff MA, Zigler BT (2012) Effects of gasoline direct injection engine operating parameters on particle number emissions. Energy Fuels 26:2014–2027. https://doi.org/10.1021/ef201917p

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henkel S, Beyrau F, Hardalupas Y, Taylor, A M K P (2016) Novel method for the measurement of liquid film thickness during fuel spray impingement on surfaces. Opt Express 24:2542–2561

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johansen LCR, Hemdal S (2015) In cylinder visualization of stratified combustion of E85 and main sources of soot formation. Fuel 159:392–411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2015.07.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karlsson RB, Heywood JB (2001) Piston fuel film observations in an optical access GDI engine. SAE Technical Paper

  • Lechner MD (1996) Refractive indices of organic liquids, 38B. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lin M, Sick V (2002) Mixture evaporative characteristics prediction for LIF measurements using PSRK (predictive Soave-Redlich-Kwong) equation of state. SAE Technical Paper 2002-01-2750. https://doi.org/10.4271/2002-01-2750

  • Maligne D, Bruneaux G (2011) Time-resolved fuel film thickness measurement for direct injection SI engines using refractive index matching. SAE Technical Paper 2011-01-1215. https://doi.org/10.4271/2011-01-1215

  • Miyashita K, Tsukamoto T, Fukuda Y, Kondo K, Aizawa T (2016) High-speed UV and visible laser shadowgraphy of GDI in-cylinder pool fire. SAE Technical Paper 2016-01-22165. https://doi.org/10.4271/2016-01-2165

  • Pan H, Xu M, Hung D, Lv H, Dong X, Kuo T, Grover RO, Parrish SE (2017) Experimental investigation of fuel film characteristics of ethanol impinging spray at ultra-low temperature. SAE Technical Paper 2017-01-0851. https://doi.org/10.4271/2017-01-0851

  • Park S, Ghandhi JB (2005) Fuel film temperature and thickness measurements on the piston crown of a direct-injection spark-ignition engine. SAE Technical paper 2005-01-0649 2005. https://doi.org/10.4271/2005-01-0649

  • Schulz F, Samenfink W, Schmidt J, Beyrau F (2016) Systematic LIF fuel wall film investigation. Fuel 172:284–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.01.017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serras-Pereira J, Aleiferis PG, Richardson D (2015) An experimental database on the effects of single- and split injection strategies on spray formation and spark discharge in an optical direct-injection spark-ignition engine fuelled with gasoline, iso-octane and alcohols. Int J Engine Res 16:851–896. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468087414554936

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens E, Steeper RR (2001) Piston wetting in an optical DISI engine: fuel films, pool fires, and soot generation. SAE Technical Paper

  • Stojkovic BD, Fansler TD, Drake MC, Sick V (2005) High-speed imaging of OH* and soot temperature and concentration in a stratified-charge direct-injection gasoline engine. Proc Combust Inst 30:2657–2665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2004.08.021

  • Toyoda T, Yabe M (1983) The temperature dependence of the refractive indices of fused silica and crystal quartz. J Phys D Appl Phys 16:L97–L100. https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/16/5/002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VDI e.V (2013) VDI-Wärmeatlas. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Velji A, Yeom K, Wagner U, Spicher U, Rossbach M, Suntz R, Bockhorn H (2010) Investigations of the formation and oxidation of soot inside a direct injection spark ignition engine using advanced laser-techniques. SAE Technical Paper 2010-01-0352. https://doi.org/10.4271/2010-01-0352

  • Wen Q, Shen J, Gieleciak R, Michaelian KH, Rohling JH, Astrath NGC, Baesso ML (2014) Temperature coefficients of the refractive index for complex hydrocarbon mixtures. Int J Thermophys 35:930–941. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-014-1604-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang B, Ghandhi J (2007) Measurement of diesel spray impingement and fuel film characteristics using refractive index matching method. SAE Technical Paper 2007-01-0485. https://doi.org/10.4271/2007-01-0485

Download references

Acknowledgements

Carl-Philipp Ding performed these engine experiments during a research visit to Sandia. Carl-Philipp Ding and Benjamin Böhm gratefully acknowledge financial support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) through SFB-Transregio 150. The engine experiments were conducted at the Combustion Research Facility, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA as part of the Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines (Co-Optima) project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Bioenergy Technologies and Vehicle Technologies Offices. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. Xu He contributed to this study during a sabbatical visit to Sandia, which was supported financially by the China Scholarship Council under Grant no. 201506035029.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fachgebiet Reaktive Strömungen und Messtechnik (RSM), Technische Universität Darmstadt, Otto-Berndt-Str. 3, 64285, Darmstadt, Germany

    Carl-Philipp Ding & Benjamin Böhm

  2. Sandia National Laboratories, MS 9053, PO Box 969, Livermore, CA, 94551-0969, USA

    Magnus Sjöberg, David Vuilleumier & David L. Reuss

  3. University of Michigan, 1231 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    David L. Reuss

  4. School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

    Xu He

Authors
  1. Carl-Philipp Ding
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Magnus Sjöberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David Vuilleumier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. David L. Reuss
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Xu He
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Benjamin Böhm
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carl-Philipp Ding.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ding, CP., Sjöberg, M., Vuilleumier, D. et al. Fuel film thickness measurements using refractive index matching in a stratified-charge SI engine operated on E30 and alkylate fuels. Exp Fluids 59, 59 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-018-2512-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-018-2512-5

Search

Navigation