Laser-Induced Incandescence and Smoke Point Measurements to Characterize the Sooting Propensity of Biodiesel Diffusion Flame

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Tran ◽  
Trinh Pham
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Flame ◽  
Combustion Zone ◽  
Soot Formation ◽  
Smoke Point ◽  
Band Pass Filter ◽  
Pass Filter ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Yag Laser ◽  
Soot Particles ◽  
Laser Induced Incandescence

Combustion of biodiesel is rapidly expanding around the world, mainly for its significant reduction of emissions such as soot particulates. The presence of carbonaceous soot emitted indicates a reduction in efficiency of practical combustion systems. In addition, sub-micron soot particles can have substantial impact on the environment and human health. Common emission studies of neat and blends of biodiesel and diesel fuels have been investigated using compression ignition engines and capturing soot particles in the post-combustion zone. However, soot particles produced in the primary combustion zone can greatly influence the products in the post-combustion zone. To study soot formation in the primary combustion zone, laser diagnostic is performed on a laminar diffusion wick lamp. In this paper, the sooting propensity of various blends of soybean biodiesel and Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) fuels are investigated using both a traditional ASTM D-1322 standard smoke lamp and modern Laser-Induced Incandescence (LII) technique. Laser excitation is achieved using a pulsed Nd: YAG laser operating at 532nm wavelength. Although ultraviolet and infrared spectra can be used, the choice of an Nd: YAG laser operating at the second harmonic wavelength is preferred because interference from excitation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the C2 Swan band can be reduced. A fast-gate Intensified Charge Coupled Device (ICCD) camera and a 450nm narrow band-pass filter are used to detect the spatially resolved LII signal. The qualitative LII signal provides the soot profile of different volume mixtures of biodiesel and diesel diffusion flame. Many researches report show reduction in soot particles emitted in the exhaust when biodiesel is used as a blend in compression ignited engines. The contribution of this research is to investigate whether similar sooting characteristics can be seen in the primary combustion zone by making measurements in the proximity of the flame front. In general, the LII signals and smoke point measurements show a decrease in soot particles produced when blending ratios of 25% biodiesel – 75% diesel (by volume) are used. One limitation of using the ASTM standard wick lamp is flame instability at higher blending ratios due to the increases in carbon deposit on the wick, which reduces the fuel vaporization rate. Therefore, smoke point measurement for blending ratios above B25 is not accurate since the flame height is not stable; hence, future experiments rely on LII technique to characterize soot emission properties. In order to perform LII laser diagnostics using higher blending ratios, comparison between smoke point measurements and LII signals will be characterized in this report using lower blending ratios.

Two-dimensional imaging of ignition and soot formation processes in a diesel flame

2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Kosaka ◽  
T Aizawa ◽  
T Kamimoto
Keyword(s):  
Soot Formation ◽  
Diesel Spray ◽  
Oxidation Reactions ◽  
Soot Particles ◽  
Nozzle Orifice ◽  
Spray Flame ◽  
Soot Precursor ◽  
Planar Laser ◽  
Laser Induced Incandescence ◽  
Ambient Gas

The processes of ignition and formation of soot precursor and soot particles in a diesel spray flame achieved in a rapid compression machine (RCM) were imaged two-dimensionally using the laser sheet techniques. For the two-dimensional imaging of time and of location where ignition first occurs in a diesel spray, planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of formaldehyde was applied to a diesel spray in an RCM. Formaldehyde has been hypothesized to be one of the stable intermediate species marking the start of oxidation reactions in a transient spray under compression ignition conditions. In this study, the laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) images of the formaldehyde formed in a diesel fuel spray during the ignition process have been obtained by exciting formaldehyde with the third harmonic of a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) laser. The LIF images of formaldehyde in a spray revealed that the time when the first fluorescence is detected is almost identical with the time when the total heat release due to low-temperature oxidation reactions equals the heat absorption by fuel vaporization in the spray. The formaldehyde level rose steadily until the high-temperature reaction phase of diesel spray ignition. At the start of this ‘hot-ignition’ phase, the formaldehyde concentration fell rapidly, thus signalling the end of the low-temperature ignition phase. Increases in the initial ambient gas temperatures advanced the hot-ignition starting time. The first hot ignition occurred in the periphery of spray head at initial ambient gas temperatures between 580 and 660 K. When the ambient gas temperature was increased to 790 K, the position of the first ignition moved to the central region of the spray head. For the investigation of soot formation processes in a diesel spray flame, simultaneous imaging of the soot precursor and soot particles in a transient spray flame in an RCM was conducted by PLIF and by planar laser-induced incandescence (PLII) techniques. The third harmonic (355 nm) and the fundamental (1064 nm) laser pulses from an Nd:YAG laser, between which a delay of 44 ns was imposed by 13.3 m of optical path difference, were used to excite LIF from the soot precursor and laser-induced incandescence (LII) from soot particles in the spray flame. The LIF and the LII were separately imaged by two image-intensified charge-coupled device cameras with identical detection wavelengths of 400 nm and bandwidths of 80 nm. The LIF from the soot precursor was mainly located in the central region of the spray flame between 40 and 55 mm (between 270 and 370 times the nozzle orifice diameter d°) from the nozzle orifice. The LII from soot particles was observed to surround the soot precursor LIF region and to extend downstream. The first appearance of the LIF from the soot precursor in the spray flame preceded the appearance of the LII from soot particles. The intensity of the LIF from the soot precursor reached its maximum immediately after rich premixed combustion. In contrast, the intensity of the LII from soot particles increased gradually and reached its maximum after the end of injection. Measured LIF spectra, of the soot precursor in the spray flame, were very broad with the peak between 430 and 460 nm.

Transient Development of Flame and Soot Distribution in Laminar Diffusion Flame With Preheated Air

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bijan Kumar Mandal ◽  
Amitava Sarkar ◽  
Amitava Datta
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Flame ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Soot Formation ◽  
Initial Period ◽  
Qualitative Difference ◽  
Soot Volume Fraction ◽  
Soot Oxidation ◽  
Average Diameter ◽  
Conservation Equations ◽  
Soot Particles

A numerical investigation of the transient development of flame and soot distributions in a laminar axisymmetric coflowing diffusion flame of methane in air has been carried out considering the air preheating effect. The gas phase conservation equations of mass, momentum, energy, and species concentrations along with the conservation equations of soot mass concentration and number density are solved simultaneously, with appropriate boundary conditions, by an explicit finite difference method. Average soot diameters are then calculated from these results. It is observed that the soot is formed in the flame when the temperature exceeds 1300 K. The contribution of surface growth toward soot formation is more significant compared with that of nucleation. Once the soot particles reach the high temperature oxygen-enriched zone beyond the flame, the soot oxidation becomes important. During the initial period, when soot oxidation is not contributing significantly, some of the soot particles escape into the atmosphere. However, under steady condition the exhaust product gas is nonsooty. Preheating of air increases the soot volume fraction significantly. This is both due to more number of soot particles and the increase in the average diameter. However, preheating of air does not cause a qualitative difference in the development of the soot-laden zone during the flame transient period.

Harmonic Analysis of Jet Mixing

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Boulanger ◽  
Sangsig Yun ◽  
Leiyong Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Harmonic Analysis ◽  
Combustion Zone ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Modulation Frequency ◽  
Input Parameter ◽  
Natural Mode ◽  
Band Pass Filter ◽  
Pass Filter ◽  
Jet Mixing ◽  
Mixing Chamber

Development of low-pollution gas turbine engines has been calling for the development on new technologies. Lean premixed combustion is one of them but tends to be accompanied by combustion instabilities. Some instabilities are caused by coupling between the combustion zone and upstream fuel/air mixing chamber. Acoustic oscillations in the mixing chamber lead to variation of mixture distribution in the combustion zone. On the other hand, the instability itself may improve the turbulent mixing that mitigates these equivalence ratio fluctuations. The goal of this study is to gain knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms of harmonically perturbed jet mixing in air. A jet is considered as a system on which a harmonic analysis is performed. The input parameter is a modulated velocity to induce perturbation. The output parameter is the whole flow field, particularly the statistics of mixture fraction distribution. The tool is a high-order compressible direct numerical simulation code. It is demonstrated that the system can be qualified as a band-pass filter. The efficiency of mixing reaches a maximum for a modulation frequency comparable to the natural mode of a laminar jet. This study suggests that the characteristic frequency of the system to improve mixing can be inferred from the investigation of the natural mode of this system and vice versa.

Two-Dimensional Spectroscopic Observation of Nonluminous Flames in a Regenerative Industrial Furnace Using Coal Gas

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Hino ◽  
S. Sugiyama ◽  
Y. Suzukawa ◽  
I. Mori ◽  
N. Konishi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Temperature Distribution ◽  
Emission Intensity ◽  
Premixed Flame ◽  
Band Pass Filter ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Gas Temperature ◽  
Pass Filter ◽  
Soot Particles ◽  
Coal Gas

Thermal and chemical characteristics of the flames obtained from an industrial size regenerative combustion furnace have been obtained spectroscopically. The combustion characteristics of diffusion or premixed flames in the regenerative high-temperature air combustion facility have been examined using coal gas as the fuel. The fuel gas composition consisted of H2, hydrocarbon, CO, and N2. Monochromatic images of the flames have been observed in the emission mode using a CCD camera fitted with an optical band pass filter at the desired wavelength. The two-dimensional temperature distribution in the furnace has been determined using the two-line method by utilizing the Swan emission bands from within the flame. The emission intensity profiles of NO, as well as OH and CH radicals have also been observed spectroscopically. The results showed quite uniform two-dimensional temperature distribution and emission intensity of OH and CH radical species for the diffusion flame case as compared to the premixed case using high-temperature combustion air. The premixed flame case showed high local values and large fluctuations in the combustion zone for both emission intensity and temperature distribution. The temperature distribution of soot particles in the premixed flame was also determined using the two-color optical method. The results showed high local value of temperature, similar to that found for the gas temperature using signatures for C2 species at two different wavelengths. In contrast the distribution of temperature for soot particles was different. The location of the maximum soot temperature shifted to downstream positions of the flame as compared to the maximum gas temperature regions measured from the C2 species. The experimental results are discussed in conjunction with those obtained from the heat simulation analyses.

Experimental Analysis of Soot Formation in Sooting Diffusion Flame by Using Laser-Induced Emissions

2005 ◽  
Vol 128 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuhiro Hayashida ◽  
Kenji Amagai ◽  
Keiji Satoh ◽  
Masataka Arai
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Flame ◽  
Soot Formation ◽  
Emission Spectra ◽  
Laser Wavelength ◽  
Relative Location ◽  
Fluorescence Image ◽  
Laser Induced Incandescence ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Fluorescence Radiation ◽  
The Individual

Two-dimensional images of OH fluorescence, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) fluorescence, and laser-induced incandescence (LII) from soot were measured in a sooting diffusion flame. To obtain an accurate OH fluorescence image, two images were taken with the laser wavelength tuned to (“on”) and away from (“off”) the OH absorption line. An accurate OH fluorescence image was obtained by subtracting the off-resonance image from the on-resonance image. For the PAH fluorescence and LII measurements, temporally resolved measurements were used to obtain the individual images; the LII image was obtained by detecting the LII signal after the PAH fluorescence radiation had stopped and the PAH fluorescence image was obtained by subtracting the LII image from the simultaneous image of PAH fluorescence and LII. Based on the obtained images, the relative location of OH, PAH, and soot in the flame was discussed in detail. To investigate the PAH size distribution in a sooting flame using LIF, an estimation strategy for PAH size is proposed. Emission spectra were measured at several heights in the flame using a spectrograph. Since the emission wavelength of PAH fluorescence shifts toward longer wavelengths with increasing PAH size, the main PAH components in the emission spectra could be estimated. The results suggest that PAH grows and the type of PAH changes as the soot inception region was approached. Near the soot inception region, we estimated that the PAHs, which have over 16 carbon atoms, mainly constituted the emission spectrum.

Quantitative detection and imaging of soot particles by laser induced incandescence

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. McManus ◽  
M. Allen ◽  
W. Rawlins ◽  
K. McManus ◽  
M. Allen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Detection ◽  
Soot Particles ◽  
Laser Induced Incandescence
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