Laser diagnostics for spatially resolved thermometry in combustion and flows

Thesis

The development of Laser-Induced Thermal Grating Spectroscopy (LITGS) for diagnostics of combusting and non-combusting flows is described. The first use of LITGS to provide in situ calibration of 2-Dimensional temperature distributions generated using Two-Colour Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence (TC-PLIF) is reported. Time-resolved measurements of temperature distributions in a firing GDI optical engine obtained by TC-PLIF were made during the compression stroke and calibrated to the absolute temperature scale by simultaneous LITGS measurements. The accuracy and precision of the temperatures derived from LITGS data are evaluated using alternative methods of data analysis – Fast Fourier Transform and Fitting to theoretical models of the experimental data. The relative merits of the two methods are examined for analysis of weak LITGS signals obtained under engine conditions of low pressure and high temperature. The combined TC-PLIF and LITGS system was demonstrated by performing repeated single-shot measurements for 1 in every 10 four-stroke cycles showing excellent correlation of the temperatures derived from both techniques. Direct measurement of the effect of 'charge cooling', of order 5 K, for operation with direct injection is reported. Inhomogeneous temperature distributions were observed during the compression stroke for fired operation with Port Fuel Injection (PFI) and also with Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI). The effects of varying the relative concentrations of toluene and iso-octane in the two-component fuel were investigated.

Extension of the LITGS technique to multi-point measurements along a 1-D line is described. By recording signals from 4 points on separate detectors using a fibre-coupled photodiode array the limitations of Streak Cameras used previously for 1-D LITGS measurements were overcome. Demonstration of principle experiments are reported in which simultaneous 4-point measurements were made with 1 mm spatial resolution and a precision of 0.7 % in temperature gradients in gas flows and in boundary layers at surfaces.

Authors: Willman, C

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence; PLIF; LIGS; LITGS; Laser Induced Grating Scattering
• Subjects: Laser Diagnostics