A constant volume diesel spray combustion facility and the corresponding experimental diagnostics

A facility was built to examine the diesel spray/combustion process. The facility centers around a constant volume vessel, which consists of a visible and infrared optically accessible cold-wall, heated-interior pressure vessel coupled to an injection system. The combustion vessel is capable of operation at 50 atm and 1000 K (before injection), was used to simulate preinjection diesel in-cylinder conditions, and was coupled to a repeatable (for each fuel type), single shot, high pressure, metering fuel injection system. A number of experimental diagnostics have been applied to the facility and will be briefly discussed and examples of typical results offered. These diagnostics include: extractive post-combustion gas concentration experiments, droplet sizing measurements, and emission/absorption temperature measurements. Results from this facility capture the critical aspects of diesel spray combustion but do not include the change in pressure associated with heat release in a small volume and volume expansion due to piston motion. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.