Engine Flow Visualization Using a Copper Vapor Laser

Carolyn A. Regan; Kue S. Chun; Harold J. Schock Jr.

doi:10.1117/12.939663

6 April 1987 Engine Flow Visualization Using a Copper Vapor Laser

Carolyn A. Regan, Kue S. Chun, Harold J. Schock Jr.

Proceedings Volume 0737, New Developments and Applications in Gas Lasers; (1987) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.939663
Event: OE LASE'87 and EO Imaging Symposium, 1987, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

A flow visualization system has been developed to determine the air flow within the combustion chamber of a motored, axisymmetric engine. The engine has been equipped with a transparent quartz cylinder, allowing complete optical access to the chamber. A 40-Watt copper vapor laser is used as the light source. Its beam is focused down to a sheet approximately lmm thick. The light plane is passed through the combustion chamber, and illuminates oil particles which were entrained in the intake air. The light scattered off of the particles is recorded by a high speed rotating prism movie camera. A movie is then made showing the air flow within the combustion chamber for an entire four-stroke engine cycle. The system is synchronized so that a pulse generated by the camera triggers the laser's thyratron. The camera is run at 5,000 frames per second; the trigger drives one laser pulse per frame. This paper describes the optics used in the flow visualization system, the synchronization circuit, and presents results obtained from the movie. This is believed to be the first published study showing a planar observation of airflow in a four-stroke piston-cylinder assembly. These flow visualization results have been used to interpret flow velocity measurements previously obtained with a laser Doppler velocimetry system.

Citation Download Citation

Carolyn A. Regan, Kue S. Chun, and Harold J. Schock Jr. "Engine Flow Visualization Using a Copper Vapor Laser", Proc. SPIE 0737, New Developments and Applications in Gas Lasers, (6 April 1987); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.939663

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