Quantitative imaging of equivalence ratios in a natural gas SI engine flow bench using acetone fluorescence

Although compressed natural gas (CNG) is a gaseous fuel, the mixing process is quite different from air-liquid fuel mixing. The aim of this work is to understand the effect of the fuel feeding system on mixture homogeneity. Planar laser-induced fluorescence has been used to produce quantitative equivalence ratio maps in the intake manifold. Fluorescence results from excitation of doped acetone in natural gas. Its emission is proportional to the fuel mass. Collected images were post processed to obtain the equivalence ratio. This work shows the difference between continuous injection at low speed and sequential injection. In the first part, we present the behaviour of the injection jet in the intake manifold. The second part displays a smaller section of the duct upstream of the intake valve. The study shows clearly the stratification effect obtained with continuous injection at low speed. A very homogenous mixture is observed for sequential injection with fuel trapped for a cycle and aspirated in the next cycle.