Mr Santosh Kumar K J Asst. Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering K.S.School of Engineering and Management Bengaluru - 560109 INTRODUCTION • Internal Combustion (IC) engines are still the heart of vehicle and will continue to power our vehicles. • Hence, as the global locomotion for people and goods, engines have to be more efficient. • This efficiency as per automobile manufactures is in terms of fuel economy and engine performance. • New engines have come with better combustion mechanisms, but spark plug is the part that has remained unchanged SPARK IGNITION SYSTEM DRAWBACKS OF SPARK IGNITION SYSTEM • Location of spark plug is not flexible as it requires shielding of plug from heat and fuel spray. • It is not possible to ignite inside the fuel spray. • Requires frequent maintenance to remove carbon deposits. • Misfiring occurs on long term usage. • Leaner mixtures cannot be burned efficiently. • Flame propagation is slow. • Degradation of electrodes at high pressures and temperatures. LASER IGNITION SYSTEM • There are four mechanisms by which laser ignites the air-fuel mixture. They are, 1) Thermal initiation (TI) 2) Non resonant breakdown (NRB) 3) Resonant breakdown(RB) 4) Photo chemical ignition (PCI)
• Among these NRB is widely used
NON RESONANT BREAKDOWN • The focused laser beam creates an electric field which is sufficient to cause the dielectric breakdown of the air fuel mixture. • The process begins with multi photon ionisation of the gas molecules which releases more electrons. • These electrons travel and collide with other molecules causing an electron avalanche. • This avalanche of electrons and resultant ions collide with eachother producing intense heat creating plasma which is sufficient to ignite the fuel. WORKING OF LASER IGNITION • The laser ignition system has a laser transmitter with an optic fiber which is powered by the car’s battery. It shoots the laser beam to a focusing lens. The lens focuses the beam into a pinpoint and when the fuel is injected into the engine, the laser is fired and produces enough energy to ignite the fuel. ADVANTAGES OF LIS • Location of laser is flexible as it does not require shielding from heat and fuel spray. • It requires less maintenance to remove carbon deposit as the system is isolated. • Leaner mixture can be burned as fuel ignition inside combustion chamber. • High pressure and temperature does not affect the performance allowing the use of high compression ratios • Flame propagation is as fast and multipoint fuel ignition is also possible. CONCLUSIONS • Research to date on LI in engines have improved the combustion process. With proper control and better usage we can run engines at leaner mixtures ,at lower ideal speeds without increasing vibrations and noise. • With further development ,higher power of laser and pulse frequency, we can expect multi strike LI systems which reduce the probability of misfires. • The only limitation of this type of ignition system is its cost. REFERENCES
• Lim, E. H., McIlroy, A., Ronney, P. D., and Syage, J. A. (1996).Detailed
characterization of minimum ignition energies of combustible gases using laser ignition sources. • The 8th International Symposium on Transport Phenomena in Combustion, Taylor and Francis. • Liou, L. C. (1994). Laser ignition in liquid rocket engines. • Ma, J. X., Alexander, D. R., and Poulain, D. E. (1998). Laser spark ignition and combustion.