Optics and Lasers in Engineering ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

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Optics and Lasers in Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/optlaseng

Flame kernel characterization of laser ignition of natural gasair mixture

in a constant volume combustion chamber
Dhananjay Kumar Srivastava, Kewal Dharamshi, Avinash Kumar Agarwal n
Engine Research Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India

a r t i c l e i n f o

abstract

Article history:
Received 13 January 2011
Received in revised form
27 April 2011
Accepted 27 April 2011

In this paper, laser-induced ignition was investigated for compressed natural gasair mixtures.
Experiments were performed in a constant volume combustion chamber, which simulate end of the
compression stroke conditions of a SI engine. This chamber simulates the engine combustion chamber
conditions except turbulence of airfuel mixture. It has four optical windows at diametrically opposite
locations, which are used for laser ignition and optical diagnostics simultaneously. All experiments
were conducted at 10 bar chamber pressure and 373 K chamber temperature. Initial stage of
combustion phenomena was visualized by employing Shadowgraphy technique using a high speed
CMOS camera. Flame kernel development of the combustible fuelair mixture was investigated under
different relative airfuel ratios (l 1.2  1.7) and the images were interrogated for temporal propagation of ame front. Pressure-time history inside the combustion chamber was recorded and analyzed.
This data is useful in characterizing the laser ignition of natural gasair mixture and can be used in
developing an appropriate laser ignition system for commercial use in SI engines.
& 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Laser ignition
Constant volume combustion chamber
Flame kernel development
Laser beam prole
Plasma formation

1. Introduction
The world is presently confronted with the twin crises of fossil
fuel depletion and environmental degradation. With increasing
concern towards environmental problem due to vehicular emissions, stringent emission regulations have been imposed all over
the world. Thus, an alternative and improved engine technology
will be helpful in coping up with the new requirements and
regulations. Compressed natural gas (CNG) is one of the solutions
for some of these problems. CNG is regarded as one of the most
promising alternative fuels and is probably the cleanest commercial fuel. This fact has resulted in an increased interest in using
CNG as a fuel for transport engines all over the world. CNG has
higher octane number compared to gasoline, thus CNG fueled
engines can be potentially operated at relatively higher compression ratios, thus leading to higher thermal efciencies. The most
important pollutant of concern from CNG fueled engine is oxides
of nitrogen (NOx). Emissions from a CNG fueled engine can be
further improved by igniting leaner fuelair mixtures, however
this leads to considerable reduction in power density of the
engine. To compensate for lower power density due to leaner
engine operation, higher pressure of combustible charge can be
used. This further increases in-cylinder pressure towards the end

Corresponding author. Tel.: 91 512 259 7982; fax: 91 512 259 7408.
E-mail address: akag@iitk.ac.in (A.K. Agarwal).

of compression stroke, i.e. at the time of combustion. However

leaner airfuel mixtures combined with higher pressures at the
time of ignition require relatively much higher voltages, when
conventional spark plug technology is used. Providing the necessary spark energy at these relatively higher voltages to operate
these engines signicantly reduces the lifetime of spark plugs [1].
The amount of the energy released at the spark electrodes
depends mainly on the pressure of the combustion chamber
towards the end of compression stroke and the distances between
these electrodes. An increase in chamber pressure with the same
electrode distance means an increase in the required secondary
coil voltage applied to the spark plug. Therefore in order to realize
cleaner combustion of leaner CNGair mixture at higher chamber
lling pressures, a durable high-energy electrode-less ignition
system is a desirable option, which will overcome these limitations to achieve higher engine efciency by igniting an ultra lean
mixture in reciprocating engines.
Laser is an alternative ignition source for engines. Short laser
pulses of few nanoseconds pulse duration delivered by a Q-switched
laser are focused by a lens system inside the chamber containing
combustible fuel-air mixture. If the peak intensity in the focal region
exceeds certain threshold intensity level, breakdown of medium
occurs leading to the formation of a plasma spark, whose size
depends on the numerical aperture (NA) of the focused laser beam.
If the energy content of the spark is high enough, the mixture
ignites. Laser ignition can be divided into two main parts. The rst
one is the spark creation due to the local deposition of energy.

0143-8166/$ - see front matter & 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2011.04.015

Please cite this article as: Srivastava DK, et al. Flame kernel characterization of laser ignition of natural gasair mixture in a constant
volume combustion chamber. Opt Laser Eng (2011), doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2011.04.015

D.K. Srivastava et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

This can be achieved in any gas. Breakdown is associated with

plasma formation and shock wave generation. The second part of
the laser ignition is the ignition itself based on a positive balance
between the deposited energy and the losses. In this case, a ame
kernel can develop.
There are four mechanisms by which laser radiations interact
with medium/combustible fuelair mixtures: thermal ignition
[24], photochemical ignition [57], resonant ignition [89] and
non-resonant breakdown [10]. Non-resonant breakdown of gas is
more favorable because it does not require a close match between
the laser wavelength and the target molecules [11]. This process
generally begins with multi-photon ionization of a few gas
molecules, which release electrons that can then readily absorb
more photons, increasing their kinetic energy. The electrons
liberated by this means collide with other molecules and ionize
them, leading to an electron avalanche and breakdown of the gas.
It is important to note that this process requires initial seed
electrons. These electrons are produced from impurities present
in the combustible gas mixtures [12], which absorb the laser
radiations and lead to very high local temperatures and as a
consequence, free electrons start the avalanche process. Multiphoton processes are usually essential for the initial stages of
breakdown because the available laser photon energy similar to
what is employed in this work is approximately 1 eV, whereas the
ionization potential for most molecules is more than 10 eV [13].
Initial ame growth from laser ignition resembles in some ways
the process of electric spark ignition; however, the initial stages of
energy deposition differ considerably. In laser ignition, most of
the energy transfers to plasma within the pulse duration of laser
[14] is of the order of nano-seconds whereas in electric spark
ignition, energy transfer lasts in microseconds range.
There are several potential benets of laser ignition over the
conventional spark plug. Detailed advantages of laser ignition
were reviewed by Paul [15]. The choice of location of plasma
inside the combustion chamber is one of the several important
advantages of laser ignition. Location of ignition initiator spark
could be placed at any optimum location inside the combustion
chamber using a suitable focal length of lens, which is not
practically feasible in any conventional spark plug engine. This
way, ame propagation distance could be reduced and combustion duration could also be decreased. This may also potentially
help in ignition of relatively leaner airfuel mixtures, where the
slower combustion is the main issue. Since the laser ignition does
not employ any spark electrode, there is no erosion effect as
observed in case of spark plug engines therefore the life span of
laser ignited engine system is expected to be signicantly longer
than that of spark plug [16]. A diode-pumped laser ignition
system has potential lifetime up to 10,000 h compared to spark
plug lifetimes of the order of 20004000 h. McMillian et al. [17],
McIntyre et al. [18], Tauer et al. [19] have developed a miniature
laser that can be mounted directly on the cylinder head. Multipoint ignition in the combustion chamber is also possible with
laser ignition. Phuoc [20] found that multi-point ignition of
combustible gas mixture increases the combustion chamber
pressure and shortens the combustion duration. This further
enhances the possibility of using laser ignition system for igniting
lean airfuel mixture and enhances the combustion speed.
In the present investigation, early stages of laser-induced
ignition of a CNGair mixture at 10 bar lling pressure were
experimentally investigated for potential application in an
engines simulated environment. To improve the understanding
of in-cylinder combustion, it is important to understand the ame
propagation. The burning speed or rate of ame propagation is a
fundamental parameter, which inuences the engine performance and emissions. In the early stages of ignition, the relative
importance of the shape and development of ame kernel is

particularly high. At this time, the expansion speeds for the

plasma growth are low. In the earlier work, Srivastava et al. [21]
measured the size and propagation behavior of laser plasma in
atmospheric air. It was found that the plasma propagates towards
the incoming laser. This backward moving plasma (towards the
focusing lens) grows much faster than the forward moving
plasma (along the direction of laser). Phuoc and White [22]
reported the laser spark size in methaneair mixture at 1 atm. It
was observed that laser plasma elongated in the direction of laser
beam. The shape of laser spark was oval and lean for rich
methaneair mixture whereas it becomes cylindrical in shape
for stoichiometric and near stoichiometric methaneair mixture.
The spark length and radius were about 0.8 and 0.3 mm, respectively. Lackner et al. [23] also investigated the laser-induced ame
kernel growth in methaneair mixtures at 10 bar and different
air/fuel equivalence ratios. The data points of this study exhibited
a signicant spread because only one picture was taken during
each test and temporal growth of ame kernel was composed of a
sequence of ignition tests. However, it was concluded that ame
grew faster at stoichiometric air/fuel ratio than the lean air/fuel
mixtures. Tewari and Wilson [24] investigated the effect of high
frequency electric eld on the ame propagation generated by
laser-induced spark. They conducted experiments at one atmospheric pressure in mixtures of methaneair, methaneoxygen
argon and hydrogenair. They found that the ame propagation
rate increases to almost double in the methaneair mixture in
presence of high frequency electric eld however the identical
eld condition has an insignicant effect on the ame propagation rate in the hydrogenair mixture. Beduneau and Ikeda [25]
investigated the laser-induced spark kernel in a premixed laminar
methaneair burner. The ame kernel is in asymmetric toroidal
shape, which is caused by the expansion mode of the shock wave.
The asymmetric behavior was attributed in part to the plasma
characteristics. In the initial stages of ame kernel growth, ame
expansion velocity strongly correlated to the spark energy. In the
later stage of expansion, the velocity was found to depend mainly
on the relative airfuel ratios. There are several others researchers
[2629] who performed optical investigations to visualize the
ame evolution. The objective of this study is to investigate the
laser ignition behavior of CNGair mixture in a constant volume
combustion chamber. CNG is regarded as one the most promising
alternative fuel for the engines; thus performing laser ignition in
CNGair mixture would be one step closer towards the development of laser red natural gas engine. To understand the
combustion, ame kernel shape and propagation in the early
stages of combustion was investigated for different relative air
fuel ratios. In addition to providing time resolved images of ame
kernel growth and its speed, pressure-time history inside the
combustion chamber was also investigated.

2. Experimental setup
2.1. Experimental apparatus
The schematic of experimental setup is depicted in Fig. 1. Laser
ignition of CNGair mixture was performed in a specially
designed constant volume combustion chamber to gain the
fundamental information like minimum laser ignition energy
required for plasma generation, ame kernel development and
growth, ame speed and pressure-time history inside the
combustion chamber, whose conditions typically represent the end
of the compression stroke conditions of a typical internal combustion engine. The internal diameter and length of combustion
chamber is 72 and 220 mm, respectively. Constant volume combustion chamber was able to simulate the real engine combustion

Please cite this article as: Srivastava DK, et al. Flame kernel characterization of laser ignition of natural gasair mixture in a constant
volume combustion chamber. Opt Laser Eng (2011), doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2011.04.015

D.K. Srivastava et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of laser ignition shadowgraphy of CNGair mixture.

chamber conditions except turbulence. It was provided with four

optical windows at diametrically opposite locations so that they
could be used for laser ignition and optical diagnostics/Shadowgraphy simultaneously. Combustion chamber was designed to be
able to withstand 300 bars static pressure and could be heated up
to 300 1C.
A Q-switched Nd: YAG laser (NanoL 200-30, Litron UK) was
used for the ignition of CNGair mixture, which is capable of
delivering maximum pulse energy up to 200 mJ and a pulse
duration of 69 ns at full width half maximum (FWHM) at
fundamental wavelength. The beam diameter was 5 mm (1/e2).
An aperture of 2.5 mm was inserted between the safety shutter
and an output coupler of the laser to enhance the beam quality
and improve the M2 value. This resulted in maximum pulse
energy being limited to 38 mJ/ pulse. The beam prole and M2
values were measured using a laser beam prolometer (WinCamD, DataRay Inc. USA). The laser energy could be attenuated
continuously using an external wave plate/ polarizer setup without affecting any laser parameters such as pulse duration or
spatial beam prole. The energy of each pulse was measured
using a pyro-electric detector and laser energy meter (FieldMax,
Coherent UK). A piezoelectric pressure sensor (6052C, Kistler
Switzerland) was installed in the chamber for measuring pressure-time history inside the combustion chamber. A high speed
camera (SA 1.1, Photron UK) was used to visualize the ame
kernel growth. Minimum frame rate for this camera is 5400 fps at
maximum resolution and 6,75,000 fps at minimum resolution. A
white light source (OSL1-EC, Thorlabs USA) was used to illuminate the ame kernel.

ratios and this was kept xed for all the experiments in this
investigation.
For all the experiments, moisture-free compressed air and
commercially available CNG were used for performing combustible fuelair mixtures. Commercially available CNG contains
95.6% methane, 1.2% ethane, 1.4% carbon dioxide and 1.7%
nitrogen [30]. Properties of the CNG are given in Table 1.
For achieving the required relative airfuel ratio (l) of
the gaseous mixtures (1.21.7 in this study), it was necessary
to measure the partial pressure of air and CNG using a highresolution digital manometer. Gas lling arrangement is shown in
Fig. 2. Cylinders lled with air and CNG are tted with pressure
regulators. Outlet pressure of the cylinder is kept slightly higher
than what is required for a particular airfuel ratio. Gases ow
from the cylinder via the high pressure regulator through the high
pressure pipe to the combustion chamber. To achieve the
required airfuel ratio inside the combustion chamber, partial
pressure of gas was measured by digital manometer. Required
airfuel ratio was controlled according to Daltons law of partial
pressures. CNG was lled rst because required partial pressure
of CNG was low for all intended airfuel ratios. Then, air was lled
with high partial pressures. High turbulence generated by air
lling inside the combustion chamber helps in the formation of a
homogeneous mixture. Additionally, the mixture of air and fuel
are left for 1 min to doubly ensure the thermal stabilization and
homogeneity of the combustible mixture. After combustion using
laser ignition, exhaust valve was opened and the contents of the
combustion chamber are evacuated by a vacuum pump so that no
residual gases are left out in the CVCC. It was also ushed out
using fresh air to remove the traces of exhaust. The CVCC thus
becomes ready for next combustible mixture preparation for the
next combustion event.
The pressure-time history inside the combustion chamber was
recorded using a piezoelectric pressure transducer. The signals
from the pressure transducer were amplied using a charge
amplier and were recorded in a digital storage oscilloscope.
Then pressure-time history signals were sent to computer for
further data analysis.
Table 1
Properties of CNG.
Sl. no.

Properties

Values

1.
2.
3.
4.

Relative density
Auto ignition temperature (1C)
Flammability range (% v/v)
Octane no.

0.64
540
515
127

2.2. Experimental procedure

Before conducting experiments, it was necessary to characterize the laser beam. Laser beam prole and beam quality was
measured by a laser beam proler. Laser beam prole and beam
quality are important parameters in laser ignition. These affect
the minimum energy required for formation of plasma and
initiation of combustion. Laser beam was expanded from 2.5 to
15 mm using a set of lenses. A 100 mm focal length of planoconvex lens was used to focus the laser beam. The location of
focal point was kept inside the combustion chamber in such a
way that the plasma is formed in front of the orthogonal windows
so that laser plasma and ame kernel growth can be visualized as
shown in Fig. 1. It was necessary to measure minimum laser pulse
energy required for the formation of plasma in atmospheric
conditions as well as at 10 bar pressure. Plasma formation probability was calculated at different pulse energies and chamber
pressures. Laser pulse energy for combustion experiments was
chosen such that the laser ignition was successful for all airfuel

Fig. 2. Gas lling arrangement for the constant volume combustion chamber with
precise control of relative airfuel ratio. 1High pressure pipe, 2Pressure
regulating valve, 3Digital manometers and 4Vacuum Pump.

Please cite this article as: Srivastava DK, et al. Flame kernel characterization of laser ignition of natural gasair mixture in a constant
volume combustion chamber. Opt Laser Eng (2011), doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2011.04.015

D.K. Srivastava et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

The early development of ame kernel was observed by

Shadowgraphy technique [31]. Collimated white light beam was
directed into the combustion chamber and ame kernel was
captured on the other side with the help of the high speed camera
operating at 54,000 fps. The camera was also used to trigger the
laser system. Computer, camera, laser and oscilloscope are synchronized for combustion and visualization of ame kernel.
Camera is triggered from the computer software. A 5 V output
signal is generated by camera. This signal is divided into two so
that laser and oscilloscope are triggered simultaneously. Laser is
triggered in the external mode so that as soon as laser receives
signal from the camera it will re the laser pulse. If the energy
deposited in the plasma is above the critical value for combustion,
then combustion event takes place and is recorded by the camera.
After receiving the trigger signal from camera, oscilloscope is
activated in the measurement mode. During combustion, variation of pressure inside the combustion chamber is recorded by
piezoelectric transducer and stored in the computer connected
to oscilloscope.

3. Results and discussion

Laser beam prole is a critical parameter for laser ignition
experiments. It is usually necessary to measure it in order to
ensure the adequate beam quality prole. Before starting the
experiments in combustion chamber, ofine test was carried out
to characterize the laser beam. Laser beam prolometer was used
to measure the beam quality with a cavity aperture of 2.5 mm at
1 m distance from the laser head. Fig. 3a and b show 2-D and 3-D
beam proles, respectively. Fig. 3c and d show the line prole
along the X and Y axis, respectively.
It can be seen from Fig. 3 that the laser beam prole deviates
slightly from TEM00 mode. Beam quality factor (M2 value) was
measured for the cavity aperture of 2.5 mm. M2 denes the
focussability of laser beam. It is directly related to the diameter
of beam at focal point. M2 value of perfectly Gaussian laser beam
is 1.0. In the present case, M2 value of laser beam was observed to
be 4.6. For laser ignition, the M2 value closer to the Gaussian laser
beam is desired however it also leads to severe reduction in
maximum laser pulse energy therefore a balance between the two
is required to be found out.
For systematic investigation of laser ignition of fuelair mixtures, plasma generated in atmospheric condition needs to be

Fig. 3. Laser beam prole at 1 m distance from laser head (a) 2-D prole, (b) 3-D
prole, (c) Line prole of beam along X-axis and (d) Line prole of beam along
Y-axis.

Fig. 4. (a) Plasma formation in air (b) emission photography of the laser plasma
30 ns after the laser pulse [21].

100
Plasma Formation Probability (%)

1 bar
10 bar

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

6
9
12
15
Laser Pulse Energy (mJ/Pulse)

18

21

Fig. 5. Plasma formation probability in air at atmospheric pressure and 10 bar

pressure.

investigated rst. Shape of plasma is shown qualitatively in

Fig. 4a. Laser enters from right to left. A prior study by Srivastava
et al. [21] measured the shape and propagation behavior of
plasma generated in atmospheric air. The maximum diameter
and length of the laser plasma 30 ns after the ring of the laser
were 0.01 and 0.27 mm, respectively, as depicted in Fig. 4b. It was
observed that plasma growth took place towards the incoming
laser beam much faster compared to along the laser beam. The
reason for this reverse propagation of plasma is that the layers of
gas outside the plasma, although transparent to the laser beam,
get heated by the plasma radiation. This outside gas close to the
plasma will in turn get ionized to such an extent that it will
strongly absorb the laser beam [32]. As a result, these gas layers
will then get further heated rapidly and their temperatures
increase. By this time, another layer of plasma near to the laser
would become strongly absorbing, and hence the boundary of the
plasma will move toward the focusing lens.
Once the plasma is generated in the atmospheric air, it
becomes pertinent to study the probability of plasma formation
upon ring a laser pulse of certain energy. Fig. 5 shows the plasma
formation probability in atmospheric air and 10 bar of air pressure (in the chamber lled with only air) with different laser
pulse energies. Plasma formation probability is dened as number
of successful breakdown events divided by number of attempts.
For each pulse energies investigated, laser was red 500 times.
The breakdown threshold was dened as the laser energy at
which the air would breakdown for more than 50% of the
attempts.
It can be noticed very clearly from Fig. 5 that the air breakdown pulse energy thresholds at atmospheric condition and
10 bar pressure were 17 and 7 mJ, respectively. In summary, the

Please cite this article as: Srivastava DK, et al. Flame kernel characterization of laser ignition of natural gasair mixture in a constant
volume combustion chamber. Opt Laser Eng (2011), doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2011.04.015

D.K. Srivastava et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

breakdown threshold energy decreases with the increasing chamber pressure. The reason is that at higher pressure conditions, the
number of gas molecules in the focal region increases and laser
energy can be absorbed more efciently. In an engine operating
with lean airfuel mixture, in-cylinder pressure at the time of
ignition should increase in order to compensate for the resulting
power density loss. From Fig. 5, it could be seen that this will
create a favorable condition in case of laser ignition, where laser
pulse energy required to breakdown decreases with increasing
chamber pressure. This trend is completely opposite to the one
observed in conventional spark plug system. It is reported that
the spark energy required for igniting the mixture increases with
increasing in-cylinder pressures [1]. Since at 9 mJ laser pulse
energy, the plasma formation probability is 100% at 10 bar
chamber pressure, a notch higher level of pulse energy i.e.
12 mJ pulse energy is chosen for carrying out the combustion
experiments in the present study in order to be able to cover the
whole spectrum of experimental conditions.
Once the minimum laser pulse energy for this set of experiments was determined, ignition experiments and ame kernel
visualization of different airfuel ratios were carried out in the
constant volume combustion chamber. The images showing the
development of the early ame kernel stages and its growth with
time were recorded by employing Shadowgraphy technique. High
speed camera was used to capture the image at 54,000 fps. The
consecutive images were captured at an interval of 18.5 ms for any
given single combustion event. These images provided useful
information about the ame kernel development, and the shape
of the ame kernel as a function of time for different airfuel
ratios (l 1.21.7). Figs. 611 show the images of ame kernel
development process at different time scales. Time scale of rst
four images was kept constant in all gures however in
Figs. 911, the time scale for the last four images was observed
to be different because of longer combustion duration for the
leaner mixtures. In all these gures, laser beam is entering from
right to the left. Vertical and horizontal dimensions of all images
were kept constant at 1.15 and 1.45 cm, respectively.

T = 37s

T= 370s

T = 703s

T = 1036s

T = 1.87ms

T =2.70ms

T = 3.53ms

T = 4.37ms

Fig. 8. Shadowgraph image of ame kernel development (l 1.4).

T = 37s

T= 370s

T = 703s

T = 1036s

T = 2.37ms

T = 3.70ms

T = 5.03ms

T = 6.36ms

Fig. 9. Shadowgraph image of ame kernel development (l 1.5).

T = 37s

T = 2.70ms

T = 370s

T = 703s

T = 4.37ms

T = 6.03ms

T = 1036s

T = 7.70ms

Fig. 10. Shadowgraph image of ame kernel development (l 1.6).

T = 37s

T = 1.87ms

T= 370s

T = 703s

T = 1036s

T = 2.70ms

T = 3.53ms

T = 4.37ms

T = 37s

T= 370s

T = 703s

T = 1036s

T = 6.03ms

T = 11.03ms

T = 16.02ms

T = 21.02ms

Fig. 6. Shadowgraph image of ame kernel development (l 1.2).

Fig. 11. Shadowgraph image of ame kernel development (l 1.7).

T = 37s

T = 1.87ms

T= 370s

T = 2.70ms

T = 703s

T = 3.53ms

T = 1036s

T = 4.37ms

Fig. 7. Shadowgraph image of ame kernel development (l 1.3).

At the early stages of ame development (t o92.5 ms, not

shown in these pictures), a toroidal shape of the kernel was
observed. Toroidal shape of ame kernel shape is similar to the
one observed in conventional spark electrode ignition system.
Maly and Vogel [33], conducted experiments in methaneair
mixture using conventional spark plug. They changed the spark
energy to see its effect on ame kernel size and expansion

Please cite this article as: Srivastava DK, et al. Flame kernel characterization of laser ignition of natural gasair mixture in a constant
volume combustion chamber. Opt Laser Eng (2011), doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2011.04.015

D.K. Srivastava et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

velocity. A smooth ame front appeared for high-energy arc.

Initially, the shape of kernel was cylindrical for very short time
then spherical changing to toroidal for intermediate time and
spherical again for longer time durations. Other researchers
[3436] also visualized the ame kernel formation in combustion
chamber for different airfuel mixture using conventional spark
plug. The evaluation behavior of ame kernel was found be
spherical. In the present experiment with laser ignition, the toroid
shape continues to develop radially away from the spark center
till 92.5 ms. After approximately t 92.5 ms, a front lobe is formed
and propagates towards the incoming laser beam. This is a
peculiar feature of laser-induced ignition. Similar expansion
behavior of laser ignited ame kernel is observed by other
researchers as well [14,23,37]. The shape of the ame kernel is
observed to be structurally identical for all airfuel ratios. It is
observed from Figs. 10 and 11 that the front lobe of the ame
kernel disappeared after approximately 1 ms for relative airfuel
ratios of 1.6 and 1.7 (image 5 onwards). Based on these observations, shape of the laser-induced ame kernel can be thought to
be having two stages of development. In early stage (to 92.5 ms)
of ame kernel development, the kernel develops radially to form
a toroidal shape. In the latter stage (t 492.5 ms) of development, a
front lobe is formed, which propagates backwards towards the
incoming laser beam. This expansion phenomenon is also
reported earlier [14] however the reasons for this have not been
explained fully and convincingly. Spiglanin et al. [37] proposed
possible explanation for the formation of front lobe and suggested
that this phenomenon may be related to the initial ow eld
created by the propagation of a radiation transport wave up to
the laser beam, arising from the high rate of energy transferred at
the leading edge of the plasma. An additional factor may be the
preheating of the gases by the focused laser beam that ignites the
mixture. This preheating gas readily ignites in a ame front that
propagates much faster than it would through cold combustible
mixture.
After understanding the ame kernel development, it is logical
to analyze the temporal variation of the ame kernel development in various directions with time inside the combustion
chamber for varying relative airfuel ratios. This information
can be attained from the analysis of different photographic
images captured by the high speed camera. Temporal development of ame kernel was analyzed using MATLAB. Lasers direction of propagation is taken as X and direction opposite to the
laser propagation is taken as X , which is also the direction of
propagation of front lobe. The temporal variation of ame kernel
development in X , X  and Y direction are given in Figs. 1214.
Five combustion events are carried out under identical conditions

Fig. 12. Temporal variation of ame kernel development in the direction of

opposite to laser beam propagation (X-direction).

Fig. 13. Temporal variation of ame kernel development in the direction of laser
beam propagation (X direction).

Fig. 14. Temporal variation of ame kernel development in the orthogonal to the
laser beam propagation (Y-direction).

for every airfuel ratio, the images were analyzed and average
values are presented in these graphs to reduce effect of experimental errors. Centroid of the rst kernel is taken as origin for
calculating distance in the three directions.
It can be observed from Fig. 12 that during the early stages
(t 666 ms), ame propagation distance increases rapidly, suggesting higher ame velocity initially. For leaner mixtures (l 1.6
and 1.7), ame propagation distance in X-direction decreases with
time in the later stages of combustion (t 1.16 ms) because the
leaner mixture is unable to sustain the combustion in front lobe
beyond a limit, resulting in reduction in ame velocity. However,
for relatively richer mixtures (l 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4), ame propagation distance increases up to 2.8 ms and then it becomes almost
constant. The maximum distance of ame propagation observed
for lambda 1.2 is 0.53 cm.
Flame kernel propagation in the direction of laser beam, i.e.
X direction is shown in Fig. 13. It can be observed from this
gure that the propagation of ame kernels were varying almost
linearly for relative airfuel ratio (l 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4) with time
and this suggest almost constant ame velocity. The maximum
propagation distance for lambda 1.2 is 0.3 cm. It can be concluded
from Figs. 12 and 13 that forward propagation distance of ame
kernel i.e. in the direction of laser beam, is less than the
propagation distance of ame kernel in backward direction, i.e.
opposite to laser beam direction, for all the relative airfuel ratio.
Propagation of ame kernel in Y and Y  direction was
almost identical and therefore only one direction is reported.
Fig. 14 shows the temporal variation of ame kernel in Y
direction. It can be seen from the gure that the maximum ame
kernel propagation distance was 0.38 cm for relative fuelair

Please cite this article as: Srivastava DK, et al. Flame kernel characterization of laser ignition of natural gasair mixture in a constant
volume combustion chamber. Opt Laser Eng (2011), doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2011.04.015

D.K. Srivastava et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

Fig. 15. Flame propagation speed in the X-direction.

50

Lambda = 1.2
Lambda = 1.3
Lambda = 1.4

45

Pressure (bar)

40
35

Lambda = 1.5
Lambda = 1.6

30
25
20
15
10
5
0

200

400

600

800

1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000

earlier observations, which indicate that the rich fuelair

mixtures give higher ame velocities and faster propagation of
ame kernel. It can also be noticed that the peak cylinder pressure
decreases with leaner mixtures, as expected. The experiments
were also carried out with very lean mixture (l 1.7) however the
pressure-time history showed unacceptable variations reecting
uncertain combustion behavior. Further leaner mixtures could
not be ignited by lasers and this suggested that for a practical
application of laser ignition system applied to the engine will not
be able to deal with CNGair mixtures leaner than l 1.6. This
statement is however subject to the given type of optics. If
improved optics and better quality laser beam is used, possibly
lean combustion limit in an engine can be pushed further.
To study the event-to-event variation in combustion pressure,
peak pressure variations were analyzed for different airfuel
ratios. One of the important advantages of laser ignition is the
exact regulation of deposited energy in the focal volume. So it is
expected that the variation in combustion is lower in case of laser
ignition. Fig. 17 shows the variation of peak combustion pressure
inside the combustion chamber for different airfuel ratios. Error
bars in Fig. 17 show that there is very little variation in peak
chamber pressure. There is a good repeatability of experiments
and the observed data.
Rate of heat release (ROHR) was calculated from the acquired
pressure-time history data of the CVCC using zero dimensional
heat release analysis model [38].
Rate of heat release was calculated as




dQ
1
dP
g
dV

V
P
dt
dt
dt
g1
g1

Time (ms)

The following assumptions were made in this calculation.

Fig. 16. Pressuretime history of the combustion chamber for different l.

I. The cylinder charge was considered to behave as an ideal gas.

II. Distribution of thermodynamic properties inside the combustion chamber was considered to be uniform.
III. Dissociation of combustion products was neglected.
IV. Heat transfer from the combustion wall is neglected in
this model.

Since experiments were done in constant volume combustion

chamber, the rate of volume change parameter in heat release
equation will be zero. Rate of heat release for constant volume
combustion chamber will therefore be:


dQ
1
dP

V
dt
g1 dt

50
45
40
Peak Pressure (bar)

ratios (l 1.2 and 1.3). The ame kernel propagation distance was
found to consistently decrease with the leaner mixtures and it is
found to be lowest for l 1.7. These ndings are almost similar to
the ones for X directions suggesting that the volumetric growth of
the ame kernel reduces substantially with reduction of airfuel
mixture strength.
Flame speed was derived from propagation distance. Fig. 15
shows the propagation speed of ame in direction opposite to
laser beam direction, i.e. X-direction for different relative airfuel
ratio. It is observed from gure that ame propagation speed
decreases with increasing relative airfuel ratio and also
decreases with time. Initially propagation speed for higher relative airfuel ratios, i.e. leaner mixture strength is observed to be
higher than that of relatively richer mixtures however this
propagation speed decreases very fast. At 0.33 ms, ame propagation speed for lambda 1.2 and 1.6 are 5.54 and 4.07 m/s,
respectively, while at 6.67 ms, it becomes 1.62 and 3.21 m/s,
respectively. Propagation speed becomes negative for lambda 1.5,
1.6 and 1.7 at some time because of reduction of ame propagation distance and suggests shrinking of ame kernel, particularly
for leaner mixture (l 1.6 and 1.7).
It is also important to experimentally evaluate the pressuretime history in the combustion chamber for varying fuelair
mixture as this will provide vital information about the kind of
pressure rise, which can be expected in an engine system ignited
using laser.
Fig. 16 shows a pressure-time history of the combustion
chamber for different relative airfuel (l 1.21.6) at initial
chamber lling pressure and temperature of 10 bar and 373 K,
respectively, ignited by laser. It can be clearly seen from this
gure that there is a clear trend towards longer combustion
duration with leaner CNGair mixtures. This is also supported by

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

Relative Air-Fuel Ratio (-)

Fig. 17. Peak pressure variations for laser ignition of different airfuel ratios.

Please cite this article as: Srivastava DK, et al. Flame kernel characterization of laser ignition of natural gasair mixture in a constant
volume combustion chamber. Opt Laser Eng (2011), doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2011.04.015

D.K. Srivastava et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

Fig. 18. Net heat release versus time for different relative airfuel ratios.

and the net heat release is

Z t 
dQ
dt
Q
dt
0
where Q is net heat release, t is the time, V is the volume of
combustion chamber, P is combustion pressure and g is the ratio
of specic heat.
Fig. 18 shows the net heat release for different relative airfuel
ratio. Net heat release decreases with increase in relative airfuel
mixture. Signicant differences in slope of heat release indicates
the variations in combustion duration. Combustion duration
increases with increasing relative airfuel i.e. for leaner mixtures.
This observation is also supported by the decrease in ame speed
with increasing relative airfuel. Heat release for lambda 1.2 is
12.4 kJ whereas for leaner mixture, (lambda1.6) it is 8.8 kJ.

4. Summary
In this study, laser-induced ignition of CNGair mixtures was
experimentally investigated. Experiments were conducted in a
constant volume combustion chamber at 10 bar initial lling
pressure and 373 K temperature. A Q-switched Nd: YAG laser
was used for the ignition of CNGair mixture at the fundamental
wavelength (1064 nm). The beam quality was measured using an
optical prolometer. Plasma was generated in the atmospheric
condition as well as 10 bar chamber pressure, and the minimum
energy required for plasma generation with 50% probability were
found to be 17 and 7 mJ, respectively. It was observed that
breakdown threshold energy decreases with increase in chamber
pressure. This trend is completely opposite to the one observed in
conventional spark plug system. Since at 9 mJ laser pulse energy,
the plasma formation probability is 100% at 10 bar chamber
pressure, 12 mJ pulse energy is chosen for carrying out the
combustion experiments in the present study in order to be able
to cover the whole spectrum of experimental conditions.
Ignition experiments and ame kernel visualization of different airfuel ratios were carried out in the constant volume
combustion chamber. The images showing the development of
the early ame kernel stages and its growth with time were
recorded by employing Shadowgraphy technique. At the early
stages of ame development (t o92.5 ms), a toroidal shape of the
kernel was observed. The toroid continues to develop radially
away from the spark center till 92.5 ms. After t 92.5 ms, a front
lobe is formed and propagates towards the incoming laser beam.
This is a peculiar feature of laser-induced ignition. The shape of
the ame kernel is observed to be structurally identical for all
airfuel ratios of the combustible airfuel mixtures. Based on
these observations, shape of the laser-induced ame kernel can be
thought to be having two stages of development. In early stage

(t o92.5 ms) of ame kernel development, the kernel develops

radially to form toroidal shape. In the latter stage (t 492.5 ms) of
development, a front lobe is formed, which propagates backwards
towards the incoming laser beam. Front lobe of ame kernel
disappeared after approximately 1 ms for leaner mixtures (l 1.6
and 1.7). The temporal variation of the ame kernel development
in various directions with time inside the combustion chamber
for different airfuel ratios is analyzed by interrogation of
different images. The ame kernel propagation distance was
found to be consistently decreasing with leaner mixtures and it
found to be the lowest for (l 1.7). These ndings are almost
similar to the ones for X directions suggesting that the volumetric
growth of the ame kernel reduces substantially with reduction
of airfuel mixture strength. The pressure-time history of the
combustion chamber for different airfuel mixture was investigated. There was a clear trend towards longer combustion
duration with leaner CNGair mixtures. This is also supported
by earlier observations, which indicate that the richer fuelair
mixtures give higher ame velocities and faster propagation of
ame kernel. It can also be noticed that the peak cylinder pressure
decreases for leaner mixtures, as expected. A practical application
of laser ignition system applied to the engine will not be able to
deal with CNGair mixtures leaner than (l 1.6).

Acknowledgments
SERC (Mechanical and Civil Engineering), Department of Science
and Technology, Government of India, is gratefully acknowledged
for providing funding for carrying out this project. The Engine
Research Laboratory staff members Mr. Roshan Lal and Mr. Ravi
Singh are also acknowledged for their help during the experimental
setup development and execution of experiments.

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Please cite this article as: Srivastava DK, et al. Flame kernel characterization of laser ignition of natural gasair mixture in a constant
volume combustion chamber. Opt Laser Eng (2011), doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2011.04.015