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International Combustion Engine Devision FallTechnical ConferenceNov. 05 – 08, 2006, Sacramento, CAICEF2006-1547

GE JENBACHER`S UPDATE ON LASER IGNITED ENGINES

Dr. Günther Herdin/ GEJenbacher GmbH & COOHGD.I. Johann Klausner/ GEJenbacher GmbH &CO OHGD.I. Martin Weinrotter / ViennaUniversity of TechnologyD.I. Josef Graf / ViennaUniversity of TechnologyDr. Andreas Wimmer / GrazUniversity of Technology

ABSTRACT

The focus in research year 05 was on the optimization of optical coupling and minimization of laser energy especially inconnection with very lean combustion and with high exhaustgas recirculation rates for low NO

emissions. The directcomparison of laser ignition with conventional spark ignitions,without any measures implemented in favor of laser ignition(high compression ratio, high turbulence ratio), consistentlyshows advantages in the case of laser ignition. With extensionof the Lambda window, in the case of a spark ignition enginewith a 2.4 l piston displacement it is possible to shift the engine0.3 units in the direction of “lean combustion” (possiblereduction of NO

level less than 30 % of the state of the art);EGR compatibility is increased by about 15 % to arecirculation rate of about 40 %. With regard to EGRcompatibility, in coordination with SWRI (HEDGE Program)similar tests on determination of potential were carried out aswell. In this case too no essential measures were implementedin favor of the exploitation of the potential of laser ignition;however, a minor increase of the compression ratio alreadyallows recognition of the theoretically possible and expectedpotentials. Regarding stoichiometric conditions, from theviewpoint of the researchers working jointly on the project it ispossible to reduce the energy to less than 1 mJ. Conversely, inthe event of the utilization of lean-burn combustion,appreciably more energy must be provided. Additionally,measures regarding combustion control in the area of theextended lean-burn limit must also be carried out. Only then isit possible to ensure optimal values for burning durations andthe variation coefficient. Initial results in this regard will alsobe presented.

BASICS

From a purely physical standpoint, the same interrelationshipsapply to the development of combustion in gas engines as fordiesel and gasoline-driven combustion engines. That is to say,to achieve good degrees of efficiency, in terms of the design of combustion it is necessary to optimize the compression ratio tovalues that are as high as possible. It is equally important touse all available measures to reduce the duration of combustion[1], in other words to increase the part of constant volumecombustion. The known interrelationships are shown in Figure1. Due to the highly varying fuel properties of the gaseousfuels (e.g. calorific value, knocking characteristic, laminarflame speed over Lambda, among others), however, therequirements on the various interacting systems areconsiderably greater than are the case when optimizing aconventional Otto engine under stoichiometric conditions. Incomparison to other ignition concepts (e.g. micro pilot, highfrequency (AC) concepts, among others), laser ignition has thedecisive advantage of having no limitation with high BMEPs(> 24 bar) [2]. Because of the free plasma of the laser ignitionin the combustion chamber, the flame kernel can propagateitself unrestrictedly. The electrodes in conventional spark plugscause in any case flame quenching, and thus restrictions withthe lean-burn limit as compared with laser ignition. Thepositive effects on lean-burn limits were presented already in the year 1978 on the occasion of an SAE conference [3]. Morerecent papers on laser ignition were published on the occasionof the 1998 ASME Spring Conference [4].

0.20.40.60.805101520efficiency

therm

compression ratio [ ]vpvpvp

Figure 1: The relationship of compression ratio, combustionduration and efficiencyThe first experiments on a one-cylinder research engine werealready able to demonstrate better lean-burn limits very well inthe case of laser ignition in comparison to spark ignition(Figure 2). The spark plug position is on the one hand directlyin the combustion chamber and on the other hand in a fuel-fedpre-chamber (different volumes). In the case of the ignitionspark positioned directly in the combustion chamber, close tothe lean limit (Lambda of 1.76) it is possible to achieve a NO

value of 0.42 g/kWh. Depending on the pre-chamber volumes,values up to 0.3 g/kWh are possible [5]. Given an almost equalCOV (variation coefficient <2%), with laser ignition even witha Lambda (homogeneous) of 2.05 a NO

value of 0.21 ispossible. In a direct comparison of the two different pre-chamber volumes, the variant with the smaller volume has anefficiency advantage that is caused by smaller charge cyclelosses and by slightly faster combustion (higher averageLambda). The measured points are illustrated as circle symbolsin Figure 2. Thermodynamic calculations were made parallel tothe work carried out on the test bench and these can be seen inthe same Figure as full lines.

0.11101.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6A/F-ratio [ ]

measuredV

2% V

TDC

1% V

TDC

laser ignitionNO

[g/kWh]

calculatedlinemeasuredline

Figure 2: Comparison of different ignition concepts (directignition, pre-chamber spark ignition and laser ignition)Figure 3 additionally presents the known interrelationships of efficiency dependent on NO

emissions over the load. It isfundamental in the case of directly ignited engines that lowerefficiencies result under lean conditions and the same BMEPthan under “richer” conditions. The difference in Lambda is1.59/1.63/1.74 (from 650 to 250 mg NO

/sm³@ 5% O

) Therestriction when utilizing this effect is caused by the knockingcombustion that sets in earlier due to the lower Lambda. Thiseffect can be seen very well later on in Figure 19. Themeasured difference with a BMEP of 18 bar shows anadvantage of 0.7 % points with 650 mg/Nm³ @ 5%O

compared with 500 mg/Nm³ NO

. Another 1 % point liesbetween the TA-Luft value of 500 mg and the ½ TA-Luft valueof 250 mg. This trend can also be observed with partial load.This effect is caused by the slower flame propagation in thecase of “leaner” combustion and thus results in a longercombustion duration. A similar influence can also be observedwith exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and with biogas withhigh amounts of CO

. The slower combustion is easilydetectable through the pressure increase in combustion vessels.Figure 4 illustrates the pressure increases under conditionsclose to stoichiometric conditions up to about 50 % excess air(laminar flame propagation).

0.320.340.360.380.40.420.44255075100

efficiencyload [%]250 mg/Nm³500 mg/Nm³650 mg/Nm³

Figure 3: Influence of NO

emissions on efficiency

010203040-0.500.511.522.5rel. pressure [bar]time [s]A/F=1.06A/F=1.27A/F=1.47

Figure 4: Pressure increases in the combustion vessel withdifferent LambdaRegarding ignition, laser ignition has better starting conditionsdue to the lacking quenching of the flame. Tests in thecombustion vessel and a total of six different engines with verydifferent fuels (gasoline, CH

mixtures with N

, CO

, H

aswell as diesel) showed a utilizable extension of the “Lambdawindow” of up to 0.3 units. And with clearly lower NO

emissions. This potential makes the use of laser ignitioninteresting especially with “low emission” concepts. Ananalysis regarding the more favorable starting conditions of laser ignition due to the extension of the lean-burn limit isshown in Figure 5. Under directly ignited and homogeneousconditions, with the aid of laser ignition it is possible to lowerthe limit of inflammability and with further flame propagation

of gas mixtures from 5 to about 3.2 cm/s (the same boundaryconditions). Such possibilities are otherwise the case only withmicro-pilot (diesel) concepts – however, these entail more thanthe 1000-fold ignition energy and inhomogeneous conditions.But here the potential of reduction of NO

emissions cannot beused with “leaner” gas mixtures because the heterogeneouscombustion in this phase leads to higher NO

emissions.

0102030405011.21.41.61.822.2laminar flame speed [cm/sec]CH

A/F-ratio65% CH

+ 35% CO

sparkign. limit5 cm/secLaser ign. limit

3.2 cm/sec

Figure 5: Extension of the Lambda window by means of laserignition

EFFECTS OF LASER IGNITION OBSERVED IN THEENGINE TESTS

One of the effects of laser ignition compared with conventionalignition systems is the smaller coefficient of variation (COV).The ratios are shown in Figure 6; besides laser ignition, theresults of an AC ignition and a conventional DC ignition arealso shown. The tests carried out on the GEJ Series 4 engine(3-liter cylinder displacement) with the status of research8/2000 show COV values of 1.5 at 1.8 MPa (with about 175ppm NO

) with laser ignition energies of 20 mJ. With the helpof an AC system, and an ignition energy of 400 mJ, it ispossible to achieve values of 1.8. With the developmentalstatus of laser ignition from the first quarter of 2006, the sameCOV values were achieved with less than 50 % of the ignitionenergy. The path here leads via the higher quality of the beamprofile to better focus quality. Furthermore, Figure 6 alsoshows when the ignition energy and plasma formation reachtheir limits and the variation coefficient increases strongly.

01234567891015 20 60 160 400

laser ignition[mJ]standardDC sparkhigh energyAC sparkvariation coefficient IMEP [%]

Figure 6: The variation coefficient of different ignitionconceptsAs well, the EGR compatibility of the laser ignition concept isbetter than that of conventional spark ignition. Testsconcentrating on this area of application were carried out onthree different engines; the results of one of these engines –with a BMEP of 3 and 5 bar(2000 rpm) – are shown in Figure 7. These tests did not go intothe additional possibilities of laser ignition and the conditionsfor both ignition concepts were the same. In the case of aBMEP of 3 bar, in a direct comparison with an increase of theEGR rate from 20 to 25 % the COV value can be cut in half;with a BMEP of 5 bar the EGR could be increased to well over30 %. However, because the tests were carried out on a multi-cylinder engine, there were restrictions due to the other 3equally driven cylinders (misfiring).

02468100 10 20 30

AGR [%]COV at BMEP [%]sparkBMEP 0.3 MPasparkBMEP 0.5 MPaLaser BMEP 0.3 MPaLaser BMEP 0.5 MPa

ource: A3 -Prof. Geringer/Graf

Figure 7: The variation coefficient of a passenger car Ottoengine with EGRBesides the shorter ignition delays, the faster starting of thecombustion process of the fuel/air mixture can also be seenvery well in the combustion curves measured on the engine. Inthis regard, Figure 8 shows the conditions of the initialevaluations (constant conditions). Higher NO

emissions aremeasured due to the faster pressure increase and to compensatefor this a greater Lambda, i.e. a later firing point must be set.

01234-40-30-20-1001020304050607080dQB[%/°CA]crank angle [CA°]ROHR laser ignitionROHR spark ignition

Figure 8: Comparison of the rate of heat release (ROHR) -laser/spark ignition under the same conditionsThe influence on the ignition delay, and the combustionduration, respectively, in the tests on a car engine is shown inFigure 9. With regard to the ignition delay, a considerablysmaller value can be determined also for this engine with aspeed of 2000 rpm. For example, with an EGR rate of 15 % theignition delay in both load cases is reduced by 16 °crank angle.