DAYANANDA SAGAR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

SHAVIGE MALLESHWARA HILLS, KUMARSWAMY LAYOUT, BANGALORE-78

(An Autonomous Institute affiliated to VTU, Approved by AICTE &ISO 9001: 2008 Certified)
Accredited by National Assessment & Accreditation Council (NAAC) with ‘A’ Grade & NBA
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Final Year Technical Seminar

Batch No. : 37
Title: LASER INDUCED IGNITION

Name ANIRUDH S
USN 1DS16ME025
Guide Name KARTHIK M A
Designation ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
 ABSTRACT

• Laser ignition has the potential to replace the conventional electric spark plugs in engines. Compared to
conventional spark ignition, laser ignition allows more flexible choice of the ignition location inside the
combustion chamber with the possibility to ignite even inside the fuel spray. Modern engines are
required to operate under much higher compression ratios, faster compression rates, and much leaner
fuel-to-air ratios than gas engines today. It is anticipated that the igniter in these engines will face with
pressures as high as 50MPa and temperatures as high as 4000 K. Using the conventional ignition
system, the required voltage and energy must be greatly increased to reliably ignite the air and fuel
mixture under these conditions. Increasing the voltage and energy does not always improve ignitability
but it does create greater reliability problem.
• Experiments with the direct injection engine have been carried out at the fundamental wavelength of
the Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet; Nd:Y3Al5O12) laser. Experiments show that
above a certain threshold intensity of the laser beam at the optical window even highly polluted
surfaces could be cleaned with the first laser pulse which is important for operation in engines.
 INTRODUCTION

• Internal combustion engines play a dominant role in transportation and energy production.

• In technical appliances such as internal combustion engines, reliable ignition is necessary for
adequate system performance.

• Unfortunately, conventional spark plug ignition shows a major disadvantage with modern spray-
guided combustion processes since the ignition location cannot be chosen optimally.

• A laser ignition source has the potential of improving engine combustion with respect to
conventional spark plugs.
 Standard Spark Plug Ignition in an Internal
Combustion Engine
• Current internal combustion gasoline engines use spark plugs to ignite the air/fuel
mixture in each cylinder (located at the top of the combustion chamber).
• For ignition of a fuel-air mixture the fuel-air mixture is compressed and at the right
moment a high voltage is applied to the electrodes of the spark plug.
DRAWBACKS OF CONVENTIONAL IGNITION
SYSTEM

• Location of spark plug is not flexible as it requires shielding of plug from

immense heat and fuel spray.

• Leaner mixtures cannot be burned, ratio between fuel and air has to be within the
correct range.

• Flame propagation is slow.

• Erosion of spark plug electrodes.

• Degradation of electrodes at high pressure and temperature.

 WHAT IS A LASER?
• A LASER is a device that emits electromagnetic radiation through a process of optical
amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons.
• The term ‘laser’ is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
 LASER Ignition

• Laser ignition, or laser-induced ignition, is the process of starting combustion by the

stimulus of a laser light source.
• Laser ignition uses an optical breakdown of gas molecules caused by an intense laser
pulse to ignite gas mixtures.
• The beam of a powerful short pulse laser is focused by a lens into a combustion
chamber and near the focal spot and hot and bright plasma is generated, see fig.
 Laser Ignition System for an Internal
Combustion Engine

Laser ignition will replace the spark plug seen in current petrol engines.
SETUP OF LASER IGNITION
 Working principle
• The laser ignition system has a laser transmitter with a fiber-optic cable powered by the car’s
battery. It shoots the laser beam to a focusing lens that would consume a much smaller space
than current spark plugs. The lenses focus the beams into an intense pinpoint of light, and when
the fuel is injected into the engine, the laser is fired and produces enough energy (heat) to ignite
the fuel.
 Comparative Advantages of Laser Ignition

Spark ignition system Laser ignition system

• Less intense spark • More intense spark

• Leaner mixtures cannot be burned • Leaner mixture can burn effectively

• Flame propagation is slow • Flame propagation is faster

• Multi point fuel ignition is not feasible. • Easier possibility of multipoint ignition.

• It causes more NOx emission • Less NOx emission

 Additional advantages of Laser Ignition:

• It does not require maintenance to remove carbon deposits because of its Self
cleaning property.

• Precise ignition timing possible.

• High load/ignition pressures possible => increase in efficiency.

• Easier possibility of multipoint ignition.

Comparison between Spark ignition and Laser ignition

110

100 Spark ignition between

fuel spray
(Percent)

Laser ignition between

fuel spray
90
Laser ignition within
fuel spray

80
Consumption Smoothness Emissions
 Conclusion

• The applicability of a laser-induced ignition system on direct injected gasoline engine has been proven.
Main advantages are the almost free choice of the ignition location within the combustion chamber, even
inside the fuel spray.
• Significant reductions in fuel consumption as well as reductions of exhaust gases show the potential of
the laser ignition process
• At present, a laser ignition plug is very expensive compared to a standard electrical spark plug ignition
system and it is no where near ready for deployment. But the potential and advantages certainly make
the laser ignition more attractive in many practical applications.
 REFERENCES

• Laser ignition for internal combustion engines by Shantanu M.

Khandebharad and Rahul S. Benade.
• Laser versus conventional ignition of flames by Paul D. Ronney.
• Laser induced ignition of gasoline direct injection engines by Gerhard Liedl.
• Laser and types of lasers, Wikipedia and other sources.