Laser Ignition: A Promising Alternative to Spark Plugs

“LASER IGNITION –SPARK PLUG DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION IN RECIPROCATING
ENGINES”
Visvesvaraya Technological University

“JNANA SANGAMA”, Belagavi - 590 018
Seminar Report on
“LASER IGNITION SPARK PLUG DEVELOPMENT AND
APPLICATION IN RECIPROCATING ENGINES”
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Engineering
Presented by
PAVAN KHYATANAVAR
2KL18ME420
For the academic year 2020-21
Under the guidance of

S M GOLBHNVI
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
KLE Dr. M S Sheshgiri College of Engineering & Technology
Udhyambag, Belagavi - 590 008
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING
KLE Dr. M. S. Sheshgiri
College of Engineering & Technology
Udyambag, Belagavi - 590008
(Accredited by NBA)
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 1

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DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING
KLE Dr. M S SHESHGIRI
College of Engineering & Technology
Belagavi - 590 008
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the seminar entitled “LASER IGNITION SPARK PLUG
DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION IN RECIPROCATING ENGINES” is
submitted by PAVAN KHYATANAVAR, USN:2KL18ME420 a bonafide student of
KLE Dr. M. S. Sheshgiri College of Engineering and Technology, Belagavi, in partial
fulfillment for the award of Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering
department affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi during the
year 2020-21. It is certified that all corrections/suggestions indicated have been
incorporated in the report deposited in the departmental library. The report has been
approved as it satisfies the academic requirements in respect of seminar work
prescribed for the said degree.
S M GOLBHNVI Dr. C. V. ADAKE Dr. B. G. KATAGERI

Assistant Professor, Head of Department, Principal,
Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering. KLE Dr. MSS CET,
KLE Dr. MSS CET, KLE Dr. MSS CET, Belagavi
Belagavi Belagavi

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It gives me immense pleasure to write an acknowledgement to this seminar
report, a contribution of all people who helped me realize it.
I take this opportunity to express our respectful regards to our beloved Principal
Dr. B. G. KATAGERI for permitting us to do this seminar.
Also I express my deep sense of gratitude and appreciation to our beloved
HOD, Dr. C.V.ADAKE for this enthusiastic inspiration and amiability in all phases of
our seminar.
With due respect I would like to express my sincere thanks to our seminar guide
Prof. S.M.GOLBHNVI for his struggling effort and timely guidance, patience in
solving our doubts, which kept cropping up in the due course of my seminar work
needs special credits.
With due respect I would like to say thanks to my seminar coordinator

Prof. N.K.KELAGERI for his extreme support.
My sincere thanks to all those people who have contributed to this seminar in
every step of this like all our Mechanical Staff and My Friends.
PAVAN KHYATANAVAR

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DECLARATION
I, Mr. PAVAN KHYATANAVAR (USN: 2KL18ME420), hereby declare that the Seminar
work entitled “LASER IGNITION –SPARK PLUG DEVELOPMENT AND
APPLICATION IN RECIPROCATING ENGINES” has been independently compiled and
carried out by me, under the guidance of PROF. S.M.GOLBHNVI, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, KLE Dr. M S Sheshagiri College of Engineering and Technology,
Belagavi. in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree of Bachelor of
Engineering in Mechanical Engineering at Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi.
I further declare that no part of it has been submitted for the award, degree or diploma
to any university or institute previously.
Place : BELAGAVI Mr.PAVAN KHYATANAVAR

Date : USN: 2KL18ME420

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures i
List of Tables ii
CHAPTER NO. CONTENTS PAGE NO.
1. Introduction 08
2. Literature Survey 10
3. Spark Ignition System 12
4. Laser Ignition system 13
5. Laser spark plug development and application 18

in laser ignition
6. Advantages and Disadvantages 20
7. Conclusion 22
8. References 23

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Details Page Number
Fig 3.1: 4 STROKE CYCLE 12
Fig 4.1 PRINCIPLE OF LASER IGNITION 14
Fig 4.2 LASER ARRANGEMENT 15
Fig 4.3 COMBUSTION CHAMBER WINDOW 16
Fig 4.4 LASER ARRANGEMENT SYSTEM 16
Fig 4.5 LASER PER CYLINDER SYSTEM 17
Fig 6.1 LASER IGNITION AND SPARK IGNITION 21

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LIST OF TABLES
TABLE DETAILS PAGE

NUMBER
Table 1: TYPES OF LASER AND THEIR EMISSION WAVELENGTH 14

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Vehicles powered by internal combustion engines are still predominantly applied, but human
concerns about environmental impact of the ongoing use have grown meanwhile. They
triggered and intensified further investigations in various related research subjects of this
field. The prevailing development for future engines focussed on combustion systems that
can burn different fuels, but are moreover capable of addressing several critical requests, such
as fuel economy or decreased emission of exhaust gases without reducing the engine
efficiency or power. Since the early 20th century, high-voltage spark plugs are predominantly
applied to initiate combustion in a fixed location and at a certain moment within each engine
cycle. Constant improvements have made the electrical spark plug more effective and
reliable, still being a simple and inexpensive ignition device. On the other hand, an electrical
spark plug has reduced capability in igniting diluted air-fuel mixtures and presents limited
performance under high-pressure conditions. Furthermore, the spark position is determined
by the cylinder geometry, resulting in inflexibility of the ignition spot position inside the
combustion chamber. Electric spark plug electrodes suffer from wetting and erosion, and their
protrusion into the cylinder volume can quench the kernel of the emerging flame during
combustion. Lasers are attractive ignition sources as proven by extensive research in the field
of laser ignition (LI) performed in the last few decades. In competing with electric spark plug
ignition LI offers several advantages, at least theoretically. First, there is no quenching effect
of the combustion flame kernel. This is because a laser beam can be transferred to and
subsequently focussed into an engine cylinder by a few optical elements (in general these are
some lenses and a window) that are placed externally to the cylinder. The internal protruding
electrodes of an electrical spark plug are redundant. Another major advantage of LI is the
ability to target the laser beam to any benefiting point within the combustion chamber. In this
way the flame propagation distance can be optimized and the combustion duration can be
reduced. Furthermore, LI offers the possibility to deliver the beam simultaneously to different
spots, realizing the so-called ‘spatial multipoint ignition’ (i.e. the spatial control of LI).
Additionally, a train of laser pulses can be aimed at the same spot within a very short time
span, achieving multiple-pulse ignition or the temporal control of LI. Namely these two last
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features could offer ignition devices for reciprocating engines of lean air-fuel mixtures or
high-pressure mixtures, although they are not easy to be exploited. Considering all these
advantages, LI has been investigated in stationary gas engines for energy cogeneration, in
ground-based turbines, aero turbines and rocket engines, in scramjet engines or in
reciprocating engines. Up to now there seems to be no commercial combustion engine that is
driven by such an LI system, or at least that was operated with LI for a long time period
(comparable with the lifetime of an electrical spark plug). Only recently, i.e. after 2012–2013,
automobiles with gasoline engines were entirely run with laser sparks by two research groups
(details to be given later). The purpose of this work is to review the research done on LI of
internal combustion engines, especially on gasoline engines. A short history of LI
development will be presented in section 2. Section 3 is dedicated to the steps taken to
develop a spark-plug-like laser system and its application in LI of automobile engines.
Several approaches for delivering the laser radiation inside of the engine cylinder, like a)
transporting the beam through a fiber from a remote laser or b) positioning the laser spark
plug on the engine similar to a traditional spark plug, are discussed. The pump of a laser
spark with conventional diode laser or further use of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser
(VCSEL) as pump source is considered. Multi-point LI and its advantages on the ignition of
an engine are reviewed. Following many years of research the achievement obtained in
Japan, where the first car was run only by laser sparks, is noted. The results obtained at the
National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics (INFLPR), Magurele, Romania in
the field of LI of an automobile engine will be discussed. Several results obtained by LI of
natural gas reciprocating engines are mentioned. To take full advantage of LI of an engine, a
basic understanding of the LI process is necessary. Therefore, an overview of optical
measurement techniques to investigate and to characterize the LI process is given in section
4. Results obtained by the research group from Bayreuth University, Germany regarding the
characteristics of LI are discussed in this section, but also the work of other research groups
is referenced. Section 5 concludes this work.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY
1. Swapnil S. Harel, Mohnish Khairnar, Vipul Sonawane [1] In this paper he discussed
experimental results regarding measurements of fuel consumption and emissions which prove
that laser ignition has important advantages compared to conventional spark ignition system
even moderate pulse energies should be sufficient for laser induced ignition of combustibles.
Exhaust emissions are reduced by nearly 20%.
2. Pankaj Hatwar, Durgesh Verma [2] In this paper he discussed an experiment which
explains ignition of slow combustion processes. It gives required pulse energy for successful
ignition decreases with increasing pressure.This paper explains how laser ignition consumes
less fuel compared to spark plug ignition.
3. Abhishek Saxena [3] In this paper, it is described how a revolutionary change has come
after the positive research work on laser igniters which can replace the conventional spark
plug in near future very soon. This replacement of conventional spark plugs to laser igniters
will be a milestone in the automobile industry. Laser igniters will be able to combust the fuel
with lean air-fuel mixture as compared to conventional spark plug, which helps to lower
down the Nox emission and gives better fuel efficiency and a better clean environment.
4. M.Srinivasnaik, Dr.T.V.V.Sudhakar, Dr.B.Balunaik, Dr.A.SomiReddy [4] Laser ignition

system allows 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. Laser ignition is non intrusive
in nature; high energy can be rapidly deposited, has limited heat losses, and is capable of
multipoint ignition of combustible charges. More importantly, it shows better minimum
ignition energy requirement than electric spark systems with lean and rich fuel/air mixtures.
5.Nicolale Pavel ,Peter Heinz[5] In comparison with conventional ignition by electric spark
plugs, laser ignition offers a number of potential benefits. Those most often discussed are: no
quenching of the combustion flame kernel; the ability to deliver (laser) energy to any location
of interest in the combustion chamber; the possibility of delivering the beam simultaneously
to different positions, and the temporal control of ignition. If these advantages can be
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exploited in practice, the engine efficiency may be improved and reliable operation at lean
air-fuel mixtures can be achieved, making feasible savings in fuel consumption and reduction
in emission of exhaust gasses. Therefore, laser ignition can enable important new approaches
to address global concerns about the environmental impact of continued use of reciprocating
engines in vehicles and power plants, with the aim of diminishing pollutant levels in the
atmosphere. The technology can also support increased use of electrification in powered
transport, through its application to ignition of hybrid (electric-gas) engines, and the efficient
combustion of advanced fuels.

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CHAPTER 3
SPARK IGNITION SYSTEM
In a petrol engine, the fuel and air are usually pre-mixed before compression. The pre-mixing
was formerly done in a carburetor, but now (except in the smallest engines) it is done by
electronically controlled fuel injection. In this system fuel entering the engine cylinder is
ignited by means of a spark. The required amount of fuel is induced into the cylinder during
suction stroke. This fuel is ignited during the compression stroke by a spark produced by a
spark plug. Due to the combustion of fuel large amounts of heat and high pressure gases are
produced which expand causing linear motion of the piston.
Figure 3.1: Four Stroke Cycle
3.1 Drawbacks of Conventional Spark Ignition

i. Location of spark plug is not flexible as it requires shielding of plug from immense heat
and fuel spray.
ii. It is not possible to ignite inside the fuel spray.
iii. It requires frequent maintenance to remove carbon deposits.
iv. Leaner mixtures cannot be burned.

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v. Degradation of electrodes at high pressure and temperature. vi. Flame propagation is slow.
vii. Multi point fuel ignition is not feasible.
CHAPTER 4
LASER IGNITION SYSTEM
4.1 Laser
Lasers provide intense and unidirectional beam of light.Laser light is
monochromatic (one specific wavelength). Wavelength of light is determined by amount
of energy released when an electron drops to lower orbit. Light is coherent; all the photons
have the same wave fronts that launch to unison. Laser light has tight beam and is strong and
concentrated. To make these three properties occur takes something called “Stimulated
Emission”, in which photon emission is organized.
4.2 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.
The process begins with multi-photon ionization of few gas molecules which
releases electrons that readily absorb more photons to increase their kinetic energy.
Electrons liberated by this means collide with other molecules and ionize them, leading to
an electron avalanche, and breakdown of the gas. Multiphoton absorption processes are
usually essential for the initial stage of breakdown because the available photon energy at
visible and near IR wavelengths is much smaller than the ionization energy. For very
short pulse duration (few picoseconds) the multiphoton processes alone must provide
breakdown, since there is insufficient time for electron-molecule collision to occur. Thus
this avalanche of electrons and resultant ions collide with each other producing immense
heat hence creating plasma which is sufficiently strong to ignite the fuel.The wavelength
of laser depend upon the absorption properties of the laser and the minimum energy
required depends upon the number of photons required for producing the electron
avalanche.
There are four mechanisms by virtue of which LI is able to ignite the air-fuel mixture.
They are,
i. Thermal initiation (TI)
ii. Non-resonant breakdown (NRB)
iii. Resonant breakdown (RB)
iv. Photo chemical ignition (PCI)
Amongst the above mentioned mechanisms NRB is used the most.
4.2.1 Non Resonant Breakdown
In NRB, the focused laser beam creates an electric field of sufficient intensity to
cause dielectric breakdown of the air-fuel mixture.The process begins with multi-photon

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ionisation of few gas molecules which releases electrons that readily absorb more photon
to increase their kinetic energy. Electrons liberated by this means collide with other
molecules and ionise them, leading to an electron avalanche and breakdown of the gas.
Multi-photon absorption processes are usually essential for the initial stage of breakdown
because the available photon energy at visible and near IR wavelengths is much smaller
than the ionisation energy.For very short pulse duration (few picoseconds) the multi
photon processes alone must provide breakdown, since there is insufficient time for
electron-molecule collision to occur.Thus this avalanche of electrons and resultant ions
collide with each other producing immense heat hence creating plasma which is
sufficiently strong to ignite the fuel.
4.3 Types of Lasers and Their Emission Wavelength
Table 4.1: Types of Lasers and Their Emission Wavelengths [3]
Laser Type Wavelength (nm)

Argon fluoride (UV) 193
Krypton fluoride (UV) 248
Xenon chloride (UV) 308
Nitrogen (UV) 337
Argon (blue) 488
Argon (green) 514
Helium neon (green) 543
Helium neon (red) 633
Rhodamine 6G dye (tunable) 570-650
Ruby (CrAlO3) (red) 694
Nd:Yag (NIR) 1064
Carbon dioxide (FIR) 10600
Figure 4.1: Principle of Laser Ignition
4.4.1 Working
The laser ignition system has a laser transmitter with a fibre-optic cable powered

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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 by passing through an optical window, and when the fuel is injected into
the engine, the laser is fired and produces enough energy (heat) to ignite the fuel.
The laser beam is passed through a convex lens, this convex lens diverge the beam
and make it immensely strong and sufficient enough to start combustion at that point.
Hence the fuel is ignited, at the focal point is adjusted where the ignition is required to
have.The plasma generated by the laser
beam results in two of the following actions:
i. Emission of high energy photons
ii. Generation of shock waves
The high energy photons heat and ionize the charge present in the path of laser beam
which can be seen from the propagation of the flame which propagates longitudinally
along the laser beam.The shock waves carry energy outwards from the laser beam and
thus help in propagation of flame as shown in the above figure.
4.5 Parts of Laser Ignition System
A laser ignition device for irradiating and condensing laser beams in a combustion
chamber of an internal combustion engine so as to ignite fuel particles within the
combustion chamber, includes: a laser beam generating unit for emitting the laser beams;
and a condensing optical member for guiding the laser beams into the combustion
chamber such that the laser beams are condensed in the combustion chamber.
Figure 4.2: Laser Arrangement With Respect to Engine [1]
4.2.1 Power Source

The average power requirements for a laser spark plug are relatively modest. A

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four stroke engine operating at maximum of 1200 rpm requires an ignition spark 10 times
per second or 10Hz (1200rpm/2x60). For example 1-Joule/pulse electrical diode pumping
levels we are readily able to generate high mill joule levels of Q-switched energy. This
provides us with an average power requirement for the laser spark plug of say
approximately 1-Joule times 10Hz equal to approximately 10 Watts.
4.2.2Combustion Chamber Window
Since the laser ignition system is located outside the combustion chamber a
window is required to optically couple the laser beam. The window must:
i. Withstand the thermal and mechanical stresses from the engine.
ii. Withstand the high laser power.
iii. Exhibit low propensity to fouling.
Figure 4.3: Combustion Chamber Window [1]

4.2.3 Optic Fiber Wire
It is used to transport the laser beam from the generating unit to the focusing unit.
4.2.4 Focusing Unit
A set of optical lenses are used to focus the laser beam into the combustion
chamber. The focal length of the lenses can be varied according to where ignition is
required. The lenses used may be either combined or separated.

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Figure 4.4: Laser Arrangement System

4.8 Equipment used by University of Liverpool
There are a number of different ways to deliver the laser beam to each of the four
cylinders in the test engine.
i. One could have an individual laser for each cylinder.

ii. One could use a single laser, or a pair of laser heads, and split the beam
iii. Deliver the beam via an optical fiber.
An optical bench is created beside the test engine, with the laser fixed to it
horizontally – although they also ran some experiments with the laser positioned above
the test engine.They used two beam splitters and four engine mirrors mounted at a 45°
angle to direct the beams towards the cylinders.

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Figure 4.5: Laser per Cylinder System [1]

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CHAPTER 5
LASER SPARK PLUG DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION
IN
LASER IGNITION
5.1. Fiber delivery for laser ignition application
The results mentioned in Section 2 were obtained with combustion chambers (open chambers
or single cylinders); a transparent window was used to insert the laser beam inside the
chamber and focusing was done with lenses. The beams were delivered by
commercial lasers that were positioned nearby the engine. Still, although not yet practical,
such an experimental set-up can be improved. One solution investigated for transferring the
laser pulse from the source to the engine is by use of an optical fiber. The flexibility of
a fiber allows a free transfer path, with less influence of vibrations on optical alignment. It is
also not prone to dirt and pollution and requires small space necessary for mounting. In
addition, the beam exiting the fiber end can be relatively easily focused into the
combustion chamber.A variety of optical fibers, like step-index fibers with diameters between
100 μm and 1000 μm, hollow-core dielectric capillarity
fibers, hollow glass fibers with cyclic olefin polymer-coated silver and hollow-core photonic
crystal fibers were tested by Stakhiv et al.[25]. It was concluded that only the hollow-core
photonic crystal fibers could be a candidate for practical use in LI.
The first delivery of ns-laser pulses through flexible fibers and generation of optical sparks in
gasses at atmospheric pressure was reported by Yalin et al. [26]. The light source was a
Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm with 8 ns pulse duration at 5 Hz repetition rate and
good beam quality (laser beam M2 < 2). The beam was launched in a cyclic olefin
polymer-coated silver hollow fiber with an inner diameter of 700 μmand a length of 1m. The
transmitted beam presented a high optical intensity (about 2 GW/cm2) and good
divergence(~0.01 rad half angle) when the coupling into the fiber was made at a low angle
(~0.01 rad half angle). In these conditions, nearly 70% of the input laser energy of 47 mJ was
transmitted through the fiber. This allowed focusing of the transmitted laser beam to high
intensity,
enough to generate sparks. The effect of fiber bending on the characteristics of the
transmitted laser beam was also investigated. A decrease of the transmission was measured
when bending curvature was increased, which in turn lead to reduced optical intensity of
the focused beam and lower probability for creating optical sparks.A hollow core photonic
crystal fiber (PCF) with a diameter of 15 μm was used by Al-Janabi to transport the laser
beam of a Qswitched Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm, with 5.5 ns pulse duration and quality
M2~1.8 [27]. The fiber was contained inside a vacuum chamber to avoid breakdown in the
air that fills the fiber. Methane-air mixtures were ignited with laser pulses of only 150 μJ that
were focused with an aspherical lens to a diameter of about 4 μm. An extensive analysis of
various types of fibers aiming the delivery of laser beams with the high intensity required for
spark formation was made by Joshi et al. [28]. Olefin polymer coated hollow core fibers 2m
in length with core diameter of 1 mm, considered reasonable for a practical LI system, were
employed in the experiments. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm wavelength) with 8 ns
pulse duration at 10 Hz repetition rate and beam quality M2 < 2 was the laser source. It was
find out that the launch conditions of the laser beam into the hollow fiber has a significant
influence on mode coupling, the transmission and the quality of the transmitted beam.

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The effect of fiber bending on the fiber transmission performances was also investigated. In a
separate experiment, laser breakdown in air was obtained with pulses of 2.4 mJ energy and
0.7 ns duration (i.e. 3.4MW peak power) yielded by an 80 μm core fiber laser
amplifier. This was the first demonstration that fiber lasers can be used to realize optical
sparks. It was also concluded that solid-core fibers are not suitable for the transport of beams
that can induce spark at atmospheric conditions. Still, the use of such fibers was feasible
with a reduction in the output numerical aperture (NA) and at high pressure conditions. Later,
El-Rabii and Gaborel demonstrated LI of n-heptane/air and JP4/air mixtures via a solid core
optical fiber [29]. Beam delivery of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (at 1064 nm, ns
duration pulses) was achieved through optical fibers of 150 cm length and with various
diameters (between 200 μm and 940 μm). Laser pulses with maximum energy of 45 mJ were
transmitted through a fiber with a diameter of 940 μm. No sparking was recorded in the air
at atmospheric pressure. Nevertheless, the transmitted pulses could be focused sufficiently to
ignite in similar conditions the fuel-air mixtures used in the experiments. Moreover, sparks in
the air were produced at pressures above 4 bar. It was pointed out that critical parameters for
LI are the coupling conditions and the fiber curvature. The group from the University of
Liverpool has also investigated the possibility to use optical fibers in a laser-induced ignition
system by delivering high-power laser beams to an optical plug [30]. Multi-mode step-index
silica fibers, sapphire fibers, large mode area PCFs and multi-mode PCFs with ultra-high NA,
all with a length of 1m and having various core sizes (ranging between 35 μm and 600 μm)
and NA (0.046–0.64) were used in the experiments. The testing was done with a
flash-lamped pumped, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm delivering pulses with 15 ns
duration. Investigations were performed on a Ford Zetec IC test engine with the fiber optical
plug mounted in one cylinder; the other cylinders were operated by electrical spark plugs.
The use of free standing fiber ends, in the case of step-index silica fiber, increases the damage
threshold to 9 GW/cm2 from the ~3 GW/cm2 threshold measured when fixing of fibers with
adhesive in SMA connectors. The damage thresholds for both PCFs were measured to be ~7
GW/cm2. The sapphire fibers presented the lowest damage threshold of ~4 GW/cm2. The
influence of fiber bending on the output beam intensity profile and optical losses was
studied. It was also found that engine vibrations and engine speed has an influence on the
divergence of the transmitted laser beam,effects that are not desirable for an LI system with
fiber-delivery. Step-index silica fibers with diameters of 400 μmand 600 μmand NA of
0.12 and 0.22 were tested on the engine. The percentage of LI combustion events was around
35% for the 600 μm diameter fiber (65 mJ transmitted energy) and only 8% for the 400 μm
diameter fiber (50 mJ transmitted energy). These results were not considered reliable,
but further online tests gave data that were considered encouraging for achieving 100%
combustion percentage with a fiber beam N. Pavel et al. Progress in Quantum Electron ics 58
(2018) 1–32
5

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CHAPTER 6
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
6.1 Comparative Advantages of Laser Ignition
Spark Ignition System

i. Less intense spark
ii. Restrictions while choosing the ignition location
iii. Leaner mixtures cannot be burned
iv. Spark plug ignite the charge in a fixed position, so they can’t cope with a stratified
charge.
v. Flame propagation is slow
vi. Multi point fuel ignition is not feasible.
vii. NOX emission: Ratio between fuel and air has to be within the correct range. It
causes more NOx emission.
Laser Ignition System

i. More intense spark
ii. Free choice of the ignition location within the combustion chamber
iii. Leaner fuel can burn effectively
iv. Laser ignition system could cope with a stratified charge.
v. Flame propagation is relatively fast resulting in shorter combustion time
vi. Easier possibility of multipoint ignition
vii. NOx emission: Engines would produce less NOx if they burnt more air and less
fuel, but they would require the plugs to produce higher energy sparks in order to
do so. Less NOx emission.

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Figure 6.1: Laser Ignition and Spark Plug Ignition [1]
Additional advantages of LI
i. Absence of quenching effects by the spark plug electrodes

ii. No erosion effects as in the case of the spark plugs.
iii. System expected to be significantly longer than that of a spark plug
iv. High load/ignition pressures possible increase in efficiency
v. Precise ignition timing possible
vi. Exact regulation of the ignition energy deposited in the ignition plasma
vii. Easier possibility of multipoint ignition
viii. Shorter ignition delay time and shorter combustion time
6.2 Disadvantages
i. The only disadvantages of LI system are that its setup cost is too high.

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CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
i. Laser ignition system allows almost free choice of the ignition location within
the combustion chamber, even inside the fuel spray.
ii. Significant reductions in fuel consumption as well as reductions of exhaust
gases show the potential of the laser ignition process.
iii. Minimum ignition energy is mainly determined by the necessary “selfcleaning”
mechanism at the beam entrance window from combustion deposits
and not by engineer related parameters.
iv. Laser ignition is nonintrusive in nature; high energy can be rapidly deposited,
has limited heat losses, and is capable of multipoint ignition of combustible
charges.
v. More importantly, it shows better minimum ignition energy requirement than
electric spark systems with lean and rich fuel/air mixtures.
vi. It possesses potentials for combustion enhancement and better immunity to
spurious signals that may accidentally trigger electric igniters.
vii. Although the laser will need to fire more than 50 times per second to produce
3000 RPM, it will require less power than current spark plugs. The lasers can
also reflect back from inside the cylinders to relay information based on fuel
type used and the level of ignition, enabling cars to readjust the quantities of
air and fuel for optimum performance.
viii.At present, a laser ignition plug is very expensive compared to a standard
electrical spark plug ignition system and it is nowhere near ready for
deployment. But the potential and advantages certainly make the laser ignition
more attractive in many practical applications.

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REFERENCES
1) Swapnil S. Harel, Mohnish Khairnar, Vipul Sonawane: “Laser Ignition System for IC
Engines”; International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Volume 3 Issue 7, July
2014 Paper ID: 020141066.
2) Pankaj Hatwar, Durgesh Verma: “Laser Ignition System in internal combustion

system”; International Journal of Modern Engineering Research (IJMER), Volume 2,
Issue 2- Mar-Apr 2012 pp-341-345.
3) Abhishek Saxena: “Laser Ignition System In I C Engines For Cleaner Environment”;

International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology
(IARJSET), Vol. 2, Issue 1, April 2015, pp-381-384.
4) M.Srinivasnaik, Dr.T.V.V.Sudhakar, Dr.B.Balunaik, Dr.A.SomiReddy:“Laser Ignition

System for Internal Combustion Engine”; International Journal Of Engineering And
Computer Science ISSN:2319-7242, Volume 4 Issue 4 April 2015, pp-11407-11412.
5) Nicolaie Pavel , Mark B€arwinkel, Peter Heinz , Dieter Brüggemann ,
Geoff Dearden , Gabriela Croitoru , Oana Valeria Grigore “Laser ignition - Spark
plug development and application in reciprocating engines”

Laser Ignition: A Promising Alternative to Spark Plugs

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Laser Ignition: A Promising Alternative to Spark Plugs

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“LASER IGNITION –SPARK PLUG DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION IN RECIPROCATING

Visvesvaraya Technological University

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the award of the degree of

For the academic year 2020-21

Under the guidance of

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 1

DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION IN RECIPROCATING ENGINES” is

submitted by PAVAN KHYATANAVAR, USN:2KL18ME420 a bonafide student of

KLE Dr. M. S. Sheshgiri College of Engineering and Technology, Belagavi, in partial

fulfillment for the award of Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering

department affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi during the

year 2020-21. It is certified that all corrections/suggestions indicated have been

approved as it satisfies the academic requirements in respect of seminar work

prescribed for the said degree.

S M GOLBHNVI Dr. C. V. ADAKE Dr. B. G. KATAGERI

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 2

Also I express my deep sense of gratitude and appreciation to our beloved

With due respect I would like to say thanks to my seminar coordinator

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 3

Place : BELAGAVI Mr.PAVAN KHYATANAVAR

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 4

CHAPTER NO. CONTENTS PAGE NO.

3. Spark Ignition System 12

4. Laser Ignition system 13

5. Laser spark plug development and application 18

6. Advantages and Disadvantages 20

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 5

Fig 3.1: 4 STROKE CYCLE 12

Fig 4.1 PRINCIPLE OF LASER IGNITION 14

Fig 4.2 LASER ARRANGEMENT 15

Fig 4.3 COMBUSTION CHAMBER WINDOW 16

Fig 4.4 LASER ARRANGEMENT SYSTEM 16

Fig 4.5 LASER PER CYLINDER SYSTEM 17

Fig 6.1 LASER IGNITION AND SPARK IGNITION 21

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 6

TABLE DETAILS PAGE

Table 1: TYPES OF LASER AND THEIR EMISSION WAVELENGTH 14

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 7

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 9

4. M.Srinivasnaik, Dr.T.V.V.Sudhakar, Dr.B.Balunaik, Dr.A.SomiReddy [4] Laser ignition

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 11

Figure 3.1: Four Stroke Cycle

3.1 Drawbacks of Conventional Spark Ignition

ii. It is not possible to ignite inside the fuel spray.

iii. It requires frequent maintenance to remove carbon deposits.

iv. Leaner mixtures cannot be burned.

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 12

4.2 Laser Ignition

4.2.1 Non Resonant Breakdown

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 13

Table 4.1: Types of Lasers and Their Emission Wavelengths [3]

Laser Type Wavelength (nm)

Figure 4.1: Principle of Laser Ignition

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 14

4.5 Parts of Laser Ignition System

Figure 4.2: Laser Arrangement With Respect to Engine [1]

4.2.1 Power Source

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 15

Figure 4.3: Combustion Chamber Window [1]

4.2.4 Focusing Unit

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGPage 16

Figure 4.4: Laser Arrangement System