Seminar Presentation on Laser Ignition

System

SUBMITTED BYBHAVESH B.WARKHEDE

PROJECT GUIDE [G4]A.A.PARALKAR

• It's widely accepted that the internal combustion engines will continue to power our vehicles. Hence, as the global mobilization of people and goods increases, advances in combustion and after-treatment are needed to reduce the environmental impact of the continued use of IC engine vehicles.

• New engines are becoming increasingly complex, with advanced combustion mechanisms that burn an increasing variety of fuels to meet future goals on performance, fuel economy and emissions.

• One of the alternative is the laser ignition system (LIS) being described here. Compared to a conventional spark plug, a LIS should be a favorable ignition source in terms of lean burn characteristics and system flexibility. So, in this seminar we'll be discussing the implementation and impact of LIS on IC engines.

INTRODUCTION

What is 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.

How does a laser work?

Lasers are monochromatic, It all starts with the electrons. By sending energy to a system we can achieve what is known as population inversion. This means that there are more electrons in the excited states than those in the lower energy states. As one electron releases energy (a photon), the other electrons strangely seem to communicate with each other and also begin releasing photons.

Types of laserThere are four types of lasers they are as following: 1. Chemical laser: Hydrogen fluoride laser (2700-2900 nm) 2. Exclimer laser: Excimer lasers produce ultraviolet light 3. Solid-state laser: neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) Nd:YAG Lasers can produce high powers in the infrared spectrum at 1064 4. Semiconductor laser: Laser diodes produce wavelengths from 405 nm to 1550 nm. Low power laser diodes are used in laser pointers, laser printers, and CD/DVD players.

Current spark ignition system

COMPONENTS OF LASER IGNITION ENGINE

• Power Source• Combustion Chamber Windows• Optic Fiber Wire• Focusing unit• Laser Spark Plug

CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING OF LASER IGNITION SYSTEM

Ignition in combustion chamber

Convex lens

Laser beam

Construction

Working arrangement with Respect to Engine

ENGINE EXPERIMENTS

LASER USED IS ND: YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet)

• Location of spark plug is flexible as it does not require shielding from immense heat and fuel spray and focal point can be made anywhere in the combustion chamber from any point It is possible to ignite inside the fuel spray as there is no physical component at ignition location.

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

• Leaner mixtures can be burned as fuel ignition inside combustion chamber • High pressure and temperature does not affect the performance allowing the use

of high compression ratios.• Lasers promise less pollution• The laser also produces more stable combustion so you need to put less fuel into

the cylinder, therefore increasing efficiency.• Optical wire and laser setup is much smaller than the current sparkplug model,

allowing for different design opportunities.• Lasers will reduce erosion. • Easier possibility of multipoint ignition.• Shorter ignition delay time and shorter combustion time.• Absence of quenching effects by the spark plug electrodes.• Lasers can reflect back from inside the cylinders relaying information such as

fuel type and level of ignition creating optimum performance.

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

• high system costs• concept proven, but no commercial system available in market yet. • Laser induced optical damage

• According to the latest international reports, Mazda’s upcoming rotary sports car could feature laser ignition technology. This would replace the spark plug ignition system which is currently applied to every petrol car on the market. It’s also a setup a revolution in spark plug which has been not change around since 1860

• Ford motor

APPLICATION

• Cost• Concept proven, but no commercial system yet available.• Stability of optical window• Beam Delivery/Laser induced optical damage• Particle Deposits• Intelligent control• Laser Distribution• Multiple pulse ignition• Multiple point ignition

FUTURE SCOPE

CONCLUSION

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. Minimum ignition energy is mainly determined by the necessary “self-cleaning” mechanism at the beam entrance window from combustion deposits and not by engine related parameters. No differences of the laser ignition process could be found at different laser wavelengths.

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.

REFERENCES

 [1] J. Ma, D. Alexander, and D. Poulain, “Laser spark ignition and combustion characteristics of methane-airmixtures,” Combustion and Flame, pp. 492–506, 1998 [2] J. Syage, E. Fournier, R. Rianda, and R. Cohn,“Dynamics of flame propagation using laser-induced spark initiation: Ignition energy measurements,” Journal of Applied Physics, pp. 1499–1507, 1988.  [3] M. Gower, “ laser-induced breakdown of gases,” Opt.Commune, pp.43–45, 1981. [4] R. Hill, “Ignition-delay times in laser initiated combustion,” Applied Optics, pp. 2239–2242, 1981. [5] T. Huges, Plasma and laser light, Adam Hilger, Bristol,1975.

[6] Research paper of International Journal of Modern Engineering Research by Nitish Sharma Mechanical Dept. K L University