Diagnostics of Diesel Combustion

Abstract

The demands in car development are largely contradictory. The most discussed items with regard to the environment are fuel consumption and the exhaust emissions of the combustion engine. Although the development of the engine during the last few decades has made good progress, further knowledge on combustion processes is required. In addition to exact measurements of the pollutants outside the engine modern diagnostic methods like the laser techniques enable a detailed insight in the engine.

The Diesel engine is the most efficient user of fossil fuels and causes only low pollutant levels. Within the European IDEA research programme a detailed experimental and theoretical study of the fundamental phenomena like injection, mixture formation, ignition, combustion and pollutant formation was carried out. Some optical measurement procedures are explained and exemplary results of experiments especially on an optically accessible engine are presented.

This research work is continued in the IDEA EFFECT research programme that includes the combustion in a petrol engine.