A bundle of optical fibers was constructed to deliver Q-switched frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser pulses for the purpose of particle image velocimetry. Data loss that is due to fiber speckle was reduced by ensuring that each fiber was different in length by more than the coherence length of the laser being delivered. Hence, their speckle patterns will overlap but not interfere, producing more even illumination that is shown to reduce data loss. A custom-made diffractive optical element and careful endface preparation help to reduce damage to the fibers by the required high peak powers. With this method, pulse energies in excess of 25 mJ were delivered for a series of experimental trials within the cylinder head of an optically accessed internal combustion engine. Results from these trials are presented along with a comparison of measurements generated by conventionally delivered beams.

The use of a hollow-core fibre waveguide to deliver a light sheet for particle image velocimetry (PIV) inside an optically accessed internal combustion engine is presented. Fibre delivery applied to such small scale, high-speed fluid flow applications gives the potential to minimize the optical access required to an enclosed measurement volume. A 0.54 mm internal diameter hollow fibre was used to deliver 13 mJ, 8 ns pulses from a frequency-doubled (532 nm) Nd:YAG laser. The output from the fibre was focused into a thin light sheet and used to take PIV measurements as the test engine was cycled. Comparative measurements were also taken using a conventionally (bulk optic) delivered light sheet with closely similar properties. The PIV data taken using the two techniques are compared to demonstrate that the use of a hollow-core fibre generates similar data quality to conventional measurement techniques and is a viable alternative when complex access is required.

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) has been used here to study the formation and breakdown of barrel swirl (‘tumble’) in a production geometry, four-stroke, four-valve, motored, spark-ignition, optically accessed internal combustion (IC) engine. The barrel swirl ratio (BSR) of the cylinder head could be enhanced by means of a port face inducer gasket so that the flow processes taking place at low and high swirl ratios could be investigated conveniently. Double-exposed images from planes both parallel and perpendicular to the cylinder axis were recorded at selected crank angles through the induction and compression strokes at a motored engine speed of 1000 r/min, with a wide open throttle, for both high and low BSR cases. The recorded images were interrogated by digital autocorrelation to give two-dimensional maps of instantaneous velocity. In both high and low BSR cases, a barrel or tumbling vortex motion is generated during induction, which is shown to persist throughout the majority of the compression stroke. The details of barrel swirl formation during induction and its subsequent modification during compression, however, differ strongly between the two cases. These differences can be explained qualitatively in terms of two main events; the first being competition during induction between vortices of unequal strength and the second being competition between the large-scale swirl motion and the local flow field generated by piston motion during compression. In the low barrel swirl case, significant dissipation occurs owing to these interactions and consequently the large-scale motion exhibits lower mean velocities and undergoes significant distortion. In the case of high BSR, the competition effects are minimized and a single ordered vertical vortex exhibiting high velocity magnitudes is observed to avoid piston induced distortion. It then moves into the apex of the pent roof combustion chamber where it survives as a single ordered vortex until at least 40° crank angle (CA) before top dead centre (TDC). Limitations and developments of the PIV technique are discussed.

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