Computational and experimental study of a railplug igniter

Ellzey, Janet L.; Hall, Matthew J.; Zhao, Xiaowei

doi:10.1007/bf00190196

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…A later study by Matthews et al [3] experimentally investigated the influences of rail materials, geometry, delivered energy and electronics matching on electrode durability. Ellzey et al [4] examined railplug discharge with an axisymmetric computational model that is supported by experimental results. Note that their computational model did not solve the complete set of magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) equations, and assumed that the resistive heating due to current flow is balanced by the radiative heat losses in the plasma.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Geometrical and electromagnetic effects on arc propagation in a railplug ignitor

Ekici¹,

Matthews²,

Ezekoye³

2007

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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Three-dimensional simulation of arc motion is presented for conditions representative of those for a railplug ignitor. A railplug ignitor is a miniature rail-gun used to deliver an arc ignition source for internal combustion engine applications. Computations explored the influence of the railplug geometry, effects of an external magnetic field, and impact of the circuit current on arc velocity. One underlying question about arc motion in railplug systems has been the influence of the expansion velocity associated with energy deposition on arc motion. A single open end muzzle would result in higher velocities if the expansion effects are dominant. This was tested by simulating two types of geometries, single open end and double open end muzzles. The double open end configuration was shown to have faster arc propagation velocities. A discussion of the mechanisms is presented. A simple scaling analysis was found to explain the increased arc propagation velocity associated with application of an external magnetic field. Increasing the circuit current was found to increase the final arc propagation velocity, although the early time velocities were slower for larger currents.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Geometrical and electromagnetic effects on arc propagation in a railplug ignitor

Ekici¹,

Matthews²,

Ezekoye³

2007

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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“…The corona would move from its initial place to the other end of rails in a cavity to ignite combustible mixture. In [27], a plasma jet is produced during the process of corona moving resulting in a zone-based ignition with a high speed of flame propagation.…”

Section: ) Corona Railplugmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In zone-based ignition methods, the ignition occurs in a pre-determined area, i.e., discharge chamber as in [25], between rails as in [27]. The mechanical design of cylinder must be changed, along with the igniter, to enlarge the volume of ignition.…”

Section: Volume-based Ignitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey of greener ignition and combustion systems for internal combustion engines

Luo

Tian

et al. 2015

2015 21st International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC)

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Abstract-The spark and compression ignition principles of petrol and diesel internal combustion engines (ICEs) have not advanced for a century. These do not lead to complete combustion and hence result in high exhaust emission and low energy efficiency. This paper presents a comprehensive survey on the attempts and developments of greener ignition and combustion systems for ICEs and points out that homogeneous charge microwave ignition (

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“…Hall and coworkers (1991) presented the results from a series of experiments that included demonstration of the effects of electromagnetic forces on plasma movement, a comparison between railplug versus spark ignition, and effects of stored energy levels on railplug performance. A later study by Ellzey et al (1993) presented the results of a numerical model compared with experimental results. It is worth noting that this computational model did not solve the complete set of magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) equations.…”

Section: Models For Railplug Spark Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Railplug Ignition System for Enhanced Engine Performance and Reduced Maintenance

Ezekoye¹,

Hall²,

Matthews³

2005

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This Final Technical Report discusses the progress that was made on the experimental and numerical tasks over the duration of this project. The primary objectives of the project were to 1) develop an improved understanding of the spark ignition process, and 2) develop the railplug as an improved ignitor for large bore stationary natural gas engines.We performed fundamental experiments on the physical processes occurring during spark ignition and used the results from these experiments to aid our development of the most complete model of the spark ignition process ever devised. The elements in this model include 1) the dynamic response of the ignition circuit, 2) a chemical kinetics mechanism that is suitable for the reactions that occur in the plasma, 3) conventional flame propagation kinetics, and 4) a multi-dimensional formulation so that bulk flow through the spark gap can be incorporated. This model (i.e., a Fortran code that can be used as a subroutine within an engine modeling code such as KIVA) can be obtained from Prof. Ron Matthews at rdmatt@mail.utexas.edu or Prof. DK Ezekoye at dezekoye@mail.utexas.edu.Fundamental experiments, engine experiments, and modeling tasks were used to help develop the railplug as a new ignitor for large bore natural gas engines. As the result of these studies, we developed a railplug that could extend the Lean Stability Limit (LSL) of an engine operating at full load on natural gas from φ = 0.59 for operation on spark plugs down to φ = 0.53 using railplugs with the same delivered energy (0.7 J). However, this delivered energy would rapidly wear out the spark plug. For a conventional delivered energy (<0.05 J), the LSL is φ = 0.63 for a spark plug. Further, using a permanent magnet to aid the plasma movement, the LSL was extended to φ = 0.54 for a railplug with a delivered energy of only 0.15 J/shot, a typical discharge energy for commercial capacitive discharge ignition systems. Here, it should be noted that railplugs and the associated ignition circuit should not cost much more than a conventional spark ignition system. Additionally, it is believed that the railplug performance can be further improved via continued research and development.iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis Final Technical Report discusses the progress that was made on the experimental and numerical tasks over the duration of this project. The primary objectives of the project were to 1) develop an improved understanding of the spark ignition process, and 2) develop the railplug as an improved ignitor for large bore stationary natural gas engines.Due to these two objectives, the experimental subtasks involved 1) detailed measurements regarding the physical processes occurring during spark ignition, and 2) measurements of the factors that affect railplug performance. Similarly, the modeling subtasks involved developing an improved model for the conventional spark ignition process and developing a model for railplug performance and ignition.The four phases of spark ignition are ...

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Computational and experimental study of a railplug igniter

Cited by 7 publications

References 17 publications

Geometrical and electromagnetic effects on arc propagation in a railplug ignitor

Geometrical and electromagnetic effects on arc propagation in a railplug ignitor

Survey of greener ignition and combustion systems for internal combustion engines

Railplug Ignition System for Enhanced Engine Performance and Reduced Maintenance

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