The Spray and Combustion Laboratory features an optically accessible, high-pressure constant-volume combustion vessel designed to replicate realistic in-cylinder engine environments. The facility enables controlled studies of spray formation, ignition, and combustion under pressures up to 350 bar, temperatures up to 2000 K, and precisely adjustable oxygen and EGR compositions.
A premixed pre-burn system generates well-defined high-temperature, high-pressure ambient conditions, allowing systematic evaluation of fuel, injector, and ignition system performance in both inert and reacting environments.
Core Capabilities
- Multi-Fuel High-Pressure Injection Systems
- Gasoline, Diesel, Hydrogen, Natural Gas, Low Carbon Fuels
- Syngas, Biogas, Custom Gaseous Mixtures
- Dual-Fuel Diesel Micro-Pilot Configurations
Advanced Optical and Laser Diagnostics
- Spray structure and droplet sizing (including transient sprays)
- Ignition delay and heat release analysis
- Cavitation visualization using transparent nozzles
- Soot luminosity and chemiluminescence imaging
- PLIF/PLII, Schlieren, Mie scattering, high-speed imaging
Specialized Experimental Hardware
- Spray-wall impingement systems with heated, instrumented surfaces
- Single and multi-droplet generators for high-pressure studies
- High cross-flow ignition system characterization
Applications
- Alternative and low-carbon fuel development
- Dual-fuel and hydrogen combustion research
- Injector internal flow and cavitation studies
- Emissions formation and soot characterization
- Ignition system development