Analysis of flame kinematics and cycle variation in a Port Fuel Injection Spark Ignition Engine

This paper reports on the analysis of flame kinematics and cycle variation in port fuel injection (PFI) spark ignition (SI) engine. The engine was equipped with a four-valve head and with an external boost device. Different operating conditions were considered. Cycle-resolved digital imaging was used to investigate flame motion and the effects of an abnormal combustion due to the firing of fuel deposition near the intake valves and on the piston surface. Various algorithms are applied to the acquired images. Coefficients of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) were computed and used for a statistical analysis of cycle variability. The advantage is that the analysis can be run on a small number of scalar coefficients rather than on the full data set of pixel valued luminosity. POD modes are then discriminated by means of normality tests, to separate the mean from the coherent and the incoherent parts of the fluctuation of the luminosity field, in a non truncated representation of the data.