Visualization of combustion performance and emission characteristics of a four-cylinder diesel engine at various inlet oxygen concentrations at part loads

Although exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is a common way to suppress the nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions, it also brings some negative impact on soot emissions and the thermal efficiency in internal combustion engines. We investigated the effects of ambient oxygen concentrations on engine performance, combustion characteristics, and emissions using a four-cylinder diesel engine equipped with an endoscopic visualization system. To estimate the flame temperature and soot distribution, we analyzed these images using a postprocessing program. Experimental results showed that the luminosity of flames in the images was degraded comparatively for the reduced oxygen concentration. Flame temperature distribution also showed similar behavior. As the oxygen concentration decreased, area of soot distribution significantly reduced at IMEP = 0.13 MPa, and only a slight decrease at IMEP = 0.3 MPa. But locally high soot concentration regions increased.