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Reducing the cycle-to-cycle variation in an engine is a key to expanding the operational limits of high-efficiency engines such as lean-burn engines. The cycle-to-cycle variation of the engine output is caused by unstable combustion and is especially induced by the cycle-to-cycle variation of the in-cylinder flow. This investigation aims to clarify how the cycle-to-cycle variation of in-cylinder flow develops during intake and compression strokes. To achieve this aim, 12 kHz time-resolved particle image velocimetry measurements were conducted on the symmetrical vertical plane in a four-valve, four-stroke optically accessible engine. This study focuses on the relationship between the flow at the plug position at the ignition timing and the flow distribution in the intake and compression stroke. Correlation map analysis reveals this relationship, and some flow distributions are extracted. The fluctuations in the flow distribution induce the cycle-to-cycle variation of the flow direction at the plug position at the ignition timing, the position of the stagnation plane between the intake flow from the intake valves and the upper side of the tumble vortex, the strength of the blowback flow into the intake port generated by the Miller cycle, and the position of the tumble vortex in the late compression stroke. The flow distributions extracted by the correlation map analysis clearly change between cycles. These results also suggest that correlation map analysis is an effective way to elucidate the factors that induce the cycle-to-cycle variation of the in-cylinder flow.

In order to improve thermal efficiency of spark ignition engine under super-lean burn conditions (excess air ratio [Formula: see text]), thermal stratification technique by in-cylinder water injection toward piston surface (stratified water insulated combustion architecture), in which low temperature water vapor layer is formed on the surface, is proposed. From the water spray visualization using the optically accessible engine, injected water is distributed near the piston top surface at ignition timing and thermal stratification can be achieved in the case that water injection timing (SOIw) is set at earlier stage of a compression stroke. In addition, heat flux on the piston surface measured at the same time is reduced by water injection. The 0.5-L single-cylinder engine test at λ = 2.0 at a constant ignition timing also shows that water injection at earlier stage of a compression stroke makes it possible to mitigate knock without significant increase in combustion instability. On the other hand, part of water is distributed near the spark plug at ignition timing with the water injection at SOIw = −60 °ATDC, resulting in unstable combustion. In addition, the engine test at λ = 2.0 and water/fuel ratio(W/F) = 18% shows that knock mitigation by water injection enables spark advance and following combustion enhancement. As a result, combustion period becomes short and cooling loss decreases, followed by the 1.0-pt improvement of gross indicated thermal efficiency. Moreover, the engine can be operated at minimum spark advance for best torque by increasing W/F up to 35%. Finally, stratified water insulated combustion architecture concept is applied at λ = 1.9 with a higher compression ratio of 17, showing that water injection at SOIw = −120 °ATDC and W/F = 50% enables minimum spark advance for best torque operation, and remarkably high gross indicated that thermal efficiency of 52.63% can be achieved with a sufficiently low knock level and coefficient of variation of indicated mean effective pressure.

A micro particle image velocimetry has been performed to investigate tumble enhanced flow characteristics near piston top surface of a motored internal combustion engine for three inlet valve open timing (−30, −15, 0 crank angle degrees). Particle image velocimetry was conducted at 340, 350 and 360 crank angle degrees of the end of the compression stroke at the constant motored speed of 2000 r/min. The measurement region was 3.2 mm × 1.5 mm on the piston top including central axis of the cylinder. The spatial resolution of particle image velocimetry in the wall-normal direction was 75 µm and the vector spacing was 37.5 µm. The first velocity vector is located about 60 µm from the piston top surface. The micro particle image velocimetry measurements revealed that the ensemble-averaged flow near the piston top is not close to the turbulent boundary layer and rather has tendency of the Blasius theorem, whereas fluctuation root-mean-square velocity near the wall is not low. This result shows that revision of a wall heat transfer model based on an assumption of the proper characteristics of flow field near the piston top is required for more accurate prediction of heat flux in gasoline engines.