Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Rayleigh wave”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

338 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2004

Interpretation of TOMS Observations of Tropical Tropospheric Ozone with a Global Model and In Situ Observations

We interpret the distribution of tropical tropospheric ozone columns (TTOCs) from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) by using a global three-dimensional model of tropospheric chemistry (GEOS-CHEM) and additional information from in situ observations. The GEOS-CHEM TTOCs capture 44% of the variance of monthly mean TOMS TTOCs from the convective cloud differential method (CCD) with no global bias. Major discrepancies are found over northern Africa and south Asia where the TOMS TTOCs do not capture the seasonal enhancements from biomass burning found in the model and in aircraft observations. A characteristic feature of these northern topical enhancements, in contrast to southern tropical enhancements, is that they are driven by the lower troposphere where the sensitivity of TOMS is poor due to Rayleigh scattering. We develop an efficiency correction to the TOMS retrieval algorithm that accounts for the variability of ozone in the lower troposphere. This efficiency correction increases TTOC's over biomass burning regions by 3-5 Dobson units (DU) and decreases them by 2-5 DU over oceanic regions, improving the agreement between CCD TTOCs and in situ observations. Applying the correction to CCD TTOCs reduces by approximately DU the magnitude of the "tropical Atlantic paradox" [Thompson et al, 2000], i.e. the presence of a TTOC enhancement over the southern tropical Atlantic during the northern African biomass burning season in December-February. We reproduce the remainder of the paradox in the model and explain it by the combination of upper tropospheric ozone production from lightning NOx, peristent subsidence over the southern tropical Atlantic as part of the Walker circulation, and cross-equatorial transport of upper tropospheric ozone from northern midlatitudes in the African "westerly duct." These processes in the model can also account for the observed 13-17 DU persistent wave-1 pattern in TTOCs with a maximum above the tropical Atlantic and a minimum over the tropical Pacific during all seasons. The photochemical effects of mineral dust have only a minor role on the modeled distribution of TTOCs, including over northern Africa, due to multiple competing effects. The photochemical effects of mineral dust globally decease annual mean OH concentrations by 9%. A global lightning NOx source of 6 Tg N yr(sup -1) in the model produces a simulation that is most consistent with TOMS and in situ observations.

Martin, Randall V.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Design of a high energy density experiment to measure the suppression of hydrodynamic instability in an applied magnetic field

A transverse magnetic field can suppress the hydrodynamic instability growth of an unstable plasma interface. This effect, of interest to inertial confinement fusion and astrophysics, has mostly been studied via simulation. Here, we present the design of an experiment at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to demonstrate this effect in a laboratory. Simulations indicate that the timescale for the diffusion of the magnetic field across the mixing region should be at least comparable to the timescale of the instability growth in order to have a measurable suppression effect. This motivates the use of lower density target materials than usual high energy density (HED) hydrodynamics experiments to permit faster hydrodynamics and higher plasma conductivities (through higher temperature), for a given laser drive and magnetic field. We discuss a target design for creating a Rayleigh–Taylor unstable HED plasma interface that uses 320 mg/cc iodine-doped carbon foam as the heavy material, 20 mg/cc carbon foam as the light material, and a 6 lm amplitude, a 120 lm wavelength ripple machined at the interface, which shows a measurable suppression effect with a nominal NIF drive and a 30 T magnetic field (the present facility limit). Here, models indicate lower density foams that may display even larger suppression effects, as the Hohlraum drive also radiatively preheats the foam to permit even higher temperatures and, hence, higher conductivities.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1990

The dynamics and control of fluctuating pressure loads in the reattachment region of a supersonic free shear layer

The primary aim is to investigate the mechanisms which cause the unsteady wall-pressure fluctuations in shock wave turbulent shear layer interactions. The secondary aim is to find means to reduce the magnitude of the fluctuating pressure loads by controlling the unsteady shock motion. The particular flow proposed for study is the unsteady shock wave interaction formed in the reattachment zone of a separated supersonic flow. Similar flows are encountered in many practical situations, and they are associated with high levels of fluctuating wall pressure. Wall pressure fluctuations were measured in the reattachment region of the supersonic free shear layer. The free shear layer was formed by the separation of a Mach 2.9 turbulent boundary layer from a backward facing step. Reattachment occurred on a 20 deg ramp. By adjusting the position of the ramp, the base pressure was set equal to the freestream pressure, and the free shear layer formed in the absence of a separation shock. An array of flush-mounted, miniature, high-frequency pressure transducers was used to make multichannel measurements of the fluctuating wall pressure in the vicinity of the reattachment region. Contrary to previous observations of this flow, the reattachment region was found to be highly unsteady, and the pressure fluctuations were found to be significant. The overall behavior of the wall pressure loading is similar in scale and magnitude to the unsteadiness of the wall pressure field in compression ramp flows at the same Mach number. Rayleigh scattering was used to visualize the instantaneous shock structure in the streamwise and spanwise direction. Spanwise wrinkles on the order of half the boundary layer thickness were observed.

Smits, A. J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Measurements of the imploding plasma sheath in triple-nozzle gas-puff z pinches

Gas-puff z-pinch implosions are characterized by the formation of a dense annular plasma shell, the sheath, that is driven to the axis by magnetic forces and therefore subject to the magneto-Rayleigh–Taylor instability. Here, the conditions within these sheaths are measured on the 1-MA COBRA generator at Cornell University for various gas species and initial fill densities. The gas-puff loads are initialized by a 7 cm diameter triple-nozzle gas valve assembly with concentric outer and inner annular nozzles and a central gas jet. Thomson scattering and laser interferometry provide spatially resolved flow, temperature, and electron density profiles midway through the implosion, while extreme ultraviolet pinhole cameras record the evolution of the plasma column and photoconducting diodes measure x-ray emission. Analysis of the scattering spectra includes a means of discriminating between thermal and non-thermal broadening to test for the presence of hydrodynamic turbulence. Two types of sheath profiles are observed, those with sharp discontinuities at the leading edge and those with smooth gradients. In both cases, non-thermal broadening is generally peaked at the front of the sheath and exhibits a characteristic decay length that roughly scales with the sheath ion mean free path. Here, we demonstrate that this non-thermal broadening term is inconsistent with laminar velocity gradients and is more consistent with dissipative turbulence driven by unstable plasma waves in a collisionless shock. The resulting differences in sheath profile are then set by the sheath ion collisionality in a manner consistent with recent 1D kinetic simulations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2002

An Experimental Investigation of Incompressible Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability

Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) instability occurs when two different density fluids are impulsively accelerated in the direction normal to their nearly planar interface. The instability causes small perturbations on the interface to grow and eventually become a turbulent flow. It is closely related to Rayleigh-Taylor instability, which is the instability of a planar interface undergoing constant acceleration, such as caused by the suspension of a heavy fluid over a lighter one in the earth's gravitational field. Like the well-known Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, RM instability is a fundamental hydrodynamic instability which exhibits many of the nonlinear complexities that transform simple initial conditions into a complex turbulent flow. Furthermore, the simplicity of RM instability (in that it requires very few defining parameters), and the fact that it can be generated in a closed container, makes it an excellent test bed to study nonlinear stability theory as well as turbulent transport in a heterogeneous system. However, the fact that RM instability involves fluids of unequal densities which experience negligible gravitational force, except during the impulsive acceleration, requires RM instability experiments to be carried out under conditions of microgravity. This experimental study investigates the instability of an interface between incompressible, miscible liquids with an initial sinusoidal perturbation. The impulsive acceleration is generated by bouncing a rectangular tank containing two different density liquids off a retractable vertical spring. The initial perturbation is produced prior to release by oscillating the tank in the horizontal direction to produce a standing wave. The instability evolves in microgravity as the tank travels up and then down the vertical rails of a drop tower until hitting a shock absorber at the bottom. Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) is employed to visualize the flow. PLIF images are captured by a video camera that travels with the tank. Figure 1 is as sequence of images showing the development of the instability from the initial sinusoidal disturbance far into the nonlinear regime which is characterized by the appearance of mushroom structures resulting from the coalescence of baroclinic vorticity produced by the impulsive acceleration. At later times in this sequence the vortex cores are observed to become unstable showing the beginnings of the transition to turbulence in this flow. The amplitude of the growing disturbance after the impulsive acceleration is measured and found to agree well with theoretical predictions. The effects of Reynolds number (based on circulation) on the development of the vortices and the transition to turbulence are also determined.

Jacobs, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Passive Acoustic Tomography Tested for Measuring Gas Temperatures

The requirements of higher performance, better fuel economy, and lower emissions place an increasing premium on knowing the internal operating parameters of jet engines. One of the most important is the gas temperature in the post combustor section of the engine. Typically the gas temperature is measured with a thermocouple probe or by some optical technique such as Rayleigh scattering. Probes, while providing valuable information, have several limitations. The probe signal must be corrected for radiation and conduction losses, probes provide only a point measurement, and probes must be constructed of materials whose melting points are lower than the temperature of the environment into which they are inserted. Some of the disadvantages of probes are overcome by various optical techniques. Nothing needs to be inserted into the flow, and the temperature can be directly related to the signal by known physical laws. However, optical techniques require optical access (i.e., a window) and a light source (such as a laser), and they are very sensitive to the presence of particles in the flow. To overcome these problems, researchers from the NASA Glenn Research Center and The University of Nevada are developing a technique that uses sound instead of light to measure gas temperature. Like optical techniques, it is nonintrusive--no probe need be exposed to the combustion environment--and the temperature is directly related to a measured quantity--the speed of sound, which is proportional to the square root of the absolute temperature. The temperature profile inside the engine is constructed from the differences in arrival time between correlated signals from an array of microphones placed around the circumference of the engine. In much the same way as a complete picture of the inside of your body can be constructed from an array of x-ray photographs taken at different angles, the temperature profile in the engine is constructed from the angular array of microphones. It is tomography by sound waves. Active acoustic tomography, in which a sound pulse is injected into the flow and the time delays between members of an array of microphones are used to construct the temperature field has been used successfully in the stacks of power plants. However, the flow field inside a jet engine is much too noisy for it to be possible to detect an externally injected sound pulse. Instead we are developing passive acoustic tomography, which uses the sound already present in the flow.

Fralick, Gustave C.↗
NASA NTRS2017

HST WFC3 Observations of Uranus' 2014 Storm Clouds and Comparison with VLT/SINFONI and IRTF/Spex Observations

In November 2014 Uranus was observed with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument of the Hubble Space Telescope as part of the Hubble 2020: Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program, OPAL. OPAL annually maps Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune (and will also map Saturn from 2018) in several visible near- infrared wavelength filters. The Uranus 2014 OPAL observations were made on the 89th November at a time when a huge cloud complex, first observed by de Pater et al. (2015) and subsequently tracked by professional and amateur astronomers (Sayanagi et al., 2016), was present at 30-40deg N. We imaged the entire visible atmosphere, including the storm system, in seven filters spanning 467924 nm, capturing variations in the coloration of Uranus clouds and also vertical distribution due to wavelength dependent changes in Rayleigh scattering and methane absorption optical depth. Here we analyse these new HST observations with the NEMESIS radiative-transfer and retrieval code in multiple-scattering mode to determine the vertical cloud structure in and around the storm cloud system. The same storm system was also observed in the H-band (1.4-1.8 micrometers) with the SINFONI Integral Field Unit Spectrometer on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) on 31st October and 11th November, reported by Irwin et al. (2016, 10.1016j.icarus.2015.09.010). To constrain better the cloud particle sizes and scattering properties over a wide wavelength range we also conducted a limb-darkening analysis of the background cloud structure in the 30-40deg N latitude band by simultaneously fitting: a) these HSTOPAL observations at a range of zenith angles; b) the VLTSINFONI observations at a range of zenith angles; and c) IRTFSpeX observations of this latitude band made in 2009 at a single zenith angle of 23deg, spanning the wavelength range 0.8-1.8 micrometers (Irwin et al., 2015, 10.1016j.icarus.2014.12.020). We find that the HST observations, and the combined HSTVLTIRTF observations at all locations are well modelled with a three-component cloud comprised of: 1) a vertically thin, but optically thick deep tropospheric cloud at a pressure of approximately 2 bars; 2) a methane-ice cloud based at the methane-condensation level of approximately 1.23 bar, with variable vertical extent; and 3) a vertically extended tropospheric haze, also based at the methane-condensation level of 1.23 bar. We find that modelling both haze and tropospheric cloud with particles having an effective radius of approximately 0.1 micron provides a good fit the observations, although for the tropospheric cloud, particles with an effective radius as large as 1.0 micron provide a similarly good fit. We find that the particles in both the tropospheric cloud and haze are more scattering at short wave- lengths, giving them a blue color, but are more absorbing at longer wavelengths, especially for the tropospheric haze. We find that the spectra of the storm clouds are well modelled by localized thickening and vertical extension of the methane-ice cloud. For the particles in the storm clouds, which we assume to be composed of methane ice particles, we find that their mean radii must lie somewhere in the range 0. 1 1. 0 m. We find that the high clouds have low integrated opacity, and that streamers reminiscent of convective thunderstorm anvils are confined to levels deeper than 1 bar. These results argue against vigorous moist convective origins for the cloud features.

atmospheres↗
DOE OSTI2024

Degradation of performance in ICF implosions due to Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities: A Hamiltonian perspective

The Rayleigh–Taylor instability (RTI) is an ubiquitous phenomenon that occurs in inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF) implosions and is recognized as an important limiting factor of ICF performance. To analytically understand the RTI dynamics and its impact on ICF capsule implosions, we develop a first-principle variational theory that describes an imploding spherical shell undergoing RTI. The model is based on a thin-shell approximation and includes the dynamical coupling between the imploding spherical shell and an adiabatically compressed fluid within its interior. Using a quasilinear analysis, we study the degradation trends of key ICF performance metrics (e.g., stagnation pressure, residual kinetic energy, and areal density) as functions of initial RTI parameters (e.g., the initial amplitude and Legendre mode), as well as the 1D implosion characteristics (e.g., the convergence ratio). We compare analytical results from the theory against nonlinear results obtained by numerically integrating the governing equations of this reduced model. Our findings emphasize the need to incorporate polar flows in the calculation of residual kinetic energy and demonstrate that higher convergence ratios in ICF implosions lead to significantly greater degradation of key performance metrics.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Causes of fuel–ablator mix inferred from modeling of monochromatic time-gated radiography of OMEGA cryogenic implosions

Here, we present evidence, in the context of OMEGA cryogenic target implosions, that laser imprint, known to be capable of degrading laser-direct-drive target performance, plays a major role in generating fuel–ablator mix. OMEGA cryogenic target implosions show a performance boundary correlated with acceleration-phase shell stability; for sufficiently low adiabats (where the adiabat is the ratio of the pressure to the Fermi pressure) and high in-flight aspect ratios (IFAR's), the neutron-weighted shell areal density and neutron yield relative to the clean simulated values sharply decline. Direct evidence of Rayleigh–Taylor fuel–ablator mixing was previously obtained using a Si Heα backlighter driven by an ~20-ps short pulse generated by OMEGA EP. The shadow cast by the shell shortly prior to stagnation, as diagnosed using backlit radiographs, shows a softening near the limb, which is evidence of an ablator–fuel mix region for a low-adiabat implosion (α ~ 1.9, IFAR = 14) but not for a moderate adiabat implosion (α ~ 2.5, IFAR = 10). We find good agreement between experimental and synthetic radiographs in simulations that model laser imprint and account for uncertainty in the initial ablator thickness. Furthermore, we further explore the role of other mechanisms such as classical instability growth at the fuel–ablator interface, species concentration diffusion, and long-wavelength drive and target asymmetries.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Combined microwave and laser Rayleigh scattering diagnostics for pin-to-pin nanosecond discharges

In this work, the temporal decay of electrons produced by an atmospheric pin-to-pin nanosecond discharge operating in the spark regime was measured via a combination of microwave Rayleigh scattering (MRS) and laser Rayleigh scattering (LRS). Due to the initial energy deposition of the nanosecond pulse, a variation in the local gas density occurs on the timescale of electron decay. Thus, the assumption of a constant collisional frequency is no longer applicable when electron number data are extracted from MRS measurements. Furthermore, to recalibrate MRS measurements throughout the electron decay period, temporally resolved LRS measurements of the local gas density were performed over the event duration. The local gas density was calculated to be 30% of the ambient level during the later stages of electron decay, and it recovers at about 1 ms after discharge. A shock front traveling approximately 500 m/s was additionally observed. Coupled with plasma volume calibration via temporally resolved intensified charge-coupled device imaging, the corrected decay curves of the electron number and electron number density are presented with a measured peak electron number density of 4.5 × 1015 cm -3 and a decay rate of ~(0.1–0.35) × 10 7 s -1 . A hybrid MRS and LRS diagnostic technique can be applied for a broad spectrum of atmospheric-pressure microplasmas where a variation in the gas number density is expected due to energy deposition in the discharge.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Validating methods for modeling composition gradients in planar shock experiments

An interface is Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) unstable when acceleration pushes a less dense material into a more dense one, and the growth of the instability is governed partly by the Atwood number gradient. Double-shell inertial confinement fusion capsules have a foam spacer layer pushing on an inner capsule composed of a beryllium tamper and high-Z inner shell, and so have RT unstable interfaces that require benchmarking. To this end, the results of a planar shock experiment with beryllium/tungsten targets are presented. One target had the normal bilayer construction of beryllium and tungsten in two distinct layers; the second target had the beryllium grading into tungsten with a quasi-exponential profile, motivated by the potential for reduced RT growth with the gradient profile. Simulations mimic the shock profiles for both targets and match the shock velocity to within 5%. These results validate the ability of our simulations to model double-shell capsules with bilayer or graded layer Be/W inner shells, which are needed to design future experiments at the National Ignition Facility.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Assessing the performance of MagLIF with 3D MHD simulations

The Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) experimental platform at Sandia National Laboratories has realized a number of recent improvements in electrical current and laser preheat coupling but fusion yields are below expectations, based on modeling with clean (that is, simulations with no interfacial instabilities and no mix) two-dimensional (2D) magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) simulations, by a factor of 5 or more. However, magnetized liner implosions are known to produce helical magneto-Rayleigh–Taylor (MRT) modes and complex stagnation structures that cannot be directly modeled in 2D. This paper presents the results of 3D HYDRA MHD simulations, including helical MRT, showing that degradation from these instabilities can readily reproduce experimental yields, but it is difficult to simultaneously match the yield along with inferred fuel temperature, pressure, and burn history (assessed with x-rays), which are larger in the experiments considered here. Additional analysis methods and future experiments are proposed to help address the discrepancies. The 3D simulations also show, without substantive improvements to stability, changing the applied Bz or preheat is unlikely to increase performance of MagLIF to the same degree as clean 2D simulations. Finally, the first 3D HYDRA simulations with the Hall term show the ab initio production of helical MRT and produce a clear change in stagnation morphology compared to pre-seeded simulations without Hall. In spite of the differences, the simulations still produce comparable fusion performance but with longer, lower power, neutron yield history.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Fluid dynamic mathematical aspects of supernova remnants

Supernovae—explosions of stars—are a central problem in astrophysics since they contain information on the entire process of stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis. Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) and Richtmyer–Meshkov (RM) instabilities, developing during the supernova blast, lead to intense interfacial RT/RM mixing of the star's materials and couple astrophysical to atomic scales. This work analyzes some fluid dynamic mathematical aspects of the titanic task of supernova's blast. We handle mathematical challenges of RT/RM dynamics in supernova relevant conditions by directly linking the conservation laws governing RT/RM dynamics to symmetry-based momentum model, by exactly deriving the model parameters in the scale-dependent and scale-invariant regimes, and by exploring the special self-similar class for RT/RM interfacial mixing with variable accelerations. Here we reveal that RT/RM dynamics is strongly influenced by deterministic (the initial and the flow) conditions in the scale-dependent linear and nonlinear regimes and in the self-similar mixing regime. The theory outcomes are consistent with the observations of supernova remnants, explain the results of the scaled laboratory experiments in high energy density plasmas, and yield the design of future experiments for the accurate quantification of RT/RM dynamics in supernova relevant conditions. We find that from fluid dynamic mathematical perspectives, supernovae can be regarded as an astrophysical initial value problem. Along with the guidance of what explodes at microscopic scales, supernova remnants encapsulate information on the explosion hydrodynamics and the associated deterministic conditions at macroscopic scales. We urge such effects be considered in interpretations of the observational data.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Pre-Ionization Controlled Laser Plasma Formation for Ignition Applications (Final Scientific/Technical Report)

This report consists of three grand funded papers. Abstracts for each follow. 1) In this work, we present experimental and modeling studies of air pre-ionization using ultraviolet (UV) laser pulses and its effect on laser breakdown of an overlapped near-infrared (NIR) pulse. Experimental studies are conducted with a 266 nm beam (fourth harmonic of Nd:YAG) for UV pre-ionization and an overlapped 1064 nm NIR beam (fundamental of Nd:YAG), both having pulse duration of 10 ns. Results show that the UV beam produces a pre-ionized volume which assists in breakdown of the NIR beam, leading to reduction in NIR breakdown threshold by factor of >2. Numerical modeling is performed to examine the ionization and breakdown of both beams. The modeled breakdown threshold of the NIR, including assist by pre-ionization, is in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. 2) The present contribution compares the energy absorption, optical emission, temperature, and fluid dynamics of ultraviolet (UV) λ = 266 nm and near infrared (NIR) λ = 1064 nm nanosecond laser induced plasmas in ambient air. For UV pulses at the conditions studied, energy absorption by the plasmas increases relatively gradually with laser pulse energy starting at delivered energy of E~8 mJ. Corresponding measurements of plasma luminosity show that the absorption of UV radiation does not necessarily result in visible plasma emission. For the NIR induced plasmas, the energy absorption profile is far more abrupt and begins at ~55 mJ. In contrast with UV, the absorption of NIR radiation is always accompanied by intense optical emission. The temperatures of both types of plasma have been measured with Rayleigh scattering thermometry (at times after the Thomson signal sufficiently diminishes). The UV plasmas can attain a wider range of temperatures, including lower temperatures, depending on the pulse energy (e.g., T ~400–2000K for E ~7–35 mJ at Δt = 10 μs after the pulse) while the NIR plasmas show only hotter temperatures (e.g., T ~ 12 000 K for E = 75 mJ at Δt = 10 μs after the pulse) as is consistent with the literature. Differences in the fluid dynamics for UV versus NIR pulses are shown with Schlieren imaging. In this work, the contrast in the UV and NIR plasma threshold behavior is attributed to differing roles of avalanche ionization and multiphoton ionization as is also illustrated by a simple numerical model. 3) The present contribution examines the impact of plasma dynamics and plasma-driven fluid dynamics on the flame growth of laser ignited mixtures and shows that a new dual-pulse scheme can be used to control the kernel formation process in ways that extend the lean ignition limit. We perform a comparative study between (conventional) single-pulse laser ignition (λ = 1064 nm) and a novel dual-pulse method based on combining an ultraviolet (UV) pre-ionization pulse (λ = 266 nm) with an overlapped near-infrared (NIR) energy addition pulse (λ = 1064 nm). We employ OH* chemiluminescence to visualize the evolution of the early flame kernel. For single-pulse laser ignition at lean conditions, the flame kernel separates through third lobe detachment, corresponding to high strain rates that extinguish the flame. In this work, we investigate the capabilities of the dual-pulse to control the plasma-driven fluid dynamics by adjusting the axial offset of the two focal points. In particular, we find there exists a beam waist offset whereby the resulting vorticity suppresses formation of the third lobe, consequently reducing flame stretch. With this approach, we demonstrate that the dual-pulse method enables reduced flame speeds (at early times), an extended lean limit, increased combustion efficiency, and decreased laser energy requirements.

Mechanical engineering↗