Presented By:

Manjunath Gowda.M
M.TECH in THERMAL POWER
ENGINEERING

Historical background
Basic definitions
Why laser ignition?
Principle of laser ignition
Working
Comparison between sparkplug and laser
ignition
Advantages
Disadvantages
Conclusions

The use of laser ignition to improve gas

engine performance was initially
demonstrated by J. D. Dale in 1978 by CO2
laser.
However, with very few exceptions, work in
this area has for the last 20 years been
limited to laboratory experimentation.
Concerns about cost, safety,
reliability have thus far kept
laser ignition out of the market.

What is laser ignition system?

It is the process of starting combustion by the

stimulus of a laser light source.
Laser Spark Plug ignition

Multipoint ignition

These lasers operate in a pulse mode i.e. they switch ON

and OFF very quickly.
The current record for the shortest laser pulse is just under
4 femtoseconds (1015), or 0.000000000000004 of a single
second.

Plasma

Heating a gas may ionize the molecules or atoms

thus turning it into a plasma.

a visual process used to view the flow of

fluids of varying density. It is used to view the
various stages of flame propagation after
laser ignition as shown below:

The laser beam generated will be divided two

or more beams by means of diffraction
grating. Each beam is directed by optic fiber
and focused into their respective laser spark
plugs.

Regulations on NOX emissions are pushing us

towards leaner air-fuel ratio.
The leaner air-fuel ratio are harder to ignite and require higher ignition energies.
Sparkplugs can ignite leaner fuel mixtures but only by increasing the spark energy.
Unfortunately those high voltages erodes sparkplug electrodes so fast the solution
is not economical.

Natural gas is more difficult to ignite than gasoline

due to strong carbon to hydrogen to bond energy.
Lasers are monochromatic, so it will be much easier to ignite natural gas.

Because of the requirement for increase in ignition energy, spark

plug life will decrease for natural gas engines.
Laser sparkplug ignition system will require less power than traditional sparkplugs,
therefore outlasting spark plugs.

Ignition sites for spark plugs are at a fixed location at the top of
the combustion chamber that only allows for ignition of the airfuel mixture closest to them.
Lasers can be focused and split into multiple beams to give multiple ignition
points, which means it can give a better chance of ignition.

Laser light is tightly focused so that the intensity exceeds the

breakdown threshold of the gas.

Once breakdown is achieved, a plasma spark is formed which

absorbs the laser energy

Once breakdown has occurred and the laser pulse has

stopped inserting energy into the focal volume, the plasma
begins to decay.

The energy released in this decay is responsible for

developing the flame kernel, which ultimately leads to
combustion and the consumption of the fuel air mixture

Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium

aluminum garnet laser)

The laser ignition system has a laser transmitter with a fiber

optic cable powered by a battery.

It shoots the laser beam to a focusing lens that would consume a

much smaller space than the current sparkplugs

The lenses focuses the beams into an intense pinpoint of light

When the fuel is injected into the engine, the laser is fired and
produces enough energy to ignite the fuel.

Comparison between sparkplug and

laser ignition
40

40
35

30

pinit (bar)

pinit (bar)

35

25
20
15

30
25
20
15

10
1,40 1,50 1,60 1,70 1,80 1,90 2,00 2,10 2,20 2,30
A/F rel ( )
0,00
ignition reliability of spark plug ignition
0,25
0,50
0,75
1,00

10
1,40 1,50 1,60 1,70 1,80 1,90 2,00 2,10 2,20 2,30
A/F rel ( )
0,00
ignition reliability of laser ignition
0,25
0,50
0,75
1,00

Ignition reliability between spark ignition and laser spark ignition

Comparison of NOX emissions of different ignition

graph of excess pressure vs. time taken for ignition at different air fuel ratio

Possibility of ignition of very lean gas mixtures

The laser also produces more stable combustion

so you need to put less fuel into the cylinder,
therefore increasing efficiency.

Optical wire and laser setup is much smaller than

the current sparkplug model, allowing for different
design opportunities.

Lasers will reduce erosion.

Easier possibility of multipoint ignition.

Shorter ignition delay time and shorter combustion

time.

Absence of quenching effects by the spark plug

electrodes.

Lasers promise less pollution

High system costs.

Concept proven, but no commercial

system available yet
.

Japanese researchers working for Toyota have created a

prototype laser that brings laser ignition much closer to
reality. The laser is a small(9mm diameter, 11mm

length) high powered laser made out of ceramics that

produces bursts of pulses less than a nanosecond in
duration.

At present, a laser ignition plug is very expensive

compared to a standard electrical spark plug
ignition system and it is nowhere near ready for
distribution.
But the potential and advantages certainly make
the laser ignition more attractive in many practical
applications.