Phosphorescent particle tracking, a novel optical technique with which to visualise the interaction of gas flowstreams within the cylinder of an IC engine

Flow tracing within the cylinder of an IC engine has been successfully carr ied out for well over a decade. This paper proposes a new concept in which it will be possible to visualise the interaction of two flowstreams simulta neously within the cylinder of an IC engine. This is achieved by the additi on of small phosphorescent tracer particles of differing colours to each fl owstream. This paper describes the concept and the evolution of the method. Some preliminary results are shown that confirm the ability of the method to provide information on mixing flow streams. Whilst the technique was dev eloped for IC engine evaluation it has potential applications in other mixi ng flow studies. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd, All rights reserved.