Towards clean and efficient engines: FRANCE contribution to ECN – ECN FRANCE

The project regroups four research laboratories that have developed expertise in the development of advanced optical diagnostics for engine combustion analysis: IFPEN, CORIA, EPEE and PPRIME. The project coordinator IFPEN, Gilles Bruneaux, is also a coordinator of the ECN activities at the international level. The first task carried out in the project was to standardize the experimental conditions achieved in each partner's equipment, in order to ensure that all the experiments are carried out in similar conditions and can complement a common database. Once this consolidation effort performed, the partners applied advanced measurement techniques to obtain detailed information on the physical processes occurring during the atomization of the dense liquid spray, the combustion and pollutant formation. Finally the results obtained during the project were shared within the ECN and added to the international Database.

Overall, the assessment of the ECN project is relatively positive in view of the analysis of the achievement of the initial objectives. The step of standardizing the experimental means required to integrate the work of the partner laboratories into the efforts of the ECN network proved particularly difficult, which was expected, especially considering the specificity of the experimental arrangements considered. Indeed, this is the first time in the ECN network that systems other than constant volume or continuous flow cells have been characterized (RCM of the PPRIME laboratory and NOSE of PRISM). However, it was successful for 2 of the 3 new laboratories entering ECN, which allowed these laboratories to participate in the activities of the ECN network as well as various scientific advances.

Overall, the assessment of the ECN project is relatively positive in view of the analysis of the achievement of the initial objectives. The step of standardizing the experimental means required to integrate the work of the partner laboratories into the efforts of the ECN network proved particularly difficult, which was expected, especially considering the specificity of the experimental arrangements considered. Indeed, this is the first time in the ECN network that systems other than constant volume or continuous flow cells have been characterized (RCM of the PPRIME laboratory and NOSE of PRISM). However, it was successful for 2 of the 3 new laboratories entering ECN, which allowed these laboratories to participate in the activities of the ECN network as well as various scientific advances. These have been the subject of several publications as well as a special edition of ECN France planned for publication in 2019 in the OGST magazine. Also the valorization of the work of the partner laboratories within the framework of the activities of the ECN network is promising

The project's work has resulted in more than a dozen papers and articles from international journals. Also at the end of the project, a special edition of ECN France is being published in 2019 in the OGST magazine. This edition will include 5 multi-partner articles based on the results of the ANR project

Advanced development tools such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) are necessary to develop clean and efficient engine combustion systems for vehicles. But the predictability of CFD, hence its efficiency, depends on the degree of understanding of the physical phenomena occurring in the combustion chambers. This understanding is usually provided by advanced optical diagnostics since they are able to provide in-situ measurements of physical parameters during the combustion event. However, the complexity of the phenomena occurring in a combustion chamber is such that obtaining a complete description requires an amount of work not achievable by individual effort. For this reason a group of international laboratories, the ECN (Engine Combustion Network: www.sandia.gov/ecn/), has decided to join the effort in a collaborative and voluntary project to develop an international database aimed at providing the necessary information for detailed engine CFD model validation.
The ECN FRANCE project proposal is positioned in this context and aims at triggering the participation of the French engine combustion community in the ECN, and to develop innovative diagnostics for Diesel injection and combustion. The project regroups four research laboratories that have developed expertise in the development of advanced optical diagnostics for engine combustion analysis: IFPEN, CORIA, EPEE and PPRIME. The project coordinator IFPEN is also a coordinator of the ECN activities at the international level. The first task carried out in the project will be to standardize the experimental conditions achieved in each partner's equipment, in order to ensure that all the experiments are carried out in similar conditions and can complement a common database. Once this consolidation effort performed, the partners will apply advanced measurement techniques to obtain detailed information on the physical processes occurring during the atomization of the dense liquid spray, the combustion and pollutant formation. Finally the results obtained during the project will be shared within the ECN and added to the international Database.