Influences of the pre-chamber orifices on the combustion behavior in a constant volume chamber simulating pre-chamber type medium-speed gas engines

The study aims to clarify the influence of pre-chamber (PC) configurations on the combustion process in the main chamber (MC) of medium-speed spark-ignition gas engines equipped with an active PC. A constant volume combustion chamber was prepared to simulate the chamber configurations of the gas engines. A high-speed shadowgraph was applied to visualize the torch flame development and the combustion process in the MC. Experiments were done by changing the charged gas in the MC, the number, and the diameter of the PC orifices. Combustion was most accelerated when the PC orifice configuration was set appropriately so that the adjacent torch flames would combine with each other. It was also found that the unburned mixture in the PC, which ejected prior to the torch flame, supported the penetration of the torch flame.