Fluorescence characteristics of the fuel tracers triethylamine and trimethylamine for the investigation of fuel distribution in internal combustion engines

摘要

Laser-induced fluorescence based on fuel tracers like amines is a suitable measurement technique for mixing studies in internal combustion (IC) engines. Triethylamine has often been used in gasoline IC engines; however, no detailed fluorescence characterization for excitation at 263 or 266 nm is available. Trimethylamine (TMA) exhibits high potential as a gaseous fuel tracer but little information about TMA fluorescence is currently available. A picosecond laser source combined with a streak camera equipped with a spectrograph was used to determine the spectral fluorescence emission and fluorescence decay time of both tracers. The tracers were investigated at various temperatures and pressures in a calibration cell with nitrogen as bath gas. The results provide an in-depth understanding of the fluorescence characteristics of both tracers and allow assessment of their application to the investigation of fuel distribution in IC engines. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America