Measurement of the air-to-fuel ratio inside a passive pre-chamber of a fired spark-ignition engine

This paper investigates the local air-to-fuel ratio measurement within the pre-chamber of a spark-ignition engine by determining the absorption of light from hydrocarbons using an infrared sensor. The measurement was performed during fired and motored engine operation points and compared to the more common exhaust lambda measurements. The experiment provided data to compare the mixture preparation in a hot and cold environment of pre-chamber and main combustion chamber. The experiment also gives an indication regarding the possible use of a pre-chamber sensor in a motored engine at higher boost pressures and fuel mass flows, operation points that would overheat the sensor in a fired engine. The work also includes the analysis of the fuel delivery into the pre-chamber of a direct and indirect injection engine. Furthermore, pressure and temperature measurement within the pre-chamber provides information about the critical sensor environment and helps to understand the gas exchange between the two volumes.