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 carried 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 simultaneously within the cylinder of an IC engine. This is achieved by the addition of small phosphorescent tracer particles of differing colours to each flowstream. 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 developed for IC engine evaluation it has potential applications in other mixing flow studies.