Detailed Speciation and Reactivity Characterization of Products Generated by Transient Plasma Discharges in Fuel/Oxidizer Mixtures at Engine Relevant Densities

The aggressive move of modern spark ignited (SI) gasoline engines toward challenging dilute and boosted combustion regimes necessitates the development of new and robust ignition devices. Transient plasma ignition (TPI)-where high-energy, short-pulsed, non-equilibrium plasma are used to ignite flammable mixtures-is of interest to engine developers due to the generation of distributed ignition sites that accelerate initial burn rates and reduced electrode erosion that results from the avoidance of breakdown. However, transient plasma igniter development has been slowed by a lack of foundational understanding of the associated ignition mechanisms. In particular, multi-physics TPI modeling at engine-relevant conditions is complicated by the vast range of chemical time-scales (fs-ms) and lack of suitable experimental post-discharge data of the fuel/oxidizer products at relevant high-pressure conditions.