Multi-lognormal soot particle size distribution for time-resolved laser induced incandescence in diesel engines

In-cylinder and exhaust soot particle size measurements were carried out using time-resolved laser induced incandescence and electrical mobility spectrometer techniques in a single cylinder optical diesel engine and multi-cylinder high-speed diesel engine. The temporal decay of the laser induced incandescence signal from a polydisperse nanoparticle ensemble of soot during transient diesel combustion is shown to be described by both a single-lognormal distribution as well as multi-lognormal size distribution. However, a multi-lognormal particle size distribution is introduced in the existing model for a comprehensive characterisation and realistic reconstruction of the size distribution. Detailed theoretical analysis of multi-lognormal size distribution along with its application to the experimentally measured soot particle size is validated in this work. These results were also qualitatively compared and independently verified by the experimental results obtained by the electrical mobility spectrometer and published transmission electron microscopy data. These findings reveal that the in-cylinder and the exhaust soot particle size distributions in engines are better represented by a multi-lognormal size distribution.