Heat transfer investigation during combustion of methane-air mixture in reciprocating engine cylinder

The results of a local heat flux measurements during combustion of methane-air mixture in a model combustion chamber are presented. The experiments were conducted on a special test stand that enabled to perform a single cycle of an engine. The cycle consisted of combustible mixture compression, ignition and expansion of hot combustion gases. The heat flux from the working gas to the combustion chamber wall was determined by using of eroding type thermocouple measuring instantaneous temperature on a heat exchanging surface. The measurements were taken for different compression ratios ranging from 8:1 to 15:1. The results were compared with data determined for the mixture combustion in constant volume without initial compression as well as with results for the gas compression without combustion.