Characterization of the sooting tendency of Diesel fuels by shock tube and engine experiments

The sooting tendency of a diesel fuels matrix has been investigated in a single-cylinder DI engine and in a shock tube. Soot loading in the optically accessible was inferred using two-color pyrometry. The engine was operated at 1250 rpm and 5 bar imep. Shock tube tests were performed in pure pyrolysis conditions; in the temperature and pressure range 1600-2400 K and 7-13 bar, respectively. The soot formation process was followed by means of light extinction methods. A thorough analysis of the results provided meaningful indications of fuels' performances, allowing to assess the effect of the fuel's composition (aromatics contents, cetane number, oxygen contents) on its sooting tendency.