Internal combustion engine, flame front

FIGURE 13.20 This flame front was caught during the fast combustion— almost a miniature explosion—that occurs inside an internal combustion engine every time a spark plug ignites the mixture of fuel and air. 

Flame Front The region between the burning and unbumed zone present in gas phase combustion processes or the leading edge of burning fuel within the combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, movement of the flame front within the confines of the combustion chamber can influence overall quality of the combustion process. 

R. Suntz, H. Becker, P. Monkhouse, J. Wolfrum, Two-dimensional visualization of the flame front in an internal combustion engine by laser-induced fluorescence of OH radicals. Appl. Phys. B 47, 287 (1988)... 

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