Abstract

Laser ignition of combustible gas mixtures has been studied by numerous investigators.^1–10 We are interested in laser sparks resulting from nonresonant laser-induced breakdown generated by focusing Nd:YAG 1.064 μm, 4.5 ns full width at half maximum (FWHM) pulses into combustible ammonia-oxygen gaseous mixtures. The temporal and spatial evolution of the optical breakdown plasma into an ignition kernel, and subsequently into a propagating flame, is monitored using planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) and shadowgraph imaging.

© 1996 Optical Society of America