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Title: In-cylinder spray evolution in a motored central-injection gasoline engine: Imaging and simulating the effects of flash-boiling and intake crossflow

Journal Article · · International Journal of Engine Research

Accurate predictions of fuel spray behavior and mixture formation in simulations of direct-injection spark-ignition (DISI) engines are fundamental to ensure proper description of all subsequent processes including ignition, combustion, and emissions. In this work, the spray evolution in a single-cylinder optical DISI engine was studied experimentally and numerically with the goal of enabling predictive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of in-cylinder sprays. The authors explored a wide range of operating conditions characterized by several fuel injection temperatures and engine speeds, using a well-characterized nine-component gasoline surrogate known as PACE-20. The effect of flash boiling and intake crossflow on the spray is discussed, with a focus on evaluating the ability of the spray models to capture highly transient spray behavior. In the experiments, the fuel temperature was varied between 20°C and 80°C, allowing for non-flash- to flash-boiling transition to emerge with enhanced flashing intensity at the highest temperatures. Spray collapse resulted in vapor-rich regions, owing to the locally lower inertia of the fluid. Varying the engine speed from 650 to 1950 rpm promoted increasingly more turbulent in-cylinder crossflow which interacted with the spray during the injection event and resulted in enhanced spray dispersion. The CFD model was able to capture the spray morphology transition at different fuel temperatures and engine speeds adequately. Further, it is shown that the spray breakup model could capture the transitional spray behavior induced by flash boiling atomization and intake flow via proper initialization of the spray cone angle and calibration of the spray models’ constants.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO); USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; NA0003525
OSTI ID:
2311027
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2536685
Journal Information:
International Journal of Engine Research, Vol. 25, Issue 7; ISSN 1468-0874
Publisher:
SAGECopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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