Alan L. Kastengren

The 7BM beamline at the APS: a facility for time-resolved fluid dynamics measurements

The 7BM beamline, a facility for time-resolved fluid dynamics measurements at the Advanced Photon Source, is described.

The Contour Method Cutting Assumption: Error Minimization and Correction

The recently developed contour method can measure 2-D, cross-sectional residual-stress map. A part is cut in two using a precise and low-stress cutting technique such as electric discharge machining. The contours of the new surfaces created by the cut, which will not be flat if residual stresses are relaxed by the cutting, are then measured and used to calculate the original residual stresses. The precise nature of the assumption about the cut is presented theoretically and is evaluated experimentally. Simply assuming a flat cut is overly restrictive and misleading. The critical assumption is that the width of the cut, when measured in the original, undeformed configuration of the body is constant. Stresses at the cut tip during cutting cause the material to deform, which causes errors. The effect of such cutting errors on the measured stresses is presented. The important parameters are quantified. Experimental procedures for minimizing these errors are presented. An iterative finite element procedure to correct for the errors is also presented. The correction procedure is demonstrated on experimental data from a steel beam that was plastically bent to put in a known profile of residual stresses.

The Effects of Diesel Injector Needle Motion on Spray Structure

The internal structure of diesel fuel injectors is known to have a significant impact on the steady-state fuel distribution within the spray. However, little experimental or computational work has been performed on the dynamics of fuel injectors. Recent studies have shown that it is possible to measure the three-dimensional geometry of the injector nozzle, and to track changes in that geometry as the needle opens and closes in real time. This has enabled the dynamics of the injector to be compared with the dynamics of the spray, and allows computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to use realistic time-dependent flow passage geometries. In this study, X-ray phase-enhanced imaging has been used to perform time-resolved imaging of the needle seat area in several common-rail diesel injection nozzles. The fuel distributions of the sprays emitted by these injectors were also studied with fast X-ray radiography. Correlations between eccentric motions of the injector needle valve and oscillations in the fuel density as it emerges from the nozzle are examined. CFD modeling is used to interpret the effect of needle motion on fuel flow.

Understanding the Acoustic Oscillations Observed in the Injection Rate of a Common-Rail Direct Injection Diesel Injector

Measuring the rate of injection of a common-rail injector is one of the first steps for diesel engine development. The injected quantity as a function of time is of prime interest for engine research and modeling activities, as it drives spray development and mixing, which, in current diesel engines, control combustion. On the other hand, the widely used long-tube method provides results that are neither straightforward nor fully understood. This study, performed on a 0.09-mm axially drilled single-hole nozzle, is part of the Engine Combustion Network (ECN) and aims at analyzing the acoustic oscillations observed in the rate of injection signal and measuring their impact on the real injection process and on the results recorded by the experimental devices. Several tests have been carried out for this study, including rate of injection and momentum, X-ray phase-contrast of the injector, and needle motion or injector displacement. The acoustic analysis revealed that these fluctuations found their origin in the sac of the injector and that they were the results of an interaction between the fluid in the chamber (generally gases) or in the nozzle sac and the liquid fuel to be injected. It has been observed that the relatively high oscillations recorded by the long-tube method were mainly caused by a displacement of the injector itself while injecting. In addition, the results showed that these acoustic features are also present in the spray, which means that the oscillations make it out of the injector, and that this temporal variation must be reflected in the actual rate of injection.

Effect of nozzle transients and compressibility on the penetration of fuel sprays

A study has been performed using a combination of high speed optical imaging and a synchrotron based technique to obtain a time history of nozzle exit velocity, discharge coefficient, and spray tip velocity of high pressure fuel sprays. The results support a recently proposed theoretical model of spray propagation that suggests a compressible region of flow immediately ahead of the spray has a strong influence on the evolution of the tip velocity profile. Coupled with this is the variation in discharge coefficient due to injector needle movement which largely governs the spray exit velocity immediately after start of injection.

High-resolution large eddy simulations of cavitating gasoline–ethanol blends

Cavitation plays an important role in the formation of sprays in fuel injection systems. With the increasing use of gasoline–ethanol blends, there is a need to understand how changes in fluid properties due to the use of these fuels can alter cavitation behavior. Gasoline–ethanol blends are azeotropic mixtures whose properties are difficult to model. We have tabulated the thermodynamic properties of gasoline–ethanol blends using a method developed for flash-boiling simulations. The properties of neat gasoline and ethanol were obtained from National Institute of Standards and Technology REFPROP data, and blends from 0% to 85% ethanol by mass have been tabulated. We have undertaken high-resolution three-dimensional numerical simulations of cavitating flow in a 500-µm-diameter submerged nozzle using the in-house HRMFoam homogeneous relaxation model constructed from the OpenFOAM toolkit. The simulations are conducted at 1 MPa inlet pressure and atmospheric outlet pressure, corresponding to a cavitation number range of 1.066–1.084 and a Reynolds number range of 15,000–40,000. For the pure gasoline case, the numerical simulations are compared with synchrotron X-ray radiography measurements. Despite significant variation in the fluid properties, the distribution of cavitation vapor in the nozzle is relatively unaffected by the gasoline–ethanol ratio. The vapor remains attached to the nozzle wall, resulting in an unstable annular two-phase jet in the outlet. Including turbulence at the conditions studied does not significantly change mixing behavior, because the thermal nonequilibrium at the vapor–liquid interfaces acts to low-pass filter the turbulent fluctuations in both the nozzle boundary layer and jet mixing layer.

Application of X-ray fluorescence to turbulent mixing.

Combined measurements of X-ray absorption and fluorescence have been performed in jets of pure and diluted argon gas to demonstrate the feasibility of using X-ray fluorescence to study turbulent mixing. Measurements show a strong correspondence between the absorption and fluorescence measurements for high argon concentration. For lower argon concentration, fluorescence provides a much more robust measurement than absorption. The measurements agree well with the accepted behavior of turbulent jets.

Nozzle Geometry and Injection Duration Effects on Diesel Sprays Measured by X-Ray Radiography

X-ray radiography was used to measure the behavior of four fuel sprays from a light-duty common-rail diesel injector. The sprays were at 250 bar injection pressure and 1 bar ambient pressure. Injection durations of 400 {micro}s and 1000 {micro}s were tested, as were axial single-hole nozzles with hydroground and nonhydroground geometries. The X-ray data provide quantitative measurements of the internal mass distribution of the spray, including near the injector orifice. Such measurements are not possible with optical diagnostics. The 400 {micro}s sprays from the hydroground and nonhydroground nozzles appear qualitatively similar. The 1000 {micro}s spray from the nonhydroground nozzle has a relatively consistent moderate width, while that from the hydroground nozzle is quite wide before transitioning into a narrow jet. The positions of the leading- and trailing-edges of the spray have also been determined, as has the amount of fuel residing in a concentrated structure near the leading edge of the spray.

Determination of Diesel Spray Axial Velocity Using X-Ray Radiography

Present knowledge of the velocity of the fuel in diesel sprays is quite limited due to the obscuring effects of fuel droplets, particularly in the high-density core of the spray. In recent years, x-ray radiography, which is capable of penetrating dense fuel sprays, has demonstrated the ability to probe the structure of the core of the spray, even in the dense near-nozzle region. In this paper, x-ray radiography data was used to determine the average axial velocity in diesel sprays as a function of position and time. Here, we report the method used to determine the axial velocity and its application to three common-rail diesel sprays at 250 bar injection pressure. The data show that the spray velocity does not reach its steady state value near the nozzle until approximately 200 {micro}s after the start of injection. Moreover, the spray axial velocity decreases as one moves away from the spray orifice, suggesting transfer of axial momentum to the surrounding ambient gas.

High-Speed X-Ray Imaging of Diesel Injector Needle Motion

Phase-enhanced x-ray imaging has been used to examine the geometry and dynamics of four diesel injector nozzles. The technique uses a high-speed camera, which allows the dynamics of individual injection events to be observed in real time and compared. Moreover, data has been obtained for the nozzles from two different viewing angles, allowing for the full three-dimensional motions of the needle to be examined. This technique allows the needle motion to be determined in situ at the needle seat and requires no modifications to the injector hardware, unlike conventional techniques. Measurements of the nozzle geometry have allowed the average nozzle diameter, degree of convergence or divergence, and the degree of rounding at the nozzle inlet to be examined. Measurements of the needle lift have shown that the lift behavior of all four nozzles consists of a linear increase in needle lift with respect to time until the needle reaches full lift and a linear decrease as the needle closes. For all four nozzles, the needle position oscillates at full lift with a period of 170–180 μs. The full-lift position of the needle changes as the rail pressure increases, perhaps reflecting compression of the injector components. Significant lateral motions were seen in the two single-hole nozzles, with the needle motion perpendicular to the injector axis resembling a circular motion for one nozzle and linear oscillation for the other nozzle. The two VCO multihole nozzles show much less lateral motion, with no strong oscillations visible.Copyright