Badih Jawad

Characteristics of intermittent fuel sprays

Abstract The spray-tip penetrations and the drop sizes of intermittent fuel sprays were measured by using a modified pulsed optical spray sizer. The average spray tip speeds were determined from simultaneously recorded needle lift signals and obscuration traces. The speeds of a sequence of fuel pulses injected at ∼ 10 3 Hz were analyzed to elucidate penetration mechanisms. A correlation that relates penetration distance to time, pressure drop across the nozzle, fuel density, and ambient gas density was obtained. The temporal variations of drop size in penetrating pulses of sprays were measured. The concentration of drops were calculated by combining drop size and obscuration data. The Sauter mean diameter of penetrating fuel drops increased with an increase of the chamber pressure and decreased with an increase of the injection pressure.

Numerical Design of Racecar Suspension Parameters

Even with the rapidly evolving computational tools available today, suspension design remains very much a black art. This is especially true with respect to road cars because there are so many competing design objectives. In a racecar some of these objectives may be neglected. Even still, just concentrating on maximizing road-holding capability remains a formidable task. This paper outlines a procedure for establishing suspension parameters, and includes a computational example that entails spring, damper, and anti-roll bar specification. The procedure is unique in that it not only covers the prerequisite vehicle dynamic equations, but also outlines the process that sequences the design evolution. The racecar design covered in the example is typical of a growing number of small open wheel formula racecars, built specifically for American autocrossing and British hillclimbs. These lightweight racecars, 250-300 kilograms, often employ motorcycle engines producing in excess of 75 kilowatts. The power to weight ratio rivals that of many high level formula racecars. Due to the nature of the application, braking and cornering performance is equally impressive. The model presented embraces the latest trends with respect to racecar vehicle dynamics. Special emphasis, including discussion of theory and analysis, is placed on damper specification.

Effects of Physical Properties of Fuels on Diesel Injection

This paper reports on the physical properties of the fuel, such as density, viscosity, surface tension, and bulk modulus of elasticity that affect many aspects of the diesel injection process. The effects of these fuel properties on the fuel pressure in the high-pressure line, rate of injection, leakage, spray penetration, and droplet size distribution were determined experimentally. The mechanism of spray development was investigated by injecting the fuel into a high-pressure chamber. A pulsed Malvern drop-size analyzer, based on Fraunhofer diffraction, was utilized to determine droplet size ranges for various fuels.

Comparison of Inlet Curved Disk Arrangements for Suppression of Recirculation in Centrifugal Pump Impellers

The present work aims to numerically study the inlet flow recirculation and modified impeller interaction in a centrifugal pump. An optimization of modified shrouded impeller with curved disk arrangement to suppress the unsteady flow recirculation is pursued. This modification will enhance the impeller characteristics with a wider operation range at both low and high flow rates in a high speed centrifugal pump type. The unstable flow in the centrifugal pumps is a common problem that leads to damage in the pump’s internal parts, consequently increases the operating cost. At certain flow rates, generally below the Best Efficiency Point (BEP), all centrifugal pumps are subject to internal recirculation occurs at the suction and discharge areas of the impeller.For decades, experimental work has been done to investigate the complex three-dimensional flow within centrifugal pumps impellers, before computational work gains momentum due to advancement of computing power and improved numerical codes. In this study the impeller with a curved disk arrangement has been investigated by using a three-dimensional Navier-Stokes code with a standard k-e turbulence model. The purpose is to evaluate and select the optimum impeller modification that would increase the pump suction flow rate range. Three-dimensional numerical Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools are used to simulate flow field characteristics inside the centrifugal pump and provide critical hydraulic design information. In the present work, ANSYS v.16.1 Fluent solver is used to analyze the pressure and velocity distributions inside impeller suction and discharge passages.The ultimate goal of this study is to manufacture and validate the most optimized and efficient centrifugal pump impeller with a curved disk. The best case curve identifies the highest increase of total pressure difference by 22.1%, and highest efficiency by 92.3% at low flowrates.Copyright

Multi-Objective Optimization of a Simplified Car Body Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Today’s strict fuel economy requirement produces the need for the cars to have really optimized shapes among other characteristics as optimized cooling packages, reduced weight, to name a few. With the advances in automotive technology, tight global oil resources, lightweight automotive design process becomes a problem deserving important consideration. It is not however always clear how to modify the shape of the exterior of a car in order to minimize its aerodynamic resistance. Air motion is complex and operates differently at different weather conditions. This gap can be covered by the use of adjoint solvers which predict the sensibility of the aerodynamic forces to changes of the geometry. Alternatively, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solvers can be partnered with optimization software which guide model design changes and evaluate the corresponding results. Design changes can be executed by modifying a parameterized geometry or using mesh morphing techniques. With the advances in computational fluid dynamics, design optimization methods in the aerodynamic design are more important than ever. In the present paper, ANSYS Fluent will be used in conjunction with the optimization software ANSYS DesignXplorer to study ways of reducing drag and lift for a simplified car body. ANSYS simulation software allows one to predict, with confidence, the impact of fluid flows on the product throughout design and manufacturing as well as during end use. CFD is a complex technology involving strongly coupled non-linear partial differential equations which attempt to computationally simulate theoretical and experimental models in a discrete domain of complex geometric shape. A detailed assessment of errors and uncertainties has to concern itself with the three roots of CFD: theory, experiment, and computation. Further, the application of CFD is rapidly expanding with the growth in computational resources. The body in question in this study is the Ahmed body [1] which has been used numerous times for CFD code validation. This geometry represents a road legal car which is used to study the effect of different forces like, aerodynamic drag force, lift force, and some other major forces which affect a car’s motion significantly. Despite being a simple body, accurate prediction of its aerodynamic performance often requires very accurate and computationally expensive calculations. We would like to investigate if meaningful optimizations can be achieved by using reduced resources, by analyzing how air at different velocity affect the body and what changes might be necessary for a further optimized performance.The purpose here is not to predict the absolute values of drag for this body, but to demonstrate that optimization can be performed with limited resources relying on information about drag deltas rather than absolute values. Keeping limiting resources in mind, a grid independence study wasn’t done.Copyright

Solving Military Vehicle Transient Heat Load Issues Using Phase Change Materials

Thermal management systems (TMS) of armored ground vehicle designs are often incapable of sustained heat rejection during high tractive effort conditions and ambient conditions. Latent heat energy storage systems that utilize Phase Change Materials (PCMs) present an effective way of storing thermal energy and offer key advantages such as high-energy storage density, high heat of fusion values, and greater stability in temperature control. Military vehicles frequently undergo high-transient thermal loads and often do not provide adequate cooling for powertrain subsystems.This work outlines an approach to temporarily store excess heat generated by the transmission during high tractive effort situations through the use of a passive PCM retrofit thereby extending the operating time, reducing temperature transients, and limiting overheating.A numerical heat transfer model has been developed based on a conceptual vehicle transmission TMS. The model predicts the transmission fluid temperature response with and without a PCM retrofit. The developed model captures the physics of the phase change processes to predict the transient heat absorption and rejection processes. It will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed candidate implementations and provide input for TMS evaluations.Parametric studies of the heat transfer model have been conducted to establish desirable structural morphologies and PCM thermophysical properties. Key parameters include surface structural characteristics, conduction enhancing material, surface area, and PCM properties such as melt temperature, heat of fusion, and thermal conductivity.To demonstrate proof-of-concept, a passive PCM enclosure has been designed to be integrated between a transmission bell housing and torque converter. This PCM-augmented module will temporarily strategically absorb and release heat from the system at a controlled rate. This allows surging fluid temperatures to be clamped below the maximum effective fluid temperature rating thereby increasing component life, reliability, and performance. This work outlines cooling system boundary conditions, mobility/thermal loads, model details, enclosure design characteristics, potential PCM candidates, design considerations, performance data, cooling system impacts, conclusions, and potential future work.Copyright

Design of Experiments as Effective Design Tools

Design of Experiment (DOE) provides a highly structured way to study the effects of multiple variables on product performance as well as efficient and effective methods for determining the most significant factors and interactions in a given design problem. Design of Experiments (DOE) is an off line quality improvement methodology that dramatically improves industrial products and processes. Input factors are varied in a planned manner to optimize output responses with minimal variability. Design of Experiments is a standard statistical technique used in quality engineering, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and other industries to identify key factors and levels that influence system performance and variability. This technique is especially useful when there is the need to understand the interactions and effects of several system variables and an absence of concrete information. In industry, designed experiments can be used to systematically investigate the process or product variables that influence product quality.Copyright

Diesel Spray Analysis

Light scattering based particle sizing techniques have the advantage of nonintrusively measuring sizes of emulsions and dispersions. Depending on the parameters involved, there are several techniques that can be used and a choice of the most convenient method can be made. When the particles are large, Fraunhofer Diffraction Pattern Analysis (FDPA) can be employed in measuring particle-sizing distributions. The design of a high quality diesel engine would involve an understanding of the disintegration mechanism, spray penetration, and spray motion. It is the objective of this paper to implement the FDPA laser diffraction method to determine spray penetration and droplet mean diameters, for single injection of diesel fuel with synchronized time that will allow time dependent studies.Copyright

Design and Optimization of the Restrictor of a Race Car

Formula SAE is a student competition organized by SAE International. The team of students design, manufacture and race a car. Restrictions are imposed by the Formula SAE rules committee to restrict the air flow into the intake manifold by putting a single restrictor of 20 mm. This rule limits the maximum engine power by reducing the mass flow rate flowing to the engine. The pull is greater at higher rpms and the pressure created inside the cylinder is low. As the diameter of the flow path is reduced, the cross sectional area for flow reduces. For cars running at low rpm when the engine requires less air, the reduction in area is compensated by accelerated flow of air through the restrictor. Since this is for racing purpose cars here are designed to run at very high rpms where the flow at the throat section reach sonic velocities. Due to these restrictions the teams are challenged to come up with improved restrictor designs that allow maximum pressure drop across the restrictor’s inlet and outlet. The design considered for optimizing a flow restrictor is a venturi type having 20 mm restriction between the inlet and the outlet complying with the rules set by Formula SAE committee.The primary objective of this work is to optimize the flow restriction device that achieves maximum mass flow and minimum pull from the engine. This implies the pressure difference created due to the cylinder pressure and the atmospheric pressure at the inlet should be minimum. An optimum flow restrictor is designed by conducting analysis on various converging and diverging angles and coming up with an optimum value.Venturi type is a tubular pipe with varying diameter along its length, through which the fluid flows. Law of governing fluid dynamics states that the “Velocity of the fluid increases as it passes through the constriction to satisfy the principle of continuity”. An equation can be derived from the combination of Bernoulli’s equation and Continuity equation for the pressure drop due to venturi effect. [1].A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool is used to calculate the minimum pressure drop across the restrictor by running a series of analysis on various converging and diverging angles and calculating the pressure drop. As a result, an optimum air flow restrictor is achieved that maximizes the mass flow rate and minimizes the engine pull.Copyright

Study of Turbulent Incompressible Flow Separation on High Lift Devices Using Cutcell Meshing

Generating the mesh is a crucial part in all Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis. Considerable time and effort have to be devoted into deciding the appropriate mesh densities that compromise between computing time and the desired accuracy. It is important that engineers generate high quality meshes around complex geometries which can capture the fine details of the inner layer.Flow separation develops when the velocity near a solid surface just becoming negative. An inflection point exists in the velocity profile due to a positive or adverse pressure gradient occurring in the direction of flow. The computational analysis carried out near wall sub-layer is one of the challenging issues due to the need for complex mesh generation.Separation has a major effect on the drag predictions, in this paper the authors look to extend their previous work [1, 2] to assess the capability of CutCell Cartesian meshing method for predicting the turbulent incompressible flow separation when applied to high lift devices. Although there is no experimental data available to verify the computational work, results can be the subject of future work to identify the factors which lead to flow separation experimentally. Complex aerodynamics shapes will be used and numerical simulation will be conducted using ANSYS Meshing and Fluent.Copyright