Christian von Grabe

Development of a Method to Evaluate CNG-Injection Valves

The development of combustion engines with direct injection requires a comprehensive knowledge of the in cylinder combustion process as well as the used high pressure injection system. One main characteristic of injection systems is their mass flow over time behavior. For prevalent diesel and gasoline injection valves (injectors) fully developed simulation models as well as test benches are available to analyze the injection process. Besides the established engines a trend towards compressed natural gas (CNG) engines in passenger cars is recognized. Due to the small injection duration of a few milliseconds, the flow rate measurement is particularly challenging and requires highly dynamic measuring. The existing test benches are designed and optimized for liquid fuels and are only partly suitable for the evaluation of gaseous fuels such as CNG. A typical test method is to inject fuel into a long tube in which a pressure wave propagates. Based on the pressure signal the mass flow of the injected fuel is approximated. For gaseous fuels the correlation of mass flow and pressure propagation is only known for specific test cases and therefore the method is not directly applicable to gaseous fuels.This paper presents a newly designed measurement device to evaluate the mass flow rate as well as the injector needle displacement during an injection process of gaseous fuels. The test bench is designed to operate in a fully equipped injection system including gas lines, common rail and injection valves, to also investigate the interaction of the individual system components.The design is based on a closed test chamber in which the pressure rises during the injection. To overcome the influence of propagating pressure waves inside the chamber on the measurement, different chamber designs are evaluated. An optimized design, separating the chamber into two volumes which are connected by a damping sleeve, is presented. The injection itself is carried out in a first volume and the measurement is conducted in a second damped volume.Based on the measured pressure the mass flow rate through the injection valve is approximated, utilizing the equations of thermodynamics.Copyright

An analytic thermodynamic model for hydraulic resistances based on CFD flow parameters

Abstract This article illustrates the development of an analytic lumped parameter thermo-hydraulic model for a wide range of hydraulic resistance geometries based on mass flow. The relevant flow parameters such as the contraction coefficient in case of laminar flow separation are derived from CFD simulations. Furthermore, the consideration of cavitation effects can be included. State of the art in lumped parameter simulations of hydraulic circuits utilise volume-flow based equations like the orifice equation, which is extended for a wide variety of geometries and flow conditions including the transition from laminar to turbulent flow by adjusting the discharge coefficient based on empirical equations or lookup tables. The same situation persists for laminar flow description. In this case the Hagen-Poiseuille equation is often used in conjunction with correction factors based on the Reynolds number to regard the transition of laminar to turbulent flow. However, in practical applications the use of different equations for various flow conditions and geometries is cumbersome. Furthermore, in the widely used volume based flow description, the absolute pressure dependency of mass flow due to density changes and critical flow at which cavitation occurs is not accounted for until now. Without consideration of these influences a mass conservative modelling and thus high model precision is not possible. The overall goal of the proposed model is to increase accuracy of hydraulic system simulation tools and to support usability by simplifying parameterisation on basis of dimensions available from data sheets. The results of this study are obtained analytically as well as empirically by means of CFD simulations. Moreover, a large number of performed simulations support the understanding of fundamental effects in hydraulic resistance flow.

Benchmark of Existing Energy Conversion Efficiency Definitions for Pneumatic Vacuum Generators

To offer an ideal design solution for vacuum handling systems, taking energetic aspects into account is essential. Therefore the energy conversion efficiency has become a commonly used parameter for describing the efficiency a system. In Literature there are already a few definitions of the energy conversion efficiency of de Laval nozzles respectively pneumatic vacuum generators. This paper shows a benchmark of the existing energy conversion efficiency definitions with respect to vacuum handling, the practical usage in industry and the possibility for comparison with other generation forms. In the end, an approach for a generally applicable exergy based definition is given. In addition, the measurement of an example vacuum system is shown and analyzed.