Martin Gold

High-Speed Microscopic Imaging of the Initial Stage of Diesel Spray Formation and Primary Breakup

The formation and breakup of diesel sprays was investigated experimentally on a common rail diesel injector using a long range microscope. The objectives were to further the fundamental understanding of the processes involved in the initial stage of diesel spray formation. Tests were conducted at atmospheric conditions and on a rapid compression machine with motored in-cylinder peak pressures up to 8 MPa, and injection pressures up to 160 MPa. The light source and long range imaging optics were optimised to produce blur-free shadowgraphic images of sprays with a resolution of 0.6 µm per pixel, and a viewing region of 768×614 µm. Such fine spatial and temporal resolutions allowed the observation of previously unreported shearing instabilities and stagnation point on the tip of diesel jets. The tip of the fuel jet was seen to take the shape of an oblate spheroidal cap immediately after leaving the nozzle, due to the combination of transverse expansion of the jet and the physical properties of the fuel. The spheroidal cap was found to consist of residual fuel trapped in the injector hole after the end of the injection process. The formation of fuel ligaments close to the orifice was also observed, ligaments which were subsequently seen to breakup into droplets through hydrodynamic and capillary instabilities. An ultra-high speed camera was then used to capture the dynamics of the early spray formation and primary breakup with fine temporal and spatial resolutions. The frame rate was up to 5 million images per second and exposure time down to 20 ns, with a fixed resolution of 1280×960 pixels covering a viewing region of 995×746 µm. A vortex ring motion within the vapourised spheroidal cap was identified, and resulted in a slipstream effect which led to a central ligament being propelled ahead of the liquid jet.

PDA characterisation of dense Diesel sprays using a common-rail injection system

To meet the future low emission targets for diesel engines, engineers are optimizing both the fuel injection and aftertreatment systems fitted to diesel engines. In order to optimize the fuel injection system there is a need to characterize the fuel spray for a given injection nozzle geometry and injection pressure/duration. Modern diesel common-rail systems produce very dense sprays, making in-cylinder investigation particularly difficult. In this study the measurement of droplet sizes and velocities in dense diesel sprays has been investigated using Phase Doppler Anemometry (PDA). PDA has been proven to be a valuable technique in providing an understanding of the structure and characteristics of liquid sprays in many studies. It is often applied to finely atomized and dispersed particle flows. However, the application of PDA to dense sprays is complex and therefore the measurements reported in the literature are performed under conditions that are not representative of modern diesel engines. This paper reports both on the processes undertaken to optimize a classic PDA system so that it may be used to gather data in such difficult conditions and on the interpretation of the results obtained. The PDA technique was applied to the instantaneous measurement of diesel droplet sizes and velocities in a rapid compression machine operated at realistic engine conditions. Results are presented for in-cylinder pressures ranging from 1.6 MPa to 6 MPa and injection pressures from 60 to 160 MPa.

In-Cylinder Penetration and Break-Up of Diesel Sprays Using a Common-Rail Injection System

As part of an ongoing investigation, the influence of in-cylinder charge density, and injector nozzle geometry on the behavior of diesel sprays were examined using high-speed imaging. Both liquid and vapor penetration profiles were investigated in operating conditions representative of a modern turbocharged after-cooled HSDI diesel engine. These conditions were achieved in an optical rapid compression machine fitted with a common-rail fuel injection system. Differences in spray liquid and vapor penetrations were observed for different nozzle geometries and in-cylinder conditions over a range of injection fuelling representative of those in a typical engine map. Investigation into the differences in spray structure formed by multi-hole and single-hole injections were also undertaken. The results of the spray penetration profiles from the experiments were compared to empirical correlations in the literature and differences observed were attributed to flow structures within the nozzle, which are not taken into account by these correlations.

Air-Fuel Mixing in a Homogeneous Charge DI Gasoline Engine

For optimum efficiency, the direct injection (DI) gasoline engine requires two operating modes to cover the full load/speed map. For lower loads and speeds, stratified charge operation can be used, while homogeneous charge is required for high loads and speeds. This paper has focused its attention on the latter of these modes, where the performance is highly dependent on the quality of the fuel spray, evaporation and the air-fuel mixture preparation. Results of quantitative and qualitative Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) measurements are presented, together with shadow-graph spray imaging, made within an optically accessed DI gasoline engine. These are compared with previously acquired air flow measurements, at various injection timings, and with engine performance and emissions data obtained in a fired single cylinder non-optical engine, having an identical cylinder head and piston crown geometry.

Characterisation of the soot formation processes in a High Pressure combusting diesel fuel spray

As part of an ongoing investigation, the influence of In Cylinder Pressure (ICP) and fuel injection pressure on the soot formation processes in a diesel fuel spray were studied. The work was performed using a rapid compression machine at ambient conditions representative of a modern High Speed Direct Injection diesel engine, and with fuel injection more representative of full load. Future tests will aim to consider the effects of pilot injections and EGR rates. The qualitative soot concentration was determined using the Laser Induced Incandescence (LII) technique both spatially and temporally at a range of test conditions. Peak soot concentration values were determined, from which a good correlation between soot concentration and injection pressure was observed. The peak soot concentration was found to correlate well with the velocity of the injected fuel jet. Charge air pressure was observed to have minimal effect on the peak soot concentration indicating insensitivity to ignition delay and spray break-up length. Injection pressure was also observed to strongly influence the early soot formation process. Soot was found to form earlier closer to the injector at high injection pressures. It was proposed that air-fuel mixing promoted by better atomisation of the spray at high injection pressures results in early pyrolysis of the fuel and the formation of soot.

On the use of laser-induced fluorescence for the measurement of in-cylinder air–fuel ratios

Abstract This paper presents the development of a new strategy for the calibration of air-fuel ratio measurements in engines by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). After a brief introduction to the LIF technique, the paper highlights the structured approach undertaken to ensure that accurate quantitative measurements were produced. In particular, the new approach to coping with the fluorescence dependency on pressure and temperature, the issues related to the choice of a fluorescence tracer, the careful determination of the optimum tracer concentration and the complete calibration methodology are described, together with the resolution of some of the obstacles encountered. The paper concludes with some examples of calibrated measurements accompanied by a comparison of the results with combustion and emission performances. These results show a very good correlation.

Airflow and Fuel Spray Interaction in a Gasoline DI Engine

Two optical techniques together with a CFD simulation have been used to study the interaction of intake airflow with the injected fuel spray in a motored direct injection gasoline engine. The combustion chamber was of a pent-roof construction with the side-mounted injector located low down between the inlet valves injecting at a 54 o angle to the cylinder axis. The two-dimensional piston bowl shape allowed optical access for the Mie scatter technique to be used to investigate the liquid fuel behaviour in the central axial plane of the cylinder lying midway between the two inlet valves and passing through the centre line of the injector nozzle. A second set of images was obtained using backlighting, this time looking through the glass cylinder liner directly towards the injector. The in-cylinder simulation was run using the VECTIS software. Measurements and simulations were conducted for a range of early SOI timings between 20° and 80° ATDC. The results demonstrated clearly that the incoming airflow tended to flatten the jet and constrain it towards its centreline.

A quantitative analysis of nozzle surface bound fuel for diesel injectors

In a fuel injector at the end of the injection, the needle descent and the rapid pressure drop in the nozzle leads to discharge of large, slow-moving liquid structures. This unwanted discharge is often referred as fuel ‘dribble’ and results in near-nozzle surface wetting, creating fuel-rich regions that are believed to contribute to unburnt hydrocarbon emissions. Subsequent fluid overspill occurs during the pressure drop in the expansion stroke when residual fluid inside the nozzle is displaced by the expansion of trapped gases as the pressure through the orifices is equalised, leading to further surface wetting. There have been several recent advancements in the characterisation of these near nozzle fluid processes, yet there is a lack of quantitative data relating the operating conditions and hardware parameters to the quantity of overspill and surface-bound fuel. In this study, methods for quantifying nozzle tip wetting after the end of injection were developed, to gain a better understanding of the underlying processes and to study the influence of engine operating conditions. A high-speed camera with a longdistance microscope was used to visualise fluid behaviour at the microscopic scale during, and after, the end of injection. In order to measure the nozzle tip temperature, a production injector was used which was instrumented with a type K thermocouple near one of the orifices. Image post-processing techniques were developed to track both the initial fuel coverage area on the nozzle surface, as well as the temporal evolution and spreading rate of surface-bound fluid. The conclusion presents an analysis of the area of fuel coverage and the rate of spreading and how these depend on injection pressure, in-cylinder pressure and in-cylinder temperature. It was observed that for this VCO injector, the rate of spreading correlates with the initial area of fuel coverage measured after the end of injection, suggesting that the main mechanism for nozzle wetting is through the impingement of dribble onto the nozzle. However, occasional observations of the expansion of orifice-trapped gas were made that lead to a significant increase in nozzle wetting.