Simulation and analysis of group-hole nozzle sprays using a gas jet superposition model

A gas jet superposition model has been recently developed for computing group-hole nozzle sprays in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The objectives of this study are: (1) to perform a systematic validation of the comprehensive spray model for group-hole nozzles using a broad range of experimental data; (2) to analyze the dynamics and physical insight of group-hole nozzle sprays based on the simulation results; and (3) to further clarify the impact of included-angle on spray/mixture properties of group-hole nozzle sprays. An updated version of the KIVA-3V Release 2 code, which employs the Lagrangian-Drop Eulerian-Fluid (LDEF) methodology for numerical calculation of two-phase flows, was used in the simulations. Diverging group-hole nozzles with various included-angles were considered. The test conditions included non-evaporating and evaporating ambient conditions, free sprays and sprays impinging on a flat wall. Detailed comparisons were made between the experiments and computations in terms of spray/mixture characteristics. The results show that numerical parameter dependencies are significantly reduced with the new models, and good levels of agreement are obtained in terms of spray structure, liquid/vapor penetration, overall SMD and cumulative vaporized fuel mass. Both experimental measurements and simulations reveal the importance of included-angle in group-hole nozzle sprays. In particular, some important features of group-hole nozzle spray are captured in the computations by the present models: compared to the equivalent single-hole nozzle, smaller local droplet size can be achieved in the near nozzle field, indicating an enhanced fuel primary atomization; the ambient gas entrainment rate is increased during the injection period, implying the better mixing; the spray axis deflection is identified in the case of group-hole nozzles with smaller angles, which is caused by a negative relative pressure region that exists between the sprays; in addition, the asymmetric structure of wall-impinging group-hole nozzle spray is well predicted by the present models through applying the gas jet superposition model in the entire computational domain.     

Combustion and emission characteristics of converging group-hole nozzle under lean engine operating conditions

This paper describes the combustion and emission characteristics of converging group-hole nozzles and compares the results to those of a single hole nozzle with the same overall nozzle exit hole area. Engine experiments were performed using a single-cylinder diesel engine operating under overall lean conditions (i.e., equivalence ratio 0.45). The considered nozzle configurations in the experiments included a converging group-hole nozzle (cGHN) with 3° converging angle, 0.090 mm hole diameter, and a single hole nozzle (SHN) of 0.128 mm hole diameter. The CFD calculations used the KIVA engine simulation code integrated with a Gasjet superposition model. Using the validated calculation models, the test conditions were also expanded to consider wider converging angle cGHNs (up to 12°). The results show that the evaporation of sprays from the cGHN-3° nozzle is more delayed than that of the SHN case and the cGHNs entrain more ambient gas due to smaller droplet sizes in the outer spray periphery. In addition, an increase in the converging angle of the cGHNs promotes fuel evaporation and produces a more homogeneous fuel–air mixture.     

Turbulent flow study of an isothermal diesel spray injected by a common rail system

The flow characteristics of the intermittent spray of a single-hole diesel nozzle (d_o=0.11 mm) having a 1-spring holder, used in the injection system of heavy-duty diesel engines, were experimentally investigated. The hole belongs to a mini-sac 5-hole nozzle where only on hole is drilled. The mean velocity and turbulent characteristics of the diesel spray injected intermittently by a Common-Rail (CR) system into a pressurized vessel at room temperature were measured by using a 1-D PDPA (phase Doppler particle analyzer). The injection duration was a little stretched out (3 ms) to increase the quasi-steady part of the spray. The axial velocity of the droplets was studied in the main parts of the single-hole nozzle spray, i.e. the leading edge; the central part and the trailing edge. Temporal distributions of the mean axial velocity and its rms were constant in the central spray part, and they showed peaks in the leading edge of the spray. The radial distribution of the normalized axial mean velocity was similar to that of the free gas jet within r/r0.5=1.0−1.5 regardless of time, which is consistent with the theoretical velocity distributions suggested by Hinze. However, in the leading edge near the centreline axis, the normalized axial mean velocity displayed higher values. The turbulence intensity of the axial velocity measured along the radial direction was similar to the free gas jet within r/r0.5=0.5 and higher beyond. However, the turbulence intensity in the leading edge was higher than in the leading edge and the central part within r/r0.5=0.7 where it showed values of the 40–60% of the local mean velocity. The factors of skewness and flatness approached to those of the free gas jet in the central part and the trailing edge. In the leading edge, the flatness factor has presented dispersed values, and the skewness factor was always higher than were those of the two other parts of the spray. The gradient of the half-width exhibited a linear decrease with time since the beginning of the injection to reach the value of 0.106 at the end of the injection. The virtual origin value was within 10–13 mm independently of the injection pressure, and the spray cone angle, determined in comparison to the virtual origin, was close to 30°. The axial decrease of the mean axial velocity showed a great similarity with that of the free gas jet in the central spray part. However, the axial decrease of the rms-velocity was faster than that of the free gas jet.     

Turbulent gas jets and diesel-like sprays in a crossflow: A study on axis deflection and air entrainment

The interaction between a turbulent gas jet/diesel spray and a crossflow has been analysed. This phenomenon is a simplification of a more complex one that takes place in the combustion chamber of small direct injection diesel engines, and its study will help to better understand this more complex case. The two main aspects analysed here are axis deflection and air entrainment. It was found that both aspects are related to each other, and that the air/jet (or air/spray) momentum flux ratio is very relevant in the phenomenon. Scaling laws for the axis deflection of a jet/spray were obtained, and an original method to obtain fuel concentration along the axis of a jet/spray in a crossflow has been established. Gas jets and diesel sprays are found to be very similar even when they interact with a crossflow.     

An experimental study on the spray structure of oxygenated fuel using laser-based visualization and particle image velocimetry

The oxygenated fuels such as dimethoxy methane (DMM), dimethyl carbonate (DMC), dimethyl ether (DME) are regarded as hopeful alternative fuels as well as fuel additive to resolve the trade-off relation between NOx and smoke in normal diesel engine. The better understanding for the effect of oxygenated fuel on the atomization is helpful for the combustion optimization. This paper presents an experimental study on the spray structure of oxygenated fuel by laser-based 2D visualization and particle image velocimetry (PIV). The fuels are injected from a single-hole nozzle at an injection pressure of 40 MPa into a room condition. A signal synchronization system is developed to obtain the spray at an arbitrary injection delay time. The spray structures of diesel fuel and oxygenated fuel are visualized by 2D Mie scattering imaging. A direct cross-correlation DPIV technique is applied to analyze the instantaneous droplet velocity vector field. It is found that the spray of oxygenated fuel shows an umbrella-shape structure, a lager spray angle, and a shorter spray tip penetration than diesel fuel. The spray of oxygenated fuel presents a weak large-scale heterogeneity and branch-like structure, a finer droplet, a stronger interface between fuel spray and surrounding gas, and a more violent vortical motion. The viscosity of property of oxygenated fuel plays a significant effect on the improvement of atomization behavior.     

Optimization of fuel/air mixture formation for stoichiometric diesel combustion using a 2-spray-angle group-hole nozzle

This paper describes a numerical study of fuel/air mixing processes for stoichiometric diesel combustion. In order to overcome the deterioration of combustion efficiency that accompanies stoichiometric diesel combustion due to poor mixing and lack of available oxygen, a new nozzle layout, namely a 2-spray-angle group-hole nozzle, which consists a grouped upper spray plume (squish spray) and a lower spray plume (bowl spray) was investigated. The KIVA code with updated physical and chemistry models, including the KH-RT breakup model, 2-step phenomenological soot model, reduced n-heptane and GRI NOx mechanisms was used for the calculations. An optimized 2-spray-angle group-hole nozzle with 170° squish spray angle and 80° bowl spray angle showed significantly improved fuel consumption (178 g/kW h⁻¹) compared to the baseline nozzle layout (213 g/kW h⁻¹) and the 2-spray-angle nozzle without hole-grouping (193 g/kW h⁻¹).     

Solids entrainment into gas, liquid, and gas-liquid spray jets in fluidized beds

The injection of liquid into a fluidized bed is a crucial step in many processes such as fluid coking, fluid catalytic cracking, or gas-phase polymerization, whose performance greatly depends on good and rapid contact between the injected liquid and the fluidized particles. The liquid spray, created by two-phase (gas-liquid) nozzles, forms a jet, i.e. a gas-rich cavity within the fluidized bed. Past studies have shown that good liquid-solid contact requires a large entrainment rate of particles into the jet, followed by intensive mixing of liquid droplets and entrained particles within the jet. The objective of this study is the experimental measurement of solids entrainment into spray jets. The specific application of interest is the enhancement of solids entrainment under conditions relevant to the fluid coking process.A novel and accurate experimental technique has been developed to measure the solids entrainment from a fluidized bed into two-phase gas-liquid jets, gas jets and liquid jets. The effects of operating conditions of the nozzle (sonic versus subsonic) and of the fluidized bed on the solids entrainment have been investigated. The differences between the mechanisms of solids entrainment for two-phase gas-liquid, gas and liquid jets have been analyzed.This experimental tool has been applied to the design and testing of a mixing chamber consisting of a cylindrical tube placed at a certain distance downstream of the nozzle tip, resulting in a confined, turbulent jet with enhanced liquid-solid mixing properties.     

Experimental investigation and model improvement on the atomization performance of single-hole Y-jet nozzle with high liquid flow rate

Y-jet nozzle, as an efficient multi-hole internal-mixing twin-fluid atomizer, has been widely used for liquid fuel spray in many industrial processes. However, single-hole Y-jet nozzle with high liquid flow rate is indispensable in some confined situations due to a small spray cone angle. In this paper, the atomization performance of single-hole Y-jet nozzles with high liquid mass flow rates ranging from 400 to 1500 kg/h for practical semidry flue gas desulfurization processes was investigated by the laser particle size analyzer, and the effects of spray water pressure, atomizing air pressure and air to liquid mass flow ratio on the liquid mass flow rate and the droplet size distribution were analyzed. Moreover, the secondary atomization model was modified on the basis of previous random atomization model of Y-jet nozzle. The predicted results agreed well with the experimental ones, and the improved atomization model of Y-jet nozzle was well validated to design the nozzle geometry and to predict the droplet size distributions for single-hole Y-jet nozzle with high liquid mass flow rate.     

Influence of atomiser design and coaxial gas velocity on gas entrainment into sprays

To study the influence of atomiser design and coaxial air velocity on entrainment of coaxial and confined sprays, the sprays issuing from a number of different atomisers are investigated experimentally under various external flow conditions. Air and liquid velocity profiles in the spray are determined by phase-doppler-anemometry (PDA), liquid mass flux profiles are measured using a mechanical droplet collection device (patternator) with a high spatial resolution. Experiments are performed in a 300 mm diameter vertical wind tunnel at superficial air velocities up to 30 m s⁻¹ at liquid flow rates from 0.083 to 0.278 kg s⁻¹. Experimental results are compared with free spray data and a generalised free jet theory. Comparing the sprays from different atomisers displays high induced air flow rates for high velocity narrow sprays and high entrained air flow rates for wide sprays. The influence of coaxial air velocity depends largely on the width of the spray and may be predicted by a simple model that is developed to determine the entrainment of coaxial and confined sprays from free spray data.     

An Experimental Investigation of Agglomeration with One and Two Nozzle Atomisation

Water-droplet size and velocity measurements were taken throughout two different sprays produced by a single nozzle and two nozzles pointed towards each other. The aim of this investigation was to understand the manner in which the motion of the droplets in a spray leads to agglomeration of these droplets. It appears that the inertia of the droplets plays an important role in the redistribution of droplets throughout a spray. Larger droplets tend to concentrate at the outer portions of the spray, because they are able to maintain their radial momentum farther downstream of a nozzle, while the smaller droplets follow the airflow more closely and thus collect in the core of the spray. Agglomeration can result from both turbulent collisions and collisions due to the relative velocities of the droplets. The difference between the agglomeration rates in the sprays from a single nozzle and two-nozzles pointed towards each other was difficult to resolve in these experiments, although the results suggest that th     

单双喷嘴雾化凝聚的实验研究

Water-droplet size and velocity measurements were taken throughout two different sprays produced by a single nozzle and two nozzles pointed towards each other. The aim of this investigation was to understand the manner in which the motion of the droplets in a spray leads to agglomeration of these droplets. It appears that the inertia of the droplets plays an important role in the redistribution of droplets throughout a spray. Larger droplets tend to concentrate at the outer portions of the spray, because they are able to maintain their radial momentum farther downstream of a nozzle, while the smaller droplets follow the airflow more closely and thus collect in the core of the spray. Agglomeration can result from both turbulent collisions and collisions due to the relative velocities of the droplets. The difference between the agglomeration rates in the sprays from a single nozzle and two-nozzles pointed towards each other was difficult to resolve in these experiments, although the results suggest that the outer portions of both sprays should be investigated more closely for evidence of agglomeration.     

A Photographic Study of Flash-Boiling Atomization

To gain an insight into the mechanisms of flash-boiling atomization, heated water was injected from a single-hole orifice into heated air (steady injections, liquid pressure 697 kPa, air pressure ambient, test temperatures from 300 to 426 K, orifice diameter 0.34 mm, length 1.37 mm). The breakup regime of interest in the study was that where the spray divergence starts at the nozzle exit. Short-duration backlit photographs and laser diffraction dropsize measurements showed that these flashing jets comprise an inner intact core which is surrounded by the diverging fine spray. These details about the spray structure are not visible in conventional photographs of flashing sprays that use scattered light illumination. The present results cast doubt on a previously proposed theory of flash-boiling atomization that attributes the divergence of the spray cone to the expansion processes that occur in an underex-panded compressible flow, since that theory implies that the liquid is already atomized upon leaving the nozzle. Instead, the photographs show that drops are expelled from the unbroken liquid jet starting at the nozzle exit (presumably by rapid vapor bubble growth within the jet). The core region remains intact for some distance downstream of the nozzle exit, and its breakup eventually produces relatively large drops. As the liquid temperature approaches boiling, the intact length and the core drop size decrease. Thus operation close to boiling is desirable for effective atomization. However, the nozzle mass flow rate decreases and practical difficulties are found (owing to “vapor-lock”) as the liquid is heated near boiling.     

Macroscopic spray characteristics and breakup performance of dimethyl ether (DME) fuel at high fuel temperatures and ambient conditions

The purpose of this work was to investigate, both experimentally and numerically, the spray behavior and atomization characteristics of dimethyl ether (DME) at high fuel temperatures and under various ambient conditions. In order to compare the theoretical and measured spray characteristics of DME fuel, macroscopic characteristics such as spray tip penetration and spray cone angle were investigated using spray visualization system with a heating system. DME atomization performance was calculated under various conditions from KIVA-3 V code and studied via analysis of the overall Sauter mean diameter (SMD) map, which is related to ambient gas temperature, ambient pressure, and fuel temperature.DME spray was found to exhibit behavior that differs from diesel spray under atmospheric condition. However, at high ambient pressure conditions, DME and diesel sprays display similar behavior. At ambient atmospheric condition, the spray cone angle of DME fuel is larger than that of diesel spray due to the occurrence of flash boiling. Variation in DME fuel temperature had little effect on spray tip penetration and spray cone angle characteristics. An increase in ambient air temperature caused an increase in DME spray cone angle due to an enhancement of the flash boiling effect. However, the DME spray cone angle showed a decreasing trend at high ambient pressure conditions when the ambient air temperature was increased. This was due to the disappearance of flash boiling and the evaporation of droplets at the exterior of the spray cone. In the overall SMD map, the increase of the ambient gas temperature and fuel temperature induced the increase of DME overall droplet size. On the other hand, the ambient gas pressure have slightly influenced on the overall SMD at a low ambient gas temperature and low fuel temperature, but the effect of the ambient gas pressure is significant at high ambient gas temperature and high fuel temperature. At high ambient gas temperature, the increase of the ambient gas pressure causes the increase of the overall SMD. At high DME fuel temperature, the decrease of the ambient gas pressure induces the increase of the overall SMD.     

EFFECT OF CROSS FLOW ON THE SPRAY CHARACTERISTICS OF AN INDUSTRIAL FEED NOZZLE

The spray characteristics of a scaled-down version of an industrial feed nozzle are studied in the presence of a cross flow. Aerated liquid nitrogen is injected through the nozzle to generate the spray. The aeration rate is low and held constant, while two different liquid flow rates are used to produce the spray. A nonuniform wind profile is chosen to represent the cross flow condition. The droplet diameter and velocity measurements are acquired using a phase-Doppler particle analyzer. The results of the present study indicate that the spray momentum flux determines the extent of the jet bending. The droplets are accelerated significantly in the initial jet region as a result of flashing. However, further downstream of the nozzle, the vaporization of the droplets is considered to be negligible. The size-velocity correlation changes significantly for the case where the spray is shifted due to the cross flow.     

An experimental and numerical study on sprays injected from two-hole nozzles for DISI engines

The objective of this study is to investigate the mixture formation process of sprays injected from two-hole nozzles for direct-injection spark-ignition (DISI) engines. Spray characteristics were examined for vapor and liquid mass distributions, spray tip penetration and spray angle using the laser absorption-scattering (LAS) technique and the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. Other characteristics including: the vapor phase concentration distribution, droplet spatial distribution and pressure distribution were acquired from the CFD simulation results. Comparison of measured and calculated results showed that as the hole-axis-angle (HAA) of the two-hole nozzle decreased, the droplet coalescence increased and vapor mass decreased. The spray with the HAA of 10° had the longest spray tip penetration and the spray with the HAA of 15° had the shortest one. The two jets of the two-hole nozzle spray had a tendency of offsetting to the central region of the spray. From 10 to 15 MPa, the increase in the injection pressure increased the vaporization rate and the spray tip penetration rate very much, but no such tendency was found when the injection pressure increased from 15 to 20 MPa.     

Influence of two-stage injection and exhaust gas recirculation on the emissions reduction in an ethanol-blended diesel-fueled four-cylinder diesel engine

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of two-stage injection and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on the spray behavior and exhaust emission characteristics in diesel-ethanol fuel blends fueled four-cylinder diesel engine. The spray behavior is analyzed from the spray development process, spray tip penetration, and spray cone angle, which are obtained from the spray images. The combustion and exhaust emission characteristics are measured from the four-cylinder diesel engine with a common-rail injection system.The experimental results revealed that the increase of the pilot injection amount causes the fast development of the injected pilot spray, and the penetration difference among the main sprays is less than that among the pilot sprays. An increase in the ethanol blending ratio causes an increase in the ignition delay in the pilot combustion, but the main combustion is little influenced by the ethanol blending. The increase in the pilot injection amount shows the reduction effects of NO_x emissions when the pilot injection timing is advanced beyond BTDC 20°. The concentration of soot emissions shows a decreasing pattern according to the advance of the pilot injection and the decrease in the pilot injection amount. The CO emissions increase with the advance of the pilot injection timing, the increase in the pilot injection amount, and the ethanol blending ratio. In addition, the increase in the ethanol blending ratio and the advance of the pilot injection timing induce an increase in the HC emissions. The increase in the pilot injection amount induces a slight increase in the HC emissions.     

A study on the macroscopic spray behavior and atomization characteristics of biodiesel and dimethyl ether sprays under increased ambient pressure

The aim of this work is to investigate the spray behaviors of biodiesel and dimethyl ether (DME) fuels using image processing and atomization performance analysis of the two fuel sprays injected through a common-rail injection system under various ambient pressure conditions in a high pressure chamber. In order to observe the biodiesel and DME fuel spray behaviors under various ambient pressures, the spray images were analyzed at various times after the start of energization using a visualization system consisting of a high speed camera and two metal halide light sources. In addition, a high pressure chamber that can withstand a pressure of 4 MPa was used for adjusting the ambient pressure. From the spray images, spray characteristics such as the spray tip penetration, cone angle, area, and contour plot at various light intensity levels were analyzed using image conversion processing. Also, the local Sauter mean diameters (SMD) were measured at various axial/radial distances from the nozzle tip by a droplet measuring system to compare the atomization performances of the biodiesel and DME sprays.The results showed that the ambient pressure had a significant effect on the spray characteristics of the fuels at the various experimental conditions. The spray tip penetration and spray area decreased as the ambient pressure increased. The contour plot of the biodiesel and DME sprays showed a high light intensity level in the center regions of the sprays. In addition, it was revealed that the atomization performance of the biodiesel spray was inferior to that of the DME spray at the same injection and ambient conditions.     

Effect of cross flow on the spray characteristics of an industrial feed nozzle

The spray characteristics of a scaled-down version of an industrial feed nozzle are studied in the presence of a cross flow. Aerated liquid nitrogen is injected through the nozzle to generate the spray. The aeration rate is low and held constant, while two different liquid flow rates are used to produce the spray. A nonuniform wind profile is chosen to represent the cross flow condition. The droplet diameter and velocity measurements are acquired using a phase-Doppler particle analyzer. The results of the present study indicate that the spray momentum flux determines the extent of the jet bending. The droplets are accelerated significantly in the initial jet region as a result of flashing. However, further downstream of the nozzle, the vaporization of the droplets is considered to be negligible. The size-velocity correlation changes significantly for the case where the spray is shifted due to the cross flow.     

Cyclic variations of diesel sprays

The spray pulses produced by a single hole diesel injector were investigated and the cyclic variations, from pulse to pulse, of spray penetration rate were quantified. These variations were found to be significant, with a 10% standard deviation of spray tip penetration velocity, at any downstream position, being typical. Cyclic variations of the nozzle exit velocity, due to the characteristics of the internal flow in the nozzle and the pump, were also investigated. These variations have a standard deviation < 2%. From these and other data it was concluded that the principal causes of cyclic variations are rooted in a lack of repetition of the atomization process, from pulse to pulse. This variation in the atomization or break-up process is a natural phenomenon although nozzle turbulence may increase the effect. The influences of these variations on engine performance and their control are discussed.     

Diesel nozzle geometry influence on spray liquid-phase fuel penetration in evaporative conditions

An experimental study of real multi-hole Diesel nozzles is performed under current DI Diesel engines operating conditions. The aim of the investigation is to study the influence of orifice geometry on the flow at the nozzle exit and to analyse its effect on the spray in evaporative conditions. Special attention is taken in the study of the influence of cavitation on the orifice internal flow and spray development. The spray liquid-phase fuel penetration has been characterized. The visualization was made in a wide optical access engine for different operating conditions. From the measurements, the dependencies of nozzle geometry, injection conditions and ambient conditions on liquid-phase length were studied and analyzed. A model for liquid-phase fuel penetration in diesel sprays based on nozzle flow parameters has been proposed and validated.