Enhanced splash models for high pressure Diesel sprays

Mixture preparation is a crucial aspect for the correct operation of modern DI Diesel engines as it greatly influences and alters the combustion process and therefore, the exhaust emissions. The complete comprehension of the spray impingement phenomenon is a quite complete task and to completely exploit the phenomenon a mixed numerical experimental approach has to be considered. On the modeling side, several studies can be found in the scientific literature but only in the last years complete multidimensional modeling has been developed and applied to engine simulations. Among the models available in literature, in this paper, the models by Bai and Gosman [1] and by Lee et al. [2, 3] have been selected and implemented in the KIVA-3V code. On the experimental side, the behavior of a Diesel impinging spray emerging from a common rail injection system (injection pressures of 80 MPa and 120 MPa) has been analysed. The impinging spray has been lightened by a pulsed laser sheet generated from the second harmonic of a Nd - YAG laser. The images have been acquired by a CCD camera at different times from the start of injection (SOI). Digital image processing software has enabled to extract the characteristic parameters of the impinging spray with respect to different operating conditions. The comparison of numerical and experimental data shows that both models should be modified in order to allow a proper simulation of the splash phenomena in modern Diesel engines. Then the numerical data in terms of radial growth, height and shape of the splash cloud, as predicted by modified versions of the models are compared to the experimental ones. Differences among the models are highlighted and discussed.