Numerical Study on the Effect of Cavitation on Flow and Diesel Fuel Atomization Characteristics

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models based on the turbulent mixture multiphase model were applied to consider the effect of cavitation on the spray of diesel fuel. The effects of injection pressure and length‐to‐width (L/W) ratio on the velocity distribution, cavitation number, discharged coefficient, and nozzle exit velocity were investigated and the performance of the model was compared with the experimental data. The results indicate that the cavitation generated in the nozzle has a strong impact on the fuel injection and spray quality, whereas the L/W ratio is a highly effective parameter for cavitation behavior. In addition, by increasing the L/W ratio, the range of cavitation number, wall friction, and flow resistance increase but in the cavitation region the velocity profile in radial and axial directions, spray cone angle, nozzle exit velocity, and the discharged coefficient decrease.

An Experimental and Numerical Study on the Cavitation and Spray Characteristics of Micro-Orifice Injectors under Low-Pressure Conditions

“…In the supercavitation regime, the extension of cavitation to the nozzle outlet can improve fuel atomization. Sadegharani et al [24] investigated the effects of the injection pressure and nozzle L/D ratio on the fluid velocity distribution and cavitation behavior during diesel atomization. As the L/D ratio was increased, the cavitation number, wall friction, and flow resistance increased, whereas the discharge coefficient, spray velocity, spray angle, and spray velocity at the nozzle exit decreased.…”