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Large eddy simulation of fuel injection and mixing process in a diesel engine

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Abstract

The large eddy simulation (LES) approach implemented in the KIVA-3V code and based on one-equation sub-grid turbulent kinetic energy model are employed for numerical computation of diesel sprays in a constant volume vessel and in a Caterpillar 3400 series diesel engine. Computational results are compared with those obtained by an RANS (RNG k-ɛ) model as well as with experimental data. The sensitivity of the LES results to mesh resolution is also discussed. The results show that LES generally provides flow and spray characteristics in better agreement with experimental data than RANS; and that small-scale random vortical structures of the in-cylinder turbulent spray field can be captured by LES. Furthermore, the penetrations of fuel droplets and vapors calculated by LES are larger than the RANS result, and the sub-grid turbulent kinetic energy and sub-grid turbulent viscosity provided by the LES model are evidently less than those calculated by the RANS model. Finally, it is found that the initial swirl significantly affects the spray penetration and the distribution of fuel vapor within the combustion chamber.

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Abbreviations

C D :

Drag coefficient

F i,d :

Drag force from gas to droplet

G :

LES spatial filter function

K :

Subgrid kinetic energy per unit mass

m d :

Droplet mass

ṁd :

Droplet evaporation rate

p :

Pressure

P :

Subgrid kinetic energy production

P r :

Prandtl number

r d :

Droplet radius

Re d :

Reynolds number

Sc t :

Turbulent Schmidt number

S i j :

Rate of strain tensor

u i :

Velocity

V rel :

Drop-gas relative velocity

W s :

Spray source

Y m :

Mass fraction of species m

δ i j :

Kronecker delta

ɛ sgs :

Dissipation rate for subgrid kinetic energy

ρ :

Gas density

δ ij :

Shear stress

τ ij :

Viscous shear stress

\(\bar \Delta \) :

Grid size

µ:

Dynamic viscosity

υ t :

Eddy viscosity

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, 116024, Dalian, China

    Lei Zhou, Mao-Zhao Xie & Ming Jia

  2. Department of Power Engineering, Shenyang Institute of Engineering, 110136, Shenyang, China

    Jun-Rui Shi

Authors
  1. Lei Zhou
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  2. Mao-Zhao Xie
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  3. Ming Jia
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  4. Jun-Rui Shi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mao-Zhao Xie.

Additional information

The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (50806008) and the National Basic Research Program of China (2007CB210002).

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Zhou, L., Xie, MZ., Jia, M. et al. Large eddy simulation of fuel injection and mixing process in a diesel engine. Acta Mech Sin 27, 519–530 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-011-0485-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-011-0485-1

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