Radial expansion of flash boiling jet and its relationship with spray collapse in gasoline direct injection engine

In order to mitigate spray collapse and fully utilize the advantage of flash boiling injection in gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines, it is important to understand the flashing jet behavior and its relationship with spray collapse. In this study, n-hexane sprays discharged from a modified single-hole injector and the original five-hole injector were studied. The tests were carried out in a constant volume vessel with injection temperatures from 30 to 130 °C and ambient pressures (Pamb) from 20 to 101 kPa. By analyzing the relationship between the jet width and different parameters including superheat level, nucleation rate, and chemical potential of phase change (Δμ), strong correlation was found between the jet width and Δμ·Pamb−0.5, indicating the radial expansion of flashing jets was determined by chemical potential of phase change and ambient resistance. Beyond 20d0, the correlation was gradually weakened along the axis, as flash boiling process was finished. Besides, it was found that the extent of single-jet radial expansion was positively related to that of multi-jet spray collapse in the transitional collapse region. Therefore, to mitigate spray collapse, it is necessary to restrict the radial jet expansion, and generating external flashing jets is proposed as a practical approach to realize it.