Effect of cavitation in nozzle orifice on the diesel fuel atomization characteristics

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of cavitating flow on the diesel fuel atomization characteristics in nozzles of different length to width (L/W) ratios.In order to obtain the atomization characteristics due to the cavitation in the nozzle flow, the visualization of cavitation was performed by flow visualization system, and atomization characteristics such as Sauter mean diameter (SMD) and droplet mean velocity was determined by using a particle analysis system.The results of this study show that the cavitation flow in the nozzle can be observed when the discharge coefficient is within the range from Cd = 0.709 to 0.8312 in case of L/W = 1.8, and Cd = 0.5793 to 0.7705 in case of L/W = 2.7. Based on the experimental results, it can be said that the cavitation generated in the nozzle enhances the fuel atomization performance and the longer nozzle orifice length induces more fuel atomization.