A study on diesel spray tip penetration and radial expansion under reacting conditions

The shape of Diesel spray was investigated at real engine conditions in a constant pressure combustion chamber. Schlieren imaging technique was used to make quantitative measurements of spray tip penetration and radial width stressing the impact that the fuel combustion and heat release have on the spray shape. The heat-release region and the Lift-off length were identified measuring OH* chemiluminescence. The fuel (n-dodecane) as well as the operating conditions and the injector used (single axially-oriented hole, 89 μm-diameter) were chosen following the guidelines of the Engine Combustion Network. The effects of different operating parameters on the axial and radial expansion were also investigated. According to the results the reacting spray can be divided into three parts: an inert part, a transient one, and a quasi-steady one that lays between the two other regions. A new method for evaluating this radial expansion of reacting spray was developed, which was evaluated under the different operating conditions. Results show that the radial expansion increases with increasing injection pressure and decreasing ambient temperature and ambient density. The oxygen concentration has no obvious effect on the radial expansion.