Experimental and analytical study on biodiesel and diesel spray characteristics under ultra-high injection pressure

Spray characteristics of biodiesels (from palm and cooked oil) and diesel under ultra-high injection pressures up to 300 MPa were studied experimentally and analytically. Injection delay, spray penetration, spray angle, spray projected area and spray volume were measured in a spray vessel using a high speed video camera. Air entrainment and atomization characteristics were analyzed with the quasi-steady jet theory and an atomization model respectively. The study shows that biodiesels give longer injection delay and spray tip penetration. Spray angle, projected area and volume of biodiesels are smaller than those of diesel fuel. The approximately linear relationship of non-dimensional spray tip penetration versus time suggests that the behavior of biodiesel and diesel sprays is similar to that of gaseous turbulent jets. Calculation from the quasi-steady jet theory shows that the air entrainment of palm oil is worse than that of diesel, while the cooked oil and diesel present comparable air entrainment characteristics. The estimation on spray droplet size shows that biodiesels generate larger Sauter mean diameter due to higher viscosity and surface tension. (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.