An investigation of the validity of a homogeneous equilibrium model for different diesel injector nozzles and flow conditions

In the present work, a methodology for modeling flow behavior inside the fuel injector holes is applied to a number of cases with different geometries and flow conditions. After assessment of the approach results through various experimental studies looking into the flows behavior inside the diesel nozzles, two series of analyses are defined. In the first study, the effect of inlet pressure is investigated by using a series of different rail pressures in both numerical and experimental tests in a single hole industrial injector. Results show a non-cavitating flow and an approximately linear increase of the velocity, turbulence kinetic energy, and turbulence dissipation energy with the increase of pressure difference and linear increase of the mass flow rate with the square root of the pressure difference in this nozzle. The second study is related to the effect of hole geometry on injector performance. The effects of entrance edge rounding and the tube conicity factor are investigated by changing these parameters in a series of geometries from an industrial diesel nozzle. Results show that cavitation occurs in the geometries with a sharper edge and low conicity. The role of the cavitation in emerging flow properties is emphasized in the values of the injector discharge factor and the turbulence properties. The results of this work can be used in the simulation of the primary breakup of fuel spray, and this approach is useful for design and optimization of the injectors for industrial sectors.