Swirl and Injection Pressure Effect on Post-Oxidation Flow Pattern Evaluated with Combustion Image Velocimetry, CIV, and CFD Simulation

In-cylinder flow pattern has been examined experimentally in a heavy duty optical diesel engine and simulated with CFD code during the combustion and the post-oxidation phase. Mean swirling velocity field and its evolution were extracted from optical tests with combustion image velocimetry (CIV). It is known that the post-oxidation period has great impact on the soot emissions. Lately it has been shown in swirling combustion systems with high injection pressures, that the remaining swirling vortex in the post-oxidation phase deviates strongly from solid body rotation. Solid body rotation can only be assumed to be the case before fuel injection. In the studied cases the tangential velocity is higher in the centre of the piston bowl compared to the outer region of the bowl. The used CIV method is closely related to the PIV technique, but makes it possible to extract flow pattern during combustion at full load in an optical diesel engine. Injection pressure was varied from 200 up to 2500 bar at 1000 rpm without EGR. Swirl was varied between 1.2 and 6.4 at BDC. The CFD simulation was a sector simulation on the same in-cylinder geometry and boundary conditions as in the optical engine.

The main findings show that with increased injection pressure, together with swirl, the angular velocity increases in the centre of the piston bowl meanwhile the angular velocity decreases slightly in the outer region. The total angular momentum decreases slightly when injection starts and the total rotational kinetic energy increases significantly. The redistribution of the angular velocity is caused by the driving force from the injection. When the swirling bulk flow acts on the injected spray/flame, its orbit is slightly directed to the leeward side of the swirl. When the flame is directed back to the cylinder centre, by the bowl, it has thereby an offset from where it is injected. This offset together with the high flow velocity from the flame increases the angular velocity in the central region of the combustion chamber. The angular velocity in the outer part of the bowl decreases slightly when angular momentum is moved into the centre of the bowl were the velocity increases. This deviation in angular velocity has been observed in both the CFD results and in the CIV results were it survives into the post-oxidation phase with slow dissipation during the expansion stroke. The dissipation is a source for late cycle turbulence generation that affects the soot oxidation.