Preliminary Investigation of Exhaust Pressure Waves in a Single Cylinder Diesel Engine and the Impacts on Aftertreatment Sprays

The pressure wave actions were investigated in the exhaust system of a single cylinder diesel engine through both experimental and simulation methods. The characteristics of the exhaust pressure waves under different engine operating conditions, such as engine load and exhaust backpressure, were examined. The results showed that the strength of the exhaust pressure wave was affected by both the in-cylinder pressure and the exhaust backpressure in the exhaust system during the period when the exhaust valves were open. The exhaust gas flow velocity was also estimated by the one dimensional simulation tool AVL BOOST™. The results suggested that the velocity of the exhaust gas fluctuated during the engine cycle, and followed trends similar to the exhaust pressure wave. The transient gas flow velocity was high when there was a strong compression wave, and it was reduced when the pressure fluctuations in the exhaust manifold were small. A shock tube test bench was set up to complement the empirical work performed on the engine system. Optical methods were used to study the effect of the pressure wave and the accompanying high velocity gas flow on the atomization and distribution of liquid sprays from a low pressure fuel injector. Such an injector is typically used in a diesel exhaust after-treatment system. From the results, it was seen that a transient high velocity gas flow had significant impacts on the spray development.