As more virtual product development is integrated into the mass-production development process and overall development times are shortened, efficient intake-port design requires closer cooperation between design, simulation and test engineers. Doppler Global Velocimetry (DGV) has become an important link in the overall intake-port development process as it provides 3D-vector fields of flow velocity. Hence, it can be used to make direct comparisons with 3D-CFD-simulation results.
The present paper describes the hardware-assisted inlet port development process for diesel engines, the cooperation among port design, 3D-CFD-simulation with the creation of alternative geometries and DGV flow-measurement of preferred variants with their capability of checking and improving simulation results.
For example, alternative port geometries designed during the concept phase and classified as preferred variants on the grounds of positively rated simulation results can be manufactured as port liners for a variable flow-box at an early stage and be measured using the DGV system.
The inlet port development process described uses the results of a long-term benchmarking study of passenger-car diesel engines. Production cylinder heads of various engine manufacturers are measured using DGV. The measured data is stored in a database and is available for designing new port geometries or classifying existing intake port concepts.
The systematic optimization of in-cylinder flow plays a crucial role in modern direct injecting diesel engines. Modern, powerful 3D-CFD-simulation must be supported by a high-performance flow measurement technique, such as Doppler Global Velocimetry.