Influence of nozzle geometry and injection conditions on the cavitation flow inside a diesel injector

Cavitation and turbulence in a diesel injector nozzle has a great effect on the development and primary breakup of spray. However, the mechanism of the cavitation flow inside the nozzle and its influence on spray characteristics have not been clearly known yet because of the internal nozzle flow complexities. In this paper, a comprehensive numerical simulation is carried out to study the internal flow of nozzle and the cavitation phenomenon. The internal cavitation flow of the nozzle is simulated using the Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid model. In this approach, the diesel liquid and the diesel vapor are considered as two continuous phases, and the governing equations of each phase are solved separately. Simulation method is validated by comparing the numerical results with experimental data and good correspondence is achieved. The effective parameters on the nozzle flow are investigated, including injection pressure, back pressure, inlet curvature radius of orifice, orifice iconicity and its length. Results clearly show the importance of nozzle geometrical characteristics and dynamic parameters on the internal nozzle flow. Discharge coefficient of nozzle and cavitation distribution in the nozzle are extremely dependent on these parameters, so the effect of cavitation on the primary breakup is not negligible.