Regressed relations for forced convection heat transfer in a direct injection stratified charge rotary engine

Currently, the heat transfer equation used in the rotary combustion engine (RCE) simulation model is taken from piston engine studies. These relations have been empirically developed by the experimental input coming from piston engines whose geometry differs considerably from that of the RCE. The objective of this work was to derive equations to estimate heat transfer coefficients in the combustion chamber of an RCE. This was accomplished by making detailed temperature and pressure measurements in a direct injection stratified charge (DISC) RCE under a range of conditions. For each specific measurement point, the local gas velocity was assumed equal to the local rotor tip speed. Local physical properties of the fluids were then calculated. Two types of correlation equations were derived and are described in this paper. The first correlation expresses the Nusselt number as a function of the Prandtl number, Reynolds number, and characteristic temperature ratio; the second correlation expresses the forced convection heat transfer coefficient as a function of fluid temperature, pressure and velocity

Incident Beam Polarization for Laser Doppler Velocimetry Employing a Sapphire Cylindrical Window

For laser Doppler velocimetry studies employing sapphire windows as optical access ports, the birefringency of sapphire produces an extra beam intersection volume which serves to effectively smear the acquired velocity flow field data. It is shown that for a cylindrical window geometry, the extra beam intersection volume may be eliminated with minimal decrease in the fringe visibility of the remaining intersection volume by suitably orienting the polarizations of the initial laser beams. For horizontally incident beams, these polarizations were measured at three intersection locations within the cylinder. It was found that the measured polarization angles agreed with the theoretical predictions

Imaging of Combustion Species in a Radially-Staged Gas Turbine Combustor

Planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) is used to characterize the complex flowfield of a unique fuel-lean, radially-staged, high pressure gas turbine combustor. PLIF images of OH are presented for two fuel injector configurations. PLIF images of NO, the first acquired at these conditions, are presented and compared with gas sample extraction probe measurements. Flow field imaging of nascent C2 chemiluminescence is also investigated. An examination is made of the interaction between adjoining lean premixed prevaporized (LPP) injectors. Fluorescence interferences at conditions approaching 2000 K and 15 atm are observed and attributed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emissions. All images are acquired at a position immediately downstream of the fuel injectors with the combustor burning JP-5 fuel

Liquid sprays and flow studies in the direct-injection diesel engine under motored conditions

A two dimensional, implicit finite difference method of the control volume variety, a two equation model of turbulence, and a discrete droplet model were used to study the flow field, turbulence levels, fuel penetration, vaporization, and mixing in diesel engine environments. The model was also used to study the effects of engine speed, injection angle, spray cone angle, droplet distribution, and intake swirl angle on the flow field, spray penetration and vaporization, and turbulence in motored two-stroke diesel engines. It is shown that there are optimum conditions for injection, which depend on droplet distribution, swirl, spray cone angle, and injection angle. The optimum conditions result in good spray penetration and vaporization and in good fuel mixing. The calculation presented clearly indicates that internal combustion engine models can be used to assess, at least qualitatively, the effects of injection characteristics and engine operating conditions on the flow field and on the spray penetration and vaporization in diesel engines

Incident Beam Polarization for Laser Doppler Velocimetry Employing a Sapphire Cylindrical Window

For laser Doppler velocimetry studies employing sapphire windows as optical access ports, the birefringency of sapphire produces an extra beam intersection volume which serves to effectively smear the acquired velocity flow field data. It is shown that for a cylindrical window geometry, the extra beam intersection volume may be eliminated with minimal decrease in the fringe visibility of the remaining intersection volume by suitably orienting the polarizations of the initial laser beams. For horizontally incident beams, these polarizations were measured at three intersection locations within the cylinder. It was found that the measured polarization angles agreed with the theoretical predictions

The Effect of Piston Bowl and Spray Configuration on Diesel Combustion and Emissions

A numerical and experimental study of the effect of piston bowl and spray configuration on diesel combustion and emissions has been conducted. The objective of this study is to gain better understanding of the effect of the piston bowl shape and fuel injector configuration on fuel-air mixing, combustion, and emissions in a diesel engine. Ideally, a uniform fuel-air mixture in the cylinder is desired to prevent the formation of regions containing a rich mixture, where soot is usually formed, and regions of lean mixtures, where nitrogen oxides are formed. Different piston bowl shapes and fuel injectors (number of nozzles, spray angle) have been considered and simulated using computational fluid dynamics and experiments. CFD calculations of fuel mass fraction, and measurements of cylinder pressure and emissions species are included. The results show that computer simulations coupled with experiments provide insight into the interactions between fluid flow, fuel-air mixing, combustion, and emissions

Design of Engine Intake Systems Using Computer Simulations

A computational study of a direct-injection (DI) engine intake system using KIVA-3V was conducted. The engine considered had two intake ports designed to generate a swirling motion of the intake charge in the cylinder. To investigate the effect of adding shrouds to the intake valves on swirl, two sets of intake valves were considered; the first set consisted of conventional valves, and the second set of valves had back shrouds to restrict airflow from the backside of the valves. The effect of port diameters on air flow and swirl motion was also investigated. In this case, ports with two different diameters were modeled. In addition, the effect of using one or two intake ports on swirl generation was determined by blocking one of the ports. The results show that higher swirl was generated with a single port and a shrouded valve

Numerical Study to Achieve Stratified EGR in Engines

Exhaust Gas Re-circulation (EGR) has been used in intemal combustion engines to control automotive emissions. EGR is usually used to dilute the inlet charge, which consists of air, by redirecting part of the exhaust into the inlet manifold of the engine. This results in a reduction of the oxygen mass fraction in the inlet charge. However, dilution of the air-fuel mixture in an engine using stratified EGR could offer significant fuel economy saving comparable to lean burn or stratified charge direct-injection SI engines. The most critical challenge is to keep the EGR and air-fuel mixture separated, or to minimize the mixing between the two zones to an acceptable level for stable and complete combustion. Swirl-type stratified EGR and fuel-air flow structure is considered desirable for this purpose, because the circular shape of the cylinder tends to preserve the swirl motion. Moreover, the axial piston motion has minimal effect on the swirling motion of the fluid in the cylinder. In this study, we consider intake system design in order to generate a two-zone combustion system, where EGR is maintained in a layer on the periphery of the cylinder, and the fuel-air mixture is maintained in the center of the cylinder. KIVA-3V was used to perform numerical simulations on different EGR systems. The simulations were performed to determine if the two-zones can be generated in the cylinder, and to what extent mixing between the two zones occurs. For the engine geometries considered in this study, the results showed that it is possible to generate the two zones, but mixing is difficult to control