Spray Atomization Models in Engine Applications, from Correlations to Direct Numerical Simulations

Sprays are among the very main factors of mixture formation and combustion quality in almost every (IC) engine. They are of great importance in pollutant formation and energy efficiency although adequate modeling is still on development. For many applications, validation and calibration of models are still an open question. Therefore, we present an overview of existing models and propose some trends of improvement. Models are classified in zero dimensional and dimensional classes ranging from simple formulations aimed at close-to-real-time applications to complete detailed description of early atomization stages.