Numerical modelling of fuel spray formation and collapse from multi-hole injectors under flash-boiling conditions

Flash-boiling of fuel sprays can occur when the fuel enters a metastable superheated state, which is common in direct-injection spark-ignition engines operating at low in-cylinder pressures and/or hot fuel temperatures. The effect of flash-boiling on the resultant spray formation can be both detrimental and advantageous to engine operation, hence numerical modelling capability is essential in future engine optimisation and design. A recently-developed new model by the current authors that can be applied as zero-dimensional boundary condition for multi-hole flash-boiling fuel spray predictions was investigated over a wide range of injection systems, focusing on the model’s ability to quantify in-nozzle phase change effects and automatically predict important global spray characteristics such as spray collapse, droplet recirculation and plume merging within a Lagrangian particle tracking framework. Mesh-type sensitivity was highlighted using a uniform Cartesian and a non-uniform polyhedral mesh. The model was also normalised through a dimensionless parameter for a wide range of single component fuels. The model was validated both qualitatively and, where possible, quantitatively against experimental data. The model’s ability to deal with a wide range of injection configurations and operating conditions was confirmed and a number of limitations are highlighted and discussed with respect to future work.