Hole number effect on internal and discharged flow characteristics of diesel injector during transient operation

Selecting the proper number of nozzle holes is a critical matter to achieving optimal combustion in diesel engines. In recent years, short transient injections with ultra-high injection pressure have been adopted in diesel engines to achieve cleaner combustion but the effect of hole number on this transient diesel injection has not been thoroughly investigated. The current study performs an experimental observation of discharged flows from diesel injectors during transient operation using the X-ray phase-contrast imaging technique for six multi-hole injectors (three-, five-, six-, eight-, nine- and ten-hole). The observation results showed that discharged flows varied without any distinctive trends among the injectors. The largest spray dispersion angle and fastest velocity deceleration were observed in the 3-hole injector which showed an almost 3 times larger dispersion angle and 10% faster deceleration than the 10-hole injector. To understand possible factors governing such flow characteristics, three-dimensional internal flow simulations were conducted for the injectors. Unlike the results trend of discharged flows, the pressure and vorticity magnitude in the nozzle sac showed a linear change by altering the hole number. However, the hole-to-hole interaction of vortex flows varied in a complex way depending on the nozzle hole number. The nozzles with small and odd hole numbers, in general, showed a stronger hole-to-hole vortex interaction that can be the primary factor governing the discharged flow characteristics during the transient operation.