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Physics-based reduced-order modeling of flash-boiling sprays in the context of internal combustion engines

Physics-based reduced-order modeling of flash-boiling sprays in the context of internal combustion engines
Physics-based reduced-order modeling of flash-boiling sprays in the context of internal combustion engines

Flash-boiling injection is one of the most effective ways to accomplish improved atomization compared to the high-pressure injection strategy. The tiny droplets formed via flash-boiling lead to fast fuel–air mixing and can subsequently improve combustion performance in engines. While most of the previous studies related to the topic focused on modeling flash-boiling sprays using three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques such as direct numerical simulations (DNS), large-eddy simulations (LES), and Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations, the present work introduces a reduced-order cross-sectionally averaged spray (CAS) model with significantly reduced computational cost. The proposed CAS model incorporates several physical submodels in flash-boiling sprays such as those for air entrainment, drag, superheated droplet evaporation, flash-boiling induced breakup, and aerodynamic breakup models. The CAS model is then applied to different fuels to investigate macroscopic spray characteristics such as liquid and vapor penetration lengths under flash-boiling conditions. It is found that the newly developed CAS model captures the trends in global flash-boiling spray characteristics reasonably well for different operating conditions and fuels. Moreover, the CAS model is shown to be faster by up to four orders of magnitude compared with simulations of 3D flash-boiling sprays. The novelty of the present work lies in providing a reduced-order flash-boiling spray model that offers cost-effective computational representations of complex phenomena. The proposed model can be very valuable for applications, such as experimental design, fuel screening, and creating digital twins, thus playing a crucial role in the advancement of research and development in the field of spray combustion.

Bubble dynamics, Bubble growth, Bubble–bubble interactions, E-fuels, Flash boiling, Reduced-order model
0301-9322
Saha, A.
9cdee419-3ece-4ed5-a01e-99e45cdb0e4a
Deshmukh, A.Y.
f742182f-5891-4f28-a1f7-4d60de974e03
Grenga, T.
be0eba30-74b5-4134-87e7-3a2d6dd3836f
Pitsch, H.
3dc0eb6e-deca-4742-98a1-f0cdd62ff8b8
Saha, A.
9cdee419-3ece-4ed5-a01e-99e45cdb0e4a
Deshmukh, A.Y.
f742182f-5891-4f28-a1f7-4d60de974e03
Grenga, T.
be0eba30-74b5-4134-87e7-3a2d6dd3836f
Pitsch, H.
3dc0eb6e-deca-4742-98a1-f0cdd62ff8b8

Saha, A., Deshmukh, A.Y., Grenga, T. and Pitsch, H. (2023) Physics-based reduced-order modeling of flash-boiling sprays in the context of internal combustion engines. International Journal of Multiphase Flow, 171, [104673]. (doi:10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2023.104673).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Flash-boiling injection is one of the most effective ways to accomplish improved atomization compared to the high-pressure injection strategy. The tiny droplets formed via flash-boiling lead to fast fuel–air mixing and can subsequently improve combustion performance in engines. While most of the previous studies related to the topic focused on modeling flash-boiling sprays using three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques such as direct numerical simulations (DNS), large-eddy simulations (LES), and Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations, the present work introduces a reduced-order cross-sectionally averaged spray (CAS) model with significantly reduced computational cost. The proposed CAS model incorporates several physical submodels in flash-boiling sprays such as those for air entrainment, drag, superheated droplet evaporation, flash-boiling induced breakup, and aerodynamic breakup models. The CAS model is then applied to different fuels to investigate macroscopic spray characteristics such as liquid and vapor penetration lengths under flash-boiling conditions. It is found that the newly developed CAS model captures the trends in global flash-boiling spray characteristics reasonably well for different operating conditions and fuels. Moreover, the CAS model is shown to be faster by up to four orders of magnitude compared with simulations of 3D flash-boiling sprays. The novelty of the present work lies in providing a reduced-order flash-boiling spray model that offers cost-effective computational representations of complex phenomena. The proposed model can be very valuable for applications, such as experimental design, fuel screening, and creating digital twins, thus playing a crucial role in the advancement of research and development in the field of spray combustion.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 12 November 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 20 November 2023
Published date: 20 November 2023
Additional Information: Funding Information: this work was performed as part of the Cluster of Excellence “The Fuel Science Center”, which is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), Germany under Germany’s Excellence Strategy – Exzellenzcluster 2186 “The Fuel Science Center” ID: 390919832 .
Keywords: Bubble dynamics, Bubble growth, Bubble–bubble interactions, E-fuels, Flash boiling, Reduced-order model

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 486262
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/486262
ISSN: 0301-9322
PURE UUID: a8691889-ffd0-46d9-84d0-8c5ba316595f
ORCID for T. Grenga: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9465-9505

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 16 Jan 2024 17:37
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:11

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Contributors

Author: A. Saha
Author: A.Y. Deshmukh
Author: T. Grenga ORCID iD
Author: H. Pitsch

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