Abstract:Dependent on automatically generated unstructured grids, a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD)numerical simulation is performed to analyze the influence of nozzle geometry on the internal flow characteristics of a multi-hole diesel injector with the multi-phase flow model based on Eulerian multi-fluid method. The diesel components in nozzle are considered as two continuous phases, diesel liquid and diesel vapor respectively. Considering that both of them are fully coupled and interpenetrated, separate sets of governing equations are established and solved for each phase. The geometric parameters mainly include the length and exit diameter of nozzle, the rounded radius at inlet of nozzle orifice and the angle between axis of injector and axis of nozzle orifice, and they are individually taken into account to analyze the impact on the cavitating flow in nozzle. The results show that the geometrical characteristics of nozzle have a strong influence on the volume fraction of diesel vapor in nozzle and the outlet flow velocity of injector. So cavitation in nozzle orifice should not be neglected for the in-cylinder fuel atomization process, especially for the primary break-up of liquid jet.Fuel injection plays an important role in the performance and emissions of internal combustion engine, especially for modern diesel engine and gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine. Direct injection engines exhibit high potential for the reduction of fuel consumption, and thus more and more automobile manufacturers start to use high-pressure fuel injectors. The purpose of high inlet pressure is to produce high injection velocity which results in an efficient atomization process with small and dispersed fuel droplets to enable rapid evaporation and traverse rapidly through the combustion chamber [1] . There is experimental evidence to show that cavitation within injector nozzle modifies the flow characteristics of nozzle exit and favors the atomization of fuel [2][3][4][5] .Cavitation in nozzle orifice is desired to a certain degree because the collapse of cavitation bubbles influences the turbulence intensity towards the outlet of injector. Consequently, this enhances the atomization process of fuel in the combustion chamber. At the same time, the accurate prediction of cavitation zones in nozzle is quite necessary in order to avoid efficiently the erosion of the inner surface in nozzle orifice due to collapse of bubbles close to nozzle walls. However, it is usually very difficult to observe the flow state in nozzle for a real injector under operating conditions, therefore, the multidimensional numerical calculation, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, is an appropriate tool to provide a better understanding of 3D flow features inside and at the exit of injector nozzle.The Eulerian multi-fluid method introduced in this paper can be used to simulate n-phase flows and different types of injector, such as Sac-type nozzle and VCO-type nozzle. In the present work, the 3D numerical simulation of a VCO-type...