The initial stage of fuel spray penetration

Effects of droplet evaporation, break-up and air entrainment on diesel fuel spray penetration have been studied theoretically at the initial stage of spray penetration when the influence of air entrainment is small (up to 0.1–0.2 ms after the start of injection). Theoretical plots of spray penetration versus time are compared with experimental results obtained using an optical single cylinder rapid compression test rig based on a Ricardo Proteus engine. Three models of spray penetration have been compared. In the first, neither break-up nor air entrainment are taken into account. The break-up processes (bag and stripping) are taken into account in the second model, while in the third model both bag break-up and air entrainment processes are considered. It has been found that the agreement between the predictions of the third model with experimental measurements is better than that for the first two models.