Reactive Supersonic Diesel Jets under Extreme High Injection Pressure

Proposal: 1402595

PI: Fang, Tiegang

Title: Reactive Supersonic Diesel Jets under Extreme High Injection Pressure

High-speed (supersonic) liquid jets have wide applications in engineering for propulsion and power generation, such as diesel engines. Under supersonic conditions, shock waves can form around liquid jets or atomized sprays, leading to significant enhancement in fuel mixing and combustion. The North Carolina State University research team proposes to study a supersonic diesel jet under extreme high injection pressures of up to 1,000 MPa. The goals over the eighteen-month project period are to exploit the induced shock waves during liquid penetration and to demonstrate their effects on enhanced spray atomization and combustion. This project also provides an excellent opportunity for integrating research and education. The graduate and undergraduate students involved in this project will acquire experimental and analytical skills related to ignition and fuel atomization at extreme pressures. The experience provided by this project will enrich three courses that the PI teaches in the current mechanical engineering curriculum. The knowledge gathered in this project will be disseminated to the public via workshops, national and international conferences presentations, and archival journal publications. In addition, the gathered knowledge will be relayed to designers and developers of highly efficient and clean next-generation internal combustion engines.

This is a novel area that has not been studied despite potential application in diesel engines. Results from this project will advance and provide a new knowledge base pertaining to the applications of extreme high injection pressures in the fuel delivery systems. Successful application of this phenomenon in compression-ignition engines will lead to breakthroughs in engine design, allowing significant reductions in fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. Another profound impact that is beyond the fuel injection system is that this project is expected to advance understanding of fluid-solid interaction as applied in novel high-pressure dual hydroforming technique. This technique is used for making complex tubular parts for automotive and aerospace applications. Specific tasks include investigating the liquid penetration, breakup, and interaction with the induced shock waves and to investigate the influence of shock waves on fuel spray atomization and combustion. Successful application of this phenomenon in compression-ignition engines will lead to breakthroughs in engine design, allowing significant reductions in fuel consumption, thereby diminishing our dependence on foreign oil and reducing pollutant emissions.