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Atomization and Sprays, Vol.26, No.9, 939-959, 2016
EFFECTS OF ASYMMETRIC INFLOW ON CAVITATION IN FUEL INJECTOR AND DISCHARGED LIQUID JET
Fuel injection technology plays an important role in improving the thermal efficiency and reduction of exhaust gas emissions of diesel engines. In the nozzle of a fuel injector, cavitation takes place and enhances the atomization of fuel spray. In a multihole injector, an asymmetric inflow into the nozzle may play a dominant role in cavitation and discharged liquid jet. In this study cavitation in various nozzles with different needle lifts and different nozzle lengths with an asymmetric inflow and discharged liquid jet are visualized and analyzed. As a result, we conclude that (1) cavitation occurs asymmetrically due to the asymmetric inflow; (2) an asymmetric cavitation induces asymmetric liquid jet and spray; (3) thick and long cavitation is formed due to large lateral momentum at the inlet corner of the nozzle, which induces a large deformation of the liquid jet especially when the needle lift is small; (4) jet angle is large in short nozzles; and (5) a modified cavitation number which takes into account the flow contraction at vena contracta can be utilized to predict cavitation length in a nozzles with various needle lifts.