Velocity and Drop Size Measurements in Fuel Sprays in a direct injection diesel engine

High-pressure injection fuel sprays have been investigated in a single-cylinder research Diesel engine using the laser and phase Doppler anemometry techniques to measure fuel droplet velocities and sizes and their spatial and temporal distributions within the spray. The measurements relate to the determination of the droplets' axial velocity component and diameter on the spray centre line between 75 and 100 nozzle diameters downstream from a single-hole injector nozzle. The experimental program covered the use of both Diesel and a non-combusting alcohol fuel. Measurements at radial locations in the spray and at different fuel loads were also taken for the alcohol fuel. Temporally resolved measurements of droplet velocity and size are presented together with time — averaged values in such a way as to isolate the contributions from the leading and trailing regions of each spray and identify two different break — up mechanisms occurring as suggested by a conceptual model of the spray behaviour.