Diesel Engines

by
Dr. Amr Ibrahim
Review of diesel engine cycle:
Types of diesel engines according to combustion chamber design:
• direct injection (DI) (or open chamber) diesel engines

• indirect injection (IDI) diesel engines

Air-fuel mixing strategies in diesel engines
• using high injection pressure to cause the fuel to penetrate by its own
velocity to all parts of the combustion chamber and find the air required
• giving the air itself a degree of swirl or turbulence that it will seek out
the fuel as it enters

Mixing strategies in DI and IDI diesel engines

• DI diesel engines mainly use high injection pressure with no or small
amount of air motion to produce the air-fuel mixture
• IDI diesel engines mainly rely on creating high levels of air swirl or
turbulence to produce the air-fuel mixture while using lower injection
pressure compared to DI engines
Direct injection (DI) (or open chamber) diesel engines:
• DI engines have a single combustion chamber into which fuel is injected
• To improve air-fuel mixing, the fuel needs to penetrate by its own velocity to
all parts of the combustion chamber. This requires high injection pressure.
• Swirl and air motion can be generated inside the combustion chamber in
order to increase the fuel-air mixing rate and the combustion rate
• Swirl is generated by using suitably shaped inlet ports or valves

Air flow through a helical inlet port into an engine cylinder

• The swirl increases during the compression stroke by using special design
of piston crown “bowl-in-piston chamber”
• The use of a multi-hole injector compared to a single hole injector increases
the rate of air-fuel mixing and the combustion rate
• The fuel needs to penetrate in the dense air. Therefore, the fuel injection
pressure and/or air swirl need to increase with the increase of engine
compression ratio
• Moderate compression ratios (12 to 22) can be used in DI diesel engines
• The use of lower compression ratios facilitates engine starting

Maximum engine speed

• As the maximum engine speed increases, the time available for combustion
has to be reduced
• The combustion rate can be increased by increasing the level of air motion
(swirl and turbulence) within the combustion chamber
• High levels of swirl and turbulence can be generated by the use of indirect
injection (IDI) diesel engines
Indirect injection (IDI) diesel engines

•The combustion chamber is

divided into main chamber and
pre-chamber
• The pre-chamber is a cavity in
the cylinder head and may
represent 40% of the total
clearance volume
• the main chamber is the space
between the piston and the
cylinder head
 Principle of operation:

• During compression, air is forced from the

main chamber into the pre-chamber through a
nozzle or orifice (or set of orifices)

• In swirl chamber systems, the nozzle and pre-

chamber are shaped so that the flow within
the pre-chamber rotates rapidly (i.e. swirl is
generated)

• Fuel is injected into the pre-chamber and the

combustion starts

• The pressure rise associated with combustion

forces the flow back into the main chamber to
mix with the main chamber air and complete
combustion
Advantages of IDI diesel engines

• The high level of air motion generated in IDI diesel engines permits using
lower injection pressure compared to DI diesel engines

• The high level of air motion facilitates fuel penetration in the dense air
allowing the use of higher compression ratios compared to DI diesel
engines

• The combination of hot air (resulting from using higher compression

ratios) and good air-fuel mixing shortens the ignition delay period in IDI
diesel engines compared to DI diesel engines. This results in lower engine
noise (knock) operation for IDI engines compared to DI engines.
Disadvantages of IDI diesel engines

•The cooling loss in IDI engines is higher due to the higher surface area
of the combustion chamber and higher flow velocities compared to DI
diesel engines. This leads to lower thermal efficiency for the IDI engine
compared to DI diesel engine with the same specifications.
• Also, the flow through the orifice which connects the pre and main
chambers results in pressure loss (throttling losses) which further
decreases the engine efficiency.
•The high cooling loss in IDI diesel engine makes the engine cold start
difficult as much heat is dissipated from the cylinder charge which
might prevent ignition. Therefore, the use of lower compression ratios
needs to be avoided in IDI diesel engines. Also, the use of glow plugs in
IDI diesel engines could be necessary.
Glow Plug
•The glow plug is heated prior to starting the engine to ensure ignition of the
fuel early in the engine cranking process
 Diesel Three Phases of Combustion
1. First phase: the delay period

• it is the period from the start of fuel injection and the start of combustion
• during this period, the injected fuel particles are heated and mixed with air
• the delay period must be kept short in order to avoid diesel engine knock
and noisy engine operation
• the delay period can be decreased by using higher engine compression
ratios in order to increase the air temperature when fuel injection starts
 2. Second phase: premixed or rapid combustion phase

• in this phase, the combustion of the fuel which has mixed with air during
the delay period occurs rapidly in a few crank angle degrees. This period
may be approximated to the “constant-volume” combustion of the
vaporized fuel in SI engines.
• the in-cylinder pressure increases very rapidly and the steepness of
pressure rise is a determining factor in causing engine knock and rough
engine operation
• the longer the delay period, the steeper the pressure rise, and the rougher
the engine operation
3. Third phase: Mixing-controlled combustion phase
• this phase involves the combustion of the fuel as it issues from the injector
holes and mixes with air giving a more gradual rise in cylinder pressure
• in this stage, the rate of burning is mainly controlled by the fuel vapor-air
mixing process
Cylinder pressure

combustion

motoring
 Figure: An example for the heat release rate diagram for a DI diesel engine

SOI=start of injection, EOI=end of injection

• Some references may identify the final stage of diesel combustion as “the
late combustion phase”. This stage corresponds to the tail of the heat release
diagram in which a small rate heat release rate persists throughout much of
the expansion stroke
• The heat release during this period usually amounts to about 20% of the total
fuel energy
Diesel engine emissions

The emissions include:

• Unburned hydrocarbons (HC)
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
• Particulate matter (PM)
Particulate matter (PM) emissions:
• Diesel particulates consist mainly of soot (black smoke)
• Soot emissions mainly result from incomplete combustion of the fuel
• The composition of the particulate emissions depends on the exhaust gas
temperature
• at exhaust temperature above 500 oC, the particles consist of many small
spheres of carbon (with a small amount of hydrogen)
• as the temperature decrease below 500 oC, the particles become coated
with condensed hydrocarbons. The condensed material can also include
inorganic species such as sulfur dioxides and sulfuric acid
• when soot particles are inhaled, they enter into human’s lung causing lung
and respiratory system diseases
• diesel engines must always operate with excess air (lean air-fuel mixture)
in order to avoid excessive soot emissions
• the air-fuel mixture is not homogeneous! although the overall air to fuel
ratio in a diesel combustion chamber is lean, local regions within the
combustion chamber may burn with rich air-fuel mixture causing soot
emission
• homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines are currently
under research and development. The main problems in HCCI engines
include the difficulty of controlling the start of combustion timing and
engine knock
 Diesel particulate filter (DPF)
• DPF is a device used to remove the soot from
the diesel exhaust gas
• DPF may remove 70% of soot emissions or
more
• some filters are disposable while others are
designed to burn off the accumulated
particulates

Filter cleaning
• the particulates within the filter can be burned (oxidized) by heating the
filter to soot combustion temperatures (500 to 600 oC) which is above the
normal exhaust temperature
• heating the filter can be made by heating the exhaust gas flowing through
the filter
• some filters contain catalytic materials in order to reduce the soot
combustion temperature. Catalytic coating on the filter can reduce the soot
combustion temperature by up to 200 oC

Filter disadvantages:

• The filter, even when clean, increases the pressure in the exhaust system.
This pressure increase steadily rises as the filter collects particulate matter
• The increase of the exhaust system pressure can excessively increase the
residual exhaust gas within engine cylinders which can deteriorate engine
performance
 Diesel engine dilemma

• Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are formed by the reaction between nitrogen and
oxygen at high temperatures during combustion
• NOx formation increases with the increase of temperature and oxygen
concentration
• Therefore, NOx emissions can be decreased by decreasing the combustion
temperature and oxygen concentration. However, decreasing the temperature
and oxygen concentration leads to higher soot emissions!
• The current techniques which are used in diesel engines to reduce NOx
emissions can cause an increase in soot emissions.
• These techniques include the use of late injection timing and the use of
exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). These techniques are used to decrease the
combustion temperature to reduce NOx emissions.
 Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technique
• In this technique a fraction of the exhaust gas is usually cooled and
recycled back to the engine intake
• During combustion, the exhaust gas will not burn again, it will act as an
extra mass which absorbs some of the combustion heat leading to a
decrease in the combustion temperature
• Also, the exhaust gas replaces some of the intake air and reduces oxygen
concentration
 • The EGR technique is used to reduce NOx emissions
• Recycling high fractions of the exhaust gas back to the engine intake can
increase engine fuel consumption and deteriorate engine performance

Exhaust gas after treatment in diesel engines

There are several techniques that are used in diesel engines in order to reduce
the emissions in the exhaust gas flowing out of the engine. These include:

• diesel particulate filter (DPF) to reduce PM emissions

• oxidation catalyst to reduce CO and HC emissions

• the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technique to reduce NOx emissions

 Oxidation (two-way) catalysts

• the catalyst is a canister which contains a

large surface area structure coated with an
active catalyst layer
• this layer contains a small and well
dispersed amount of noble metals such as
platinum or palladium
• as the exhaust gas traverses the catalyst,
both CO and HC are oxidized to CO2 and H2O
• sufficient O2 must be present to oxidize the
CO and HC emissions. O2 may be supplied by
using lean mixture or by using a pump that
introduces air into the exhaust ports
• The conversion efficiency of a catalyst, for HC (for example) can be calculated
as follows:

m HC ,in  m HC ,out
 cat 
m HC ,in

• the conversion efficiency increases with the increase of catalyst temperature

• at high enough temperatures, the conversion efficiency of a new oxidation
catalyst can be above 95% for both CO and HC emissions
• however, the catalyst is ineffective until its temperature has risen above 250
to 300 oC
 Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technique

• the most economical and efficient technique that can be used to reduce NOx
emissions in engine exhaust gas is the use of a three-way catalyst. However,
the three-way catalyst operates efficiently at almost stoichiometric mixture.
Therefore, the 3-way catalyst can NOT be used in diesel engines.

• diesel engines use the SCR technique to reduce NOx emissions

• in the SCR technique, ammonia “NH3” or urea “(NH2)2CO” is injected in the

exhaust gas before it flows into a catalyst

• in this technique, NH3, O2 and NOx, react to form N2 and H2O.

• in case of using urea: (NH2)2CO, O2 and NOx react to form N2 , H2O, and CO2

• the ideal reaction has an optimal temperature range between 360 to 450 oC
 • the SCR can reduce NOx emissions by more than 70%

Disadvantages of the SCR technique:

The SCR is currently under research and development and has the following
disadvantages:

• this technique adds some complication to the engine use and management:
 the use of this technique requires the use of an ammonia storage tank,
pump, injection system, and a catalyst. Also, the exhaust gas temperature
has to be controlled in order for this system to operate efficiently
• the release of unreacted ammonia, which is a toxic and flammable gas. This
can occur when the catalyst temperature is not in the optimal range or when
too much ammonia is injected in the exhaust. Therefore, an oxidation catalyst
may be used in this system to oxidize any remaining ammonia before it is
emitted to the atmosphere.
• high cost
DEF= diesel exhaust fluid= ammonia
Diesel Injection Systems
Purpose of diesel injection systems

The main purpose of diesel injection systems is to inject the correct amount
of fuel at high pressure into the cylinder at the correct timing

Main components of diesel injection system:

• fuel supply (low pressure) pump: it transfers the fuel from the tank to the
high pressure pump via filters and pipes
• high pressure pump: it generates the high pressure needed to ensure good
air-fuel mixing which could be as high as 2000 bar
• diesel injector (nozzle): it is mechanically or solenoid operated valve which
contains a small hole or (holes) to ensure good atomization
• high pressure lines: they connect between the high pressure pump and the
diesel injectors
Main types of diesel injection systems:
• injection system with in-line fuel injection pump
• injection system with distributor fuel injection pump
• the unit injector system
• the common rail injection system

In-line injection pump

• the pump has a row of vertical cylinders

“barrels”
• each barrel contains a plunger which is
reciprocated by a cam
• the number of plungers is the same as
the number of cylinders
Principle of operation:
• When the plunger is at its bottom
position, fuel from the pump enters the
volume above the plunger
• After a short period of upward travel,
the plunger leading edge covers the
inlet port.
• Continued upward movement will
raise the pressure and then force fuel
past the delivery valve into the high
pressure line, open the injection nozzle,
and inject fuel into the combustion
chamber.
Fuel injection system with distributor fuel pump

• The distributor pump has only one

plunger and-barrel assembly for all the
engine’s cylinders
• Small high speed diesel engines
demand lightweight and compact
injection system. That can be achieved
by the use of the distributor fuel pump

• Distributor pumps are used in passenger cars, buses, agricultural tractors and
stationary engines.
• The maximum number of engine cylinders which can be used with distributor
pump is six
 Fuel supply pump
• the supply pump draws the fuel from the tank and
delivers it to the interior of the high pressure pump
• It is located around the injection pump’s drive
shaft
•its impeller is concentric with the shaft runs inside
an eccentric ring mounted in the pump housing
•when the drive shaft rotates, centrifugal force
pushes the impeller’s four vanes outward against
the inside of the eccentric ring
• the fuel enters in the pump’s housing, and fills the
space formed by the impeller, the vane, and the
inside of the eccentric ring
• the rotary motion causes the fuel between
adjacent vanes to be forced into the upper (outlet)
kidney-shaped recess into the interior of the pump.
The principle of operation of high pressure fuel distributor pump

The pump plunger has two motions: rotary and reciprocating

The plunger rotates and reciprocates at the same time
 Injection lag
• when the pump plunger moves with high speed during the compression
phase, the fuel close to the plunger is highly compressed locally
• the compressed fuel now generates a pressure wave which runs through the
delivery valve and the pipe to open the injector
• the speed of this pressure wave is equal to the speed of sound, which is
approximately 1500 m/s in diesel fuel
• the pressure wave’s propagation time is determined by the length of the
high-pressure pipe (Δt=L/v=L/1500)
• the time between the generation of pressure wave at the pump and the
start of fuel injection into the cylinder is called injection lag
• the length of the high pressure pipes connecting between the pump and the
injectors must be kept as short as possible in order to reduce the injection lag
• all injection pipes must have the same length in order to equalize the
injection performance for all cylinders
 Variations of injection and ignition lag with engine speed

• the injection lag in terms of crank

angle degrees can be calculated from:
ΔƟ=ωΔt, where ω represents the
crankshaft speed
• as engine speed increases, the
injection lag in terms of crankshaft
degrees increases

• also, it was found experimentally that the ignition lag (delay period) in terms
of crank angle degrees increases with the increase of engine speed
• therefore, the start of delivery timing (the start of generating the pressure
wave at the pump) must be advanced with the increase of engine speed
• this allows the combustion to end at the suitable time and the maximum
pressure to occur at the suitable time required for optimum engine
performance
Controlling the injection timing
 Principle of operation of the timing device

• there is a passage in one end of the timing device piston through which the fuel
can enter, while at the other end the piston is held by a compression spring
• the piston is connected to the roller ring through a sliding block and a pin so that
piston movement can be converted to rotational movement of the roller ring
• the speed of fuel supply pump is proportional to engine speed. As a result, the
fuel pressure inside the high pressure pump is proportional to engine speed
• the fuel pressure is applied to the end of the timing-device piston opposite to the
spring
• starting from 300 rpm, the fuel pressure starts to overcome the piston spring and
shifts the piston to the left
• the roller ring is rotated relative to the cam plate by the movement of the piston
and the injection timing changes
• as engine speed increases, the fuel pressure increases, the angle of rotation of
the roller ring increases , and the injection timing is more advanced
Electronically controlled distributor fuel injection pump
The electronic control is divided into:
• sensors: they register operating conditions and convert physical
quantities into electrical signals
• ECU: it receives the information from all sensors and generates electrical
signals to the actuators
• actuators: they convert the ECU’s electrical signals into mechanical
motion

The electronic control of the injection quantity and timing:

• a solenoid actuator engages with the control collar through a shaft in order
to open or close the cutoff port in order to determine the amount of
injected fuel
• the fuel pressure which is applied to the timing device piston is controlled
by a solenoid valve in order to control the start of injection timing
The unit injector system

• with the unit injection

system, injection pump and
nozzle form a unit
• the unit injector is installed
in the engine’s cylinder head
for each cylinder
• the unit injector is driven by
the engine’s camshaft
• the fuel is supplied to the
unit injector via passages
machined in the cylinder head
Advantages

• the long high pressure pipes are eliminated. That results in the hydraulic
delays to be greatly reduced. The injection rate diagram more closely
follows the cam profile which facilitates the optimization of the injection
system performance
• the fast end of injection eliminates the need of using a delivery valve. This
greatly limits the pressure waves effect, and consequently, problems such
as after-injection and cavitation are greatly avoided. That increases the
nozzle life

Disadvantages
• the injectors tend to be bulky, and therefore, difficult to accommodate in
the cylinder heads of small engines as they demand more space
• more complex cylinder head designs and higher cylinder head loads are
needed. In large engines, they are bulky and difficult to handle.
The common rail injection system

• in the common rail system, the fuel

injection is controlled electronically
• a pre-supply pump withdraws the
diesel fuel from the tank and directs it
to a high pressure pump
• the high pressure pump supplies the
high pressure fuel to a pipe which is
called the common rail

•the common rail is connected to solenoid-operated diesel injectors

•the solenoid-operated diesel injectors are controlled by the electronic
control unit (ECU)
• the ECU determines the injection timing and injection duration based on
signals from engine sensors which specify the engine operating conditions
Features of the common rail injection system

• this system is simple, compact, and less costly

• the common rail serves as a pressure accumulator. The sufficiently big rail
volume prevents pressure fluctuation
• The pressure in the rail (the injection pressure) remains almost constant
throughout the injection process
• pressure generation and fuel injection have been separated. The injection
pressure is generated independent of engine speed and injected quantity
• This system is able to deliver the same injection pressure at all speeds from
rated speed to idling
• the injection pressure can be easily regulated by the use of a pressure control
valve at the end of the rail which controls the amount of fuel returning to the
tank
• the common rail system permits multiple-stage injection!
 Multiple-stage injection

• multiple-stage injection means injecting the overall fuel quantity in two

or more stages

•the common rail system permits multiple-stage injection by simply

causing the ECU to send signals to open and close the injector twice or
more during the overall injection process

• for example, injecting only a small fuel quantity at the beginning of

injection process (before the main injection), which is called pilot
injection. This ensures that the amount of fuel which burns immediately
after the delay period is small enough which reduces engine knock and
noise

• another example is injecting a small fuel quantity after the main

injection, which is called post injection, in order to control the exhaust gas
temperature which makes the exhaust processing in the engine’s after-
treatment process more effective
Diesel mechanical (hydraulic) injectors
and spray structure
Diesel mechanical (hydraulic) injector nozzles

• the diesel injector is a valve which opens

and closes to start and end the fuel
injection
• the injector must be capable of atomizing
the fuel
• the smaller the fuel droplet exiting the
injector, the faster it will vaporize and
ignite

• the size of the fuel droplets depends on the nozzle orifice size and the
injection pressure
• the nozzle valve is held closed by the injector spring
• when the fuel pressure sufficiently increases, it overcomes the spring
causing the injector to open and inject the fuel
Types of nozzles:

• pintle nozzles (used with IDI diesel engines)

• hole-type nozzles (used with DI diesel engines), which can be
classified into:
 seat hole nozzle
 sac-hole nozzle
Pintle nozzle

• On the standard pintle nozzle, the nozzle

needle is provided with a pintle which
extends into the injection orifice of the
nozzle body
• the opening pressure of this nozzle is
relatively low compared to the hole nozzle
• this nozzle is used with indirect injection
diesel engines, which depends mainly on
the air motion rather than the injection
pressure to improve the air-fuel mixing
• the fuel is injected in the pre-chamber
where the fuel has a relatively short
distance to travel and the air pressure is
not as high as the pressure in the main
chamber
pintle
The hole nozzle

• the hole nozzles are commonly used in

direct injection engines and they can be single
hole or multi-hole
• the number and size of holes depends on
the amount of injected fuel, the combustion
chamber geometry and the air motion (swirl)
inside the cylinder
• they operate at very high injection pressure
and give a hard fuel spray which is necessary
to penetrate the highly compressed air in the
combustion chamber
• the fuel spray has a high velocity and good
atomization
 Types of hole nozzle
Seat hole nozzle
• the needle covers the nozzle holes
• the radial motion of the needle tip can influence
the mass flow through the different holes and the
fuel spray symmetry

Sac-hole nozzle
• this nozzle has an additional volume below the
needle seat to prevent the effect of the needle Sac-hole nozzle
radial motion on the fuel spray
• however, some of the fuel in this volume can
enter the cylinder after the end of injection with
poor atomization, which increases the HC and
soot emissions
• it is important to keep this volume as small as possible
Characteristics of the nozzle-end line pressure and needle lift
• when the pressure in the nozzle
pressure chamber is greater than the
mechanical force of the spring, the
nozzle needle lifts and injection starts
• the injection pulse continues as long pc
as the needle valve remains open
• the injection ends when the
pressure in the nozzle pressure
chamber collapses so that the
mechanical spring force pushes the
needle down on its seat
• this closing pressure will be lower
than the opening pressure by about
10% to 20%
SOD=start of delivery, SOI=start of injection
EOI=end of injection, Po=needle opening pressure
 it takes more pressure to open the nozzle valve than the pressure required to
keep it open!!
• let Fs= the force required to overcome the spring & open the injector
• the fuel force trying to overcome spring= PA cosƟ,
where P=fuel pressure, A=area
• the minimum fuel force required to open the
injector= Fs =PAcosƟ
• as Fs= constant, then, the higher the area, the
lower the pressure required to overcome the spring
and vice versa
• when the nozzle is closed, the fuel pressure is
acting only on the annular area of the needle shown P P
in the figure
• when the fuel pressure increases to the opening
pressure, Po, the nozzle needle opens
• once the nozzle needle opens, the effective
area which is affected by the fuel pressure
increases
• the area now becomes the annular area in
the nozzle pressure chamber plus the area at
P P
the needle tip shown in the figure

• Fs=constant=P↓A↑ cosƟ
• this increase of the area means that the fuel pressure required to keep the
injector open is lower than the pressure required to open the injector
Dribble

• when the injector is about to close by the end of main injection, the fuel
pressure is greatly reduced causing poor fuel atomization
• this is called dribble. Dribble is the condition where fuel continues to
emerge from the nozzle at pressures too low to atomize properly
• injecting the fuel with poor atomization (dribble) causes engine smoke
and the dilution of the lubricating oil with fuel
• the injection period must end sharply in order to ovoid dribble. That
means the injector closure time must be very short
• in order to end the injection duration very quickly, a delivery valve
(check or non-return valve) is used
• the delivery valve separates the pump from the high pressure pipe
which connects between the pump and injector
The function of delivery valve
• the delivery valve is opened by the
injection pressure and closes by its
return spring
• during delivery, the pressure
generated in the pump causes the
delivery valve to open
delivery valve

• fuel then flows via the high pressure pipe to the injector
• as soon as the pressure in the pump sufficiently drops, the delivery valve
spring forces the valve back on its seat
• this results in an increase in the volume of the injection line. The pressure
now at the nozzle is higher than the pressure at the other end of injection line
• As a result, a pressure wave is created and transmits from the injector to the
delivery valve causing the injector to close very quickly
 After (or secondary) injection

• when the pressure wave reaches the delivery valve, it is reflected back to
the injector. This pressure wave is reflected backwards and forwards along
the pipe
• if the pressure wave is reflected back to the injector with a pressure that
equals to or exceeds the injector opening pressure, the injector will open
again and some fuel will be injected in the cylinder. This phenomena is called
after injection (or secondary injection)
• the fuel injected during the secondary injection will be poorly atomized due
to the low injection pressure and will be injected late in the combustion
process
• as a result, after injection increases engine smoke and HC emissions
 a very brief partial reopening of the nozzle needle (secondary injection)

• the pressure waves following the sudden closure of the nozzle needle can
also cause cavitation
• cavitation causes erosion in the pipes and injectors
 Injection mass flow rate

• Let point 1 is a point on the fuel stream line

inside the injector before entering the orifice
• Let Point 2 is a point on the same fuel stream at
the immediate exit of the orifice

• Assuming the flow through the orifice is incompressible and one-

dimensional, the mass flow rate of fuel injected through the orifice can be
obtained by applying Bernoulli’s equation from point 1 to point 2:

p1 V12 p2 V22
  
 f g 2g  f g 2g

p1  p2
By neglecting V1 compared to V2 : V2  2
f
where p1=fuel injection pressure, p2=cylinder pressure, V2=the fuel velocity
exiting the orifice, ρf= fuel density

• The mass flow rate of the fuel injected through the orifice can be calculated
from:
2 p
m f  Cd ρ f A V2  Cd  f A  Cd A 2  f p
f

where Cd=orifice discharge coefficient, A=orifice area (if d is the orifice

diameter, then A=π/4 d2 * number of orifices), Δp=p1-p2=the pressure
difference across the orifice

• Assuming Δt=the injection period, and by assuming that the fuel mass flow
rate is constant (=the average value) during the injection period, then the
mass of injected fuel per combustion cycle per cylinder can be calculated
from:
m f  m f t
• Let, N= engine speed in rpm
The crankshaft rotates 360 deg/rev, and also rotates N/60 rev/s. Therefore
the crankshaft rotates 6N deg/s

• Let ΔƟ=the injection duration in crank angle degrees

The crankshaft rotates 6N deg per 1 sec
The crankshaft rotates ΔƟ deg per ? sec

• Then, the injection duration in seconds=Δt=ΔƟ/6N


m f  m f t  Cd A 2  f p
6N
Diesel spray structure

• Under diesel injection conditions,

the fuel jet usually forms a cone-
shaped spray at the nozzle exit Lbreak up

Ɵ
Ɵ=cone angle
S=spray tip penetration S
Lbreak-up=break up length
• The liquid column leaving the nozzle disintegrates within the cylinder over a
finite length called the break up length into drops of different sizes
• as one moves away from the nozzle, the mass of air within the spray
increases, the spray width increases, and the droplet velocity decreases
• The droplets on the outer edge of the spray evaporate first creating a fuel-
vapor mixture around the fuel spray cone
• the equivalence ratio is highest on the centerline of spray cone (fuel rich
zone)
• the equivalence ratio decreases along the spray radial direction till it
reaches to zero at the spray boundary (air only zone)
Spray tip penetration
• the spray penetration has an important influence on engine emissions:
 the spray penetration is limited by the distance between the nozzle
and piston
 over penetration may result in the impingement of fuel on cool
cylinder wall surfaces forming a liquid wall film
 the wall film evaporates slowly and could be partially burned which
results in an increase in HC and soot emissions
 on the other hand, under penetration results in poor air utilization
since the air on the periphery of the chamber does not contact the
fuel. This also can lead to an increase in HC and soot emissions
• the spray penetration depends on time
• because of the small needle lift and the mass flow at the beginning of
injection, the injection velocity is small leading to a small penetration and
inefficient atomization

Time after injection= 0.2ms 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2ms

• the moment the liquid jet emerging from the nozzle hole begins to
disintegrate is called the break up time (tbreak)
• empirical correlations are used to calculate the spray tip penetration as a
function of time (t=0 at the start of injection)

2 Δp 0.5
when t<tbreak S  0.39 ( ) t
ρf

Δp 0 .25
when t>tbreak S  2.95 ( ) (d t)0.5
ρa

29  f d
tbreak 
(  a p) 0.5

where S is the penetration in m, Δp is the pressure difference across the

nozzle orifice in Pa, ρf and ρa are fuel and air densities respectively in kg/m3,
d is the nozzle orifice diameter in m, and t is time in seconds
The spray cone angle
 3.63  a 0.5
tan  ( )
2 C f
L
C  3  0.28
d
where Ɵ is the cone angle, and C is a constant which depends on the nozzle
geometry, L/d is the length to diameter ratio of the cylindrical nozzle orifice

The average droplet diameter in the fuel spray (Sauter mean diameter)

DSM  B (p) 0 .135 ρa0.121 V f0 .131

where DSM is the Sauter mean diameter in micrometers, Δp is the pressure

difference across the nozzle orifice in Mpa, ρa is air density in kg/m3, Vf is the
amount of fuel injected per combustion cycle per cylinder in mm3, and B is a
constant which depends on the nozzle type (B= 23.9 for hole nozzle and
B=25.1 for pintle nozzle)