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Energy
Procedia
Energy Procedia
Energy 00 (2011)16
Procedia 000–000
(2012) 558 – 563
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

2012 International Conference on Future Energy, Environment, and Materials

Parameter Analysis of Diesel Helical Intake Port Numerical

Design
Shuisheng JIANG*, Siwei ZHU, Hua WEN, Shuping HUANG
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Department, Nanchang University, Nanchang,China

Abstract

In order to research about the performance of diesel helical intake port, the method of steady flow test and CFD
numerical simulation was combined to do structure study. By the steady flow test, the parameters of boundary
condition for simulation calculation were provided, such as the flow coefficient and swirl ratio. Based on the
experiment results, CFD simulation was calculated on the three-dimensional models of intake port with the
modification of center distance, valve chamber height and the valve cone angle. And the results basically analyze that
the flow characteristic of intake port was affected by above three parameters. This research shows the direction of
detailed design of intake port and further experiment, which can shorten development time and costs of intake port.
© 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of International Materials Science Society.
© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of [name organizer]
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Keywords: helical intake port; steady flow test; CFD numerical simulation;

1. Introduction

The mutual cooperation of intake and exhaust system, fuel supply system and the shape of combustion
chamber is the key factor of combustion process in diesel design. The performance of diesel engine is
weightily affected by intake airflow rate and swirl ratio. Moreover, air flow in the cylinder is, to a large
extent, determined by intake airflow. So reasonable intake air movement can optimize the formation of air
mixture in the cylinder, strengthen turbulence intensity, improve combustion and further enhance diesel
engine’s performance [1, 2].
Due to the rapid development of digital technology in design field, it is completely possible to use CFD
technology for digital development of diesel helical intake port. In particular, CFD technology can acquire
a large amount of information which is unable to gain in the experiment such as velocity field and
*
Corresponding author Tel.: +0086-0791-83969624; fax: +0086-0791-83969622
E-mail address: jss-1@163.com

1876-6102 © 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of International Materials Science Society .
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2012.01.090
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pressure field. It also can accurately identify the unreasonable geometrical part of intake port and optimize
the structure. As the validation and correction of steady flow test can continuously increase the accuracy
of the digital model, digital design of intake port shows more and more advantages [3, 4].
The flow characteristic of intake port commonly includes flow capability and the ability to generate
eddy. To compare the flow characteristic of intake port with different shapes and dimensions, flow
capability and the ability to generate eddy with different valve lifts are estimated by non-dimensional flow
coefficient and swirl ratio. Based on different assumptions, several world famous internal combustion
engine consulting firms, AVL, FEV, Ricardo, SouthWest and so on, have defined their own system of
evaluation parameters [2].
This article adopts the flow coefficient μσ and swirl ratio Ω from AVL evaluation standard [5]:
μσ=Q/AV0 (1)
Where Q is mass flow rate, kg/s; A is interior cross sectional area of valve seat, m2; V0 is airflow’s
velocity of valve outlet, m/s.
Ω=np/n (2)
Where np is the speed reading of torquemeter, r/min, calculated by the airflow average tangential
velocity of annular region which is 5 mm thick and 1.75 times cylinder bore away from the cylinder head
surface. The radius of that annular region is as follow: (0.583D/2) ≤ r ≤ (0.917D/2), where D is cylinder
bore, mm. And n is the speed of diesel engine calculated by the assumption that average axial velocity of
the simulative gas flow in the cylinder is equal to average velocity of the piston: n=30*m/(Vh*ρ1), where
m is mass flow rate measured in the test, kg/s; Vh is cylinder displacement, m3; ρ1 is air density in the
simulative cylinder, kg/m3.

2. Digital intake port model and validation [3, 6, 7, 8, 9]

2.1. Three-dimensional CAD modeling of diesel helical intake port and computational grid

For accordance with the standard experiment equipment, three-dimensional CAD model of diesel
helical intake port should avoid the impact of valve outlet on the measured surface, so the length of
cylinder was adjusted 2.5 times its diameter. Using the mesh generation tool, the 3D model was
automatically divided into meshes, 95% of which was hexahedral, and the size of one grid was 5 mm x
0.5 mm x 0.5 mm. The valve port was flow-sensitive area that was locally refined and the size of its grid
was 0.0625 mm x 0.0625 mm x 0.0625 mm. The total number of 3D model mesh cells was 680 000.

2.2. Mathematical model

Mathematical model mainly includes flow equations, turbulence model and boundary condition. Air flow
is controlled by mass conservation equation, conservation of momentum equation and conservation of
energy equation. κ-ω turbulence equation was widely adopted in engineering. Wall boundary was
adiabatic and no-slip, processed by the standard wall function. Inlet was given total pressure boundary
condition and outlet was static condition. The pressure value of the inlet and outlet was the same as values
for the steady flow test. Boundary value was calculated by extrapolation interpolation, pressure field
solved by SIMPLE arithmetic. Continuity equation and turbulence equation adopted centre difference
scheme, and energy equation used upwind scheme. Convergence criterion was estimated by the
stabilization of pressure, momentum and turbulent kinetic energy.
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2.3. Validation of the model

By comparative analysis between 3D CFD simulation and steady flow test, it’s found that the flow
coefficients and swirls ratios were greatly identical. Consequently it shows that selective turbulence model,
boundary condition and calculation method can make the simulation and test achieve certain accuracy.

3. Digital design analysis

3.1. Main parameters of helical intake port structure

Helical intake port structure is complex and has more parameters which are independent but
interconnected of each other. Generally helical intake port structure is plotted into the inlet, guide tube,
the minimum cross-section, spiral, valve chamber height, the throat and valve seat. The main structure
parameters are shown in Figure 1, h is the inlet’s centre distance; a, b is the dimension of the minimum
cross-section; r, R is the radiuses of the spiral; β is slope angle; H is valve chamber height; dv is the
diameter of the throat; θ, θ1 is the relative dimension of the spiral; α is valve cone angle.

Fig. 1. The main structure parameters of helical intake port structure

3.2. Results and analysis

3.2.1. The influence of centre distance h

Centre distance h affects the whole slope’s shape, the values of dip angle, the distributing proportion of
eddy airflow and tangential flow and finally flow state in the cylinder. For the analysis of that influence, h
is given 48 mm, 53 mm, 58 mm during the simulation and test. The original value of h is 53 mm.
As shown in Figure 2, the changes of h make obvious diversification of inlet airflow direction. With
the raise of h, outflow angle of tangential flow at the valve port is increasing and the loss of the collision
on valve plate is enlarging. The loss makes tangential velocity of airflow entry into cylinder decreasing
and axial velocity increasing, so swirl ratio reduces and flow coefficient increases. Every model’s flow
coefficient changes a little while the valve lift is small. On the contrary, flow coefficient has great changes
while the valve lift increases. The flow coefficient is the maximum while h is 58 mm. As the valve lift
increasing, the decrease degree of swirl ratio gets smaller. It’s because the increasing lift eases the
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collision on valve plate. The tangential flow with cylinder wall’s constraints forms tangential eddy after
entry into cylinder, which is the main source of flow eddy. Compared with the original model, flow
coefficient and swirl ratio of the model with h equal to 48 mm are reducing and the latter model represents
the worst performance.
0.65
0.60 2.2
0.55 2.0
0.50 1.8
Flow coefficient

0.45
1.6

Swirl ratio
0.40
0.35 1.4
0.30 h=48mm 1.2 h=48mm
0.25 h=53mm 1.0 h=53mm
0.20 h=58mm h=58mm
0.15 0.8
0.10 0.6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Valve lift (mm) Valve lift/mm

Fig. 2. Flow characteristic’s changes of the models with different centre distances

From table 1, while h is 58 mm, average flow coefficient increases 9.9% and average swirl ratio
reduces 5.0% than the original model. For the model with h equal to 48 mm, average flow coefficient
reduces 4.8% and average swirl ratio increases 1.6% than the original. Therefore, it is a method that
proper accretion of centre distance can enhance the flow coefficient with the permission of cylinder head
structure.

Table 1 Data contrasts of the models with different centre distances

Average value Original value h=53 mm h=48 mm h=58 mm

(μσ)m 0.3864 0.3682 0.4245
(Ω)m 2.3571 2.3945 2.2380

3.2.2. The influence of valve chamber height H

The original value of H is 37 mm. The simulation and test were progressed with the modification 42
mm and 32 mm.

0.60 2.4
0.55 2.2
0.50
2.0
0.45
Flow coefficient

1.8
0.40
Swirl ratio

0.35 1.6
h=48mm 1.4
0.30
h=53mm h=48mm
0.25 1.2
h=58mm h=53mm
0.20 1.0
0.15 h=58mm
0.8
0.10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Valve lift/mm Valve lift/mm

Fig. 3. Flow characteristic changes of the models with different centre distances
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From table 2, while H is 42 mm, average flow coefficient reduces 7.2% and average swirl ratio
increases 5.2% than the original model. For the model with H equal to 32 mm, average flow coefficient
increases 8.8% and average swirl ratio reduces 10.1% than the original. Therefore, the model with H equal
to 37 mm is the optimal structure.

Table 2 Data contrasts of the models with different valve chamber heights

Average value Original value H=37 mm H=42 mm H=32 mm

(μσ)m 0.3864 0.3590 0.3525
(Ω)m 2.3571 2.4781 2.1192

3.2.3. The influence of valve cone angle α

Valve cone angle was given 55 degree, 35 degree and the original value 45 degree in the simulation
and test. As shown in Figure 4, with increasing or decreasing α, flow coefficients of the modified models
are less than the original, and flow coefficients’ change extent gets great with small valve lift. Because the
minimum cross-section of the intake port is the joint surface formed between the valve and seat, flow
coefficient of the model with small valve lift is more sensitive about the changes of α.
2.4
0.6 2.2
0.5 2.0
1.8
Flow coefficient

0.4 1.6
Swirl ratio

0.3 1.4
1.2 a =35 degree
0.2 a =35 degree a =45 degree
1.0
a =45 degree a =55 degree
0.1 a =55 degree 0.8
0.6
0.0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Valve lift/mm Valve lift/mm

Fig. 4. Flow characteristic changes of the models with different valve cone angles

From table 3, no matter α increases or decreases, average flow coefficient all reduces. While α is
respectively 35 degree or 55 degree, average flow coefficient respectively reduces 15.8% and 24.9%.
Average swirl ratio decreases 4.8% with α equal to 35 degree and increases 3.2% while α is 55 degree.
Therefore, flow characteristic of intake port with α equal to 45 degree is more preferable.

Table 3 Data contrasts of the models with different valve cone angles

Average value Original value α=45degree α =35degree α=55degree

(μσ)m 0.3864 0.3262 0.2901
(Ω)m 2.3571 2.2447 2.4335

4. Conclusions

(1) Compared CFD software’s simulation calculation with experiment on 3D model, it’s found that the
flow coefficients and swirls ratios are in good agreement. The CFD method can provide digital reference
for the structure design and proves the feasibility of evaluation of intake port by CFD application.
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Energy Procedia
Procedia 16 (2012)
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000–000 563

(2) After the validation of test on the simulation, CFD software can entirely accomplish precise
simulation of the modified models and multi-program analysis on main structural parameters of intake
port, which is a rapid economic and reliable optimization approach of intake port design.
(3) Through the calculation analysis on centre distance h, valve chamber height H and valve cone angle
α, the results analyse the influence of flow characteristic with the changes of above three parameters, and
further show the direction of detailed design of intake port and further experiment, which can shorten
development time and costs of intake port.

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