Effects of Injector Spray Angle on Performance of an Opposed-Piston Free-Piston Engine

Qinglin Zhang, Zhaoping Xu, Shuangshuang Liu and Liang Liu
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Qinglin Zhang: School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
Zhaoping Xu: School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
Shuangshuang Liu: School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
Liang Liu: School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 14, 1-17

Abstract: A free-piston engine is a novel internal combustion engine which has the advantages of a variable compression ratio and multi-fuel adaptability. This paper focuses on numerical simulation for combustion process and spray angle optimization of an opposed-piston free-piston engine. The working principle and spray-guided central combustor structure of the engine are discussed. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic model with moving mesh is presented based on the tested piston motion of the prototype. Calculation conditions, spray models, and combustion models were set-up according to the same prototype. The effects of spray angle on fuel evaporation rate, mixture distribution, heat release rate, in-cylinder pressure, in-cylinder temperature, and emissions were simulated and analyzed in detail. The research results indicate that the performance of the engine was very sensitive to the spray angle. The combustion efficiency and the indicated thermal efficiencies of 97.5% and 39.7% were obtained as the spray angle reached 40°.

Keywords: free-piston engine; performance; CFD; spray angle; combustion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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