Abstract
The application of direct injection (DI) technology can effectively improve the atomization effect of heavy fuel to reduce the fuel loss of heavy fuel engines (HFE). The fuel spray characteristics directly affect the combustion performance of the engine. To investigate the atomization process and evaporation characteristics of heavy fuel in-cylinder for an air-assisted direct injection (AADI) engine, a simulation calculation model of AADI HFE was established with the use of a computational fluid dynamics tool. The air-assisted injector model and the one-dimensional performance calculation model were verified by test data. The influences of injection timing and injection pressure on the spray characteristics and mixture formation in the engine cylinder were discussed. The results show that the mixture concentration distribution is uniform after the injection timing is advanced, and the mass fraction of the fuel evaporation increases. The earlier injection timing can provide the fuel with sufficient time to evaporate, while the later injection timing will result in increasing the Sauter mean diameter (SMD) of the fuel droplets, and the unevaporated heavy fuel in the combustion chamber tends to become concentrated. With the increase in air injection pressure, the distribution of the mixed gas in the cylinder becomes uniform, and the SMD of the fuel droplets in the cylinder decreases. When the injection pressure is 0.65 MPa and 0.75 MPa, the difference between the SMD of the fuel droplets in-cylinder decreases, and a favorable fuel atomization effect can be maintained.