Experimental characterization on injection and spray of coal-derived liquid fuel

Coal-derived liquid fuels (CDLs) are petroleum diesel's (PD) alternatives produced by coal liquefaction. The injection and non-evaporating spray characteristics of CDLs, including diesel from direct coal liquefaction (DDCL), diesel from indirect coal liquefaction (DICL), and their blends (DBCL), were discussed. The high-pressure common rail test bench was used to evaluate the injection delay, injection rate, injection quantity, single injection heat value, and injector inlet pressure. A constant volume chamber along with high-speed camera was used to visualize the spray, then measuring the spray tip penetration distance, spray cone angle, and spray area. Besides, injection tests were conducted using injectors removed from engines that had finished durability tests fueled with DBCL and PD. The results revealed that DDCL had shorter injection delays and more mass injection quantity than PD, with an injection heat value 7 % higher at a rail pressure of 140 MPa. Regarding the spray, PD had a longer spray tip penetration distance and smaller cone angle than CDLs. On test conditions, the spray Sauter mean diameters of DDCL and DICL were over 30 % less than that of PD. Inferring from the reduction in injection rate and quantity, PD generated more clog in the injector hole than DBCL. •Injection and spray characteristics of CDLs and PD were investigated.•Single injection heat values of CDLs were higher than that of PD.•Injector hole clogging of engines fueled with DBCL and PD were reported.