A numerical study on the in-nozzle cavitating flow and near-field atomization of cylindrical, V-type, and Y-type intersecting hole nozzles using the LES-VOF method

In order to improve the performance of engines fueled with diesel fuel or diesel-like e-fuels so as to realize greener transportation, the V-type and Y-type intersecting hole nozzles, in which each hole is formed by the coalescence of two or three subholes, have been designed. In this article, the multiphase flow inside and outside the nozzle was numerically investigated using a volume-of-fluid large eddy simulation (VOF-LES) method to clarify the effects of the nozzle structure on the cavitating flow and primary atomization characteristics. The calculation was carried out at an injection pressure of 150 MPa and a back pressure of 0.1 MPa. Numerical results showed that unlike the L-shape pressure distribution along a cylindrical hole, for intersecting type hole nozzles, the pressure showed a stepped shape drop along the holes due to the overall convergent hole structure, which restrained the inception of cavitation. Consequently, the global loss of the flow over an intersecting type hole nozzle was lower by 24–37% than those of a cylindrical hole nozzle. Additionally, the jets emerging from the intersecting hole nozzles showed 50% wider spreading angles and 27% smaller droplet sizes than those of the cylindrical hole nozzle. Furthermore, the jets emerging from a Y-type intersecting hole nozzle showed enhanced atomization, which was found to be due to the unstable air suction near the outlets of this type of nozzle hole.