Optimization of a High Pressure Swirl Injector by Using Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) Method

In this paper, the effects of various geometric parameters of a high pressure swirl Gasoline Direct Injector (GDI) on the injection flow quality are investigated. The two-dimensional axisymmetric Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) method were employed for simulation of the formation mechanism of the liquid film inside the swirl chamber and the orifice hole of the pressure swirl atomizer. To validate the model, results for base injector were compared in the steady state operation with those of available experiments in the literature. Good agreements were obtained for discharge coefficient (Cd) and cone angle (θ) with experimental data. The effects of five characteristic geometric parameters of swirl injectors such as orifice ratio (orifice length to orifice diameter), angle of swirl chamber, orifice diameter, needle lift and needle head angle (assumed to be cone) were investigated. The results show that increasing the swirl chamber angle leads to an increase in mass flow rate and a decrease of the cone angle of liquid sheet. Through extensive simulations, geometric parameters of an optimum injector were obtained.