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Biodiesel made from Jatropha oil by transesterification process has viscosity and other important physical properties comparable to mineral diesel hence it can be used as an alternate fuel in conventional diesel engines. It is important to investigate the spray characteristics of biodiesel because emissions from the engines are dependent on fuel atomization process and resulting fuel-air mixing. This study focuses on the Jatropha biodiesel spray investigations using Phase Doppler Interferometry (PDI) for measurement of various microscopic spray parameters such as Sauter mean diameter (SMD) and spray droplet size and velocity distributions. The spray and engine experiments were carried out for Jatropha biodiesel (JB100) and their 20% blends (JB20) with mineral diesel as baseline. Fuel injection pressure during the spray experiments was maintained at 200 bars for all tests, quite similar to small horse power agricultural engines, and the fuel injection quantity was varied.

The development of advanced gasoline direct injection (GDI) injector requires in-depth investigations of macroscopic and microscopic spray characteristics. Over the years, GDI injectors have undergone exponential improvement to be able to deliver fuel at high injection pressure. High fuel injection pressure (FIP) leads to superior fuel atomization, and consequently superior fuel-air mixing. Present investigations aim to improve our fundamental knowledge of the furl-air mixture preparation mechanisms of different test fuels. Experiments were conducted to study spray breakup of GDI injector. This study focuses on the spray investigations using Phase Doppler Interferometry (PDI) for the measurement of various spray related studies such as determination of arithmetic mean diameter (AMD), sauter mean diameter (SMD) and spray droplet velocity distributions.

Fuel injection pressure (FIP) is one of the most important factors affecting diesel engine performance and particulate emissions. Higher FIP improves the fuel atomization, which results in lower soot formation due to superior fuel-air mixing. The objective of this spray study was to investigate macroscopic and microscopic spray parameters in FIP range of 500-1500 bar, using a solenoid injector for biodiesel blends (KB20 and KB40) and baseline mineral diesel. For these test fuels, effect of ambient pressure on macroscopic spray characteristics such as spray penetration, spray area and cone angle were investigated in a constant volume spray chamber (CVSC). Microscopic spray characteristics such as velocity distribution of droplets and spray droplet size distribution were measured in the CVSC at atmospheric pressure using Phase Doppler Interferometry (PDI).

In this study, 3D air-flow-field evolution in a single cylinder optical research engine was determined using tomographic particle imaging velocimetry (TPIV) at different engine speeds. Two directional projections of captured flow-field were pre-processed to reconstruct the 3D flow-field by using the MART (multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique) algorithm. Ensemble average flow pattern was used to investigate the air-flow behavior inside the combustion chamber during the intake and compression strokes of an engine cycle. In-cylinder air-flow characteristics were significantly affected by the engine speed. Experimental results showed that high velocities generated during the first half of the intake stroke dissipated in later stages of the intake stroke. In-cylinder flow visualization indicated that large part of flow energy dissipated during the intake stroke and energy dissipation was the maximum near the end of the intake stroke.