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This paper presents the analysis of atomization and vaporization processes in a flash boiling spray based on experimental results obtained from injection systems in the suction manifold of a gasoline engine. Two kinds of liquid fuel, n-Pentane and n-Hexane, were injected into quiescent atmosphere at room-temperature and low-pressure through a pintle type injector with electronic control. The spray characteristics of both fuels below various atmospheric pressures were investigated in detail by taking photography. Then, in the region of flash boiling, where the back pressure was below the saturated vapor pressure of fuel, the bubble nucleation process due to the flash boiling was modelled by both the measurement results of bubble and the nucleation rate equation using the degree of superheat of the liquid fuel.

For current passenger vehicles, multi-point injection (MPI) systems are extensively employed for gasoline engines due to ease of control and rapid response. In these systems, the pressure within the intake manifold to which the injectors are installed can fall below the saturated vapor pressure of some hydrocarbon components present in the fuel. Such a condition leads to an atomization process in which flash boiling occurs. In the present work, the atomization process under flash boiling conditions has been characterized both experimentally and theoretically. The experimental investigation has been carried out with a spray test facility consisting of a variable pressure chamber equipped with a pintle type fuel nozzle. Infrared Extinction/Scattering (IRES) is utilized to provide temporal and spatially resolved distribution of the fuel vapor concentration within the spray.