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To develop injection nozzles and to improve the numerical simulation technology of fuel spray, a measuring technology to analyze the process of disintegration into droplets accurately is required. Performances required by a spray droplets measuring device are: “ability to measure in the combustion condition inside the engine cylinder”, “ability to measure the diameter of spray droplets in high-density fields”, “ability to measure the structure of spray droplets in 3D”, and an improved measuring accuracy of non-spherical droplets. These elements are required in order to analyze the spray droplets structure of gasoline direct injection engines. As a promising method to satisfy these requirements, the laser holography method has been already suggested. However, it has some drawbacks, such as a difficulty in measuring spray droplets in high-density fields and over a long analysis period.

Our concern was with the phenomenon of the fuel flow rate change in the injector due to deposit formation in the direct injection gasoline engine. The fundamental factors in the deposit formation on the nozzle were investigated, and engine dynamometer tests were performed. It was clarified that the residual fuel in the nozzle hole should be kept in a liquid state so that deposit precursors could be washed away by fuel injections. As a consequence, the nozzle temperature had to be below the 90 vol. % distillation temperature of the fuel, which was the most important index to suppress the deposit formation.

In gasoline direct injection engines it is important to optimize fuel spray characteristics, which strongly affect stratified combustion process. Spray simulation is anticipated as a tool for optimizing nozzle design, but conventional simulation, which is based on experimental data and/or empirical laws regarding spray boundary condition at the nozzle exit, cannot predict the effect of various nozzle geometries on spray characteristics. In Japan, a fan spray injected from a slit type nozzle has recently been adopted for gasoline direct injection engines. This paper proposes a computational model for the fan spray. The structure of two-phase flow inside the nozzle is numerically analyzed using the volume of fluid (VOF) method in a three-dimensional CFD code based on the nozzle geometry. The results of these analyses are applied to classical linear instability theory to calculate fuel droplet mean diameter after primary breakup.

To comply with increasingly stringent emission regulations, there is a high demand for A/F sensors with shorter light-off time and higher accuracy. Improvement of sensor accuracy requires reduction in sensor output shift induced by unburned hydrogen in the exhaust gas. The sensor output shift can effectively be reduced by placing a catalyst at the gas inlet of the sensing element. However, this involves the challenging technical task of developing a catalyst material with high durability in the sensor operating environment. By using a theoretical analysis technique, we studied a new catalyst material with superior catalytic performance and high durability, and have successfully improved A/F sensor accuracy, as reported in the following paper.

The required fuel spray characteristics, controlled fuel pressure, and injector installation configurations in gasoline direct injection differ among manufacturers. As a result, there are currently a variety of injector types and configurations being proposed by many different component manufacturers. This paper proposes a new injector design that both enables high fuel pressure operation by utilizing a highly efficient electromagnetic valve using a composite magnetic material for the injector actuator, and increases manufacturing productivity while also meeting the requirements of each engine manufacturer by simplifying the construction of the injector.

This paper will focus on fuel flow analysis in nozzles, in particular, in the injection hole, a key component of Fuel Injection Equipment(FIE). Optimum controlled flow in the hole improves flow efficiency and atomization. To meet the emission regulations which will be introduced from the end of '90's to the 21st century, Diesel Engines require FIE to produce higher injection pressure which creates better atomization and higher utilization of air. But higher injection pressure results in increased pump driving torque, larger pump size and higher cost. We have studied the improvement in fuel flow characteristics of the nozzle, using an enlarged flow model and the theoretical analysis method. As a result, we have found that the cavitation, which occurs at the inlet of the hole, is affected by the configuration of the sac hole and injection hole. And, furthermore, the cavitation has a direct effect on the contraction and its recovery flow.

For improving DI diesel engine performance, such as lower nitrogen oxidant (NOx), particulate molecular (PM) emission and higher output, etc., atomization of the fuel spray plays an important role. In order to obtain better fuel atomization without increasing the fuel injection pressure, increasing the flow velocity at the injection nozzle spray holes is regarded as an effective way. Through experiments, enlarging the chamfer at the spray hole inlet proved to be the most effective and suitable method for establishing high flow velocity injection nozzles. We have compared the high flow velocity injection nozzles with conventional nozzles in terms of injection characteristics and fuel spray characteristics, and confirmed the improved fuel spray atomization with the high flow velocity injection nozzles. Finally the high flow velocity injection nozzles were tested on a medium duty class, natural aspirated DI diesel engine.

A direct injection spark ignition (DISI) gasoline engine with a new stratified charge combustion concept has been launched on the Japanese domestic market. This new concept consists of two components. First, a thin fan-shaped spray from a slit nozzle enables wide spray dispersion, moderate spray penetration and a fine atomization. Second, a shell-shaped piston cavity allows better mixture formation, however avoiding distinct charge motions (such as tumble or swirl). Simple intake port geometry increases the full load performance. The combustion concept, at the same time allows stratified charge to be used at higher load and at higher engine speeds and improves the homogeneous charge combustion. A new 3L in-line 6 gasoline engine with this combustion concept showed 20% better fuel economy than a 3L port fuel injection (PFI) engine (λ=1 feed back system) under the Japanese 10-15 mode.

Maximum fuel injection pressures for GDI engines is expected to increase due to positive effects on emissions and engine-efficiency. Current GDI injectors have maximum operating pressures of 35 MPa, but higher injection pressures have yielded promising reductions in particle number (PN) and improved combustion stability. However, the mechanisms responsible for these effects are poorly understood, and there have been few studies on fuel sprays formed at high injection pressures. This paper summarizes experimental studies on the properties of sprays formed at high injection pressures. The results of these experiments can be used as inputs for CFD simulations and studies on combustion behavior, emissions formation, and combustion system design. The experiments were conducted using an injection rate meter and optical methods in a constant volume spray chamber. Injection rate measurements were performed to determine the injectors’ flow characteristics.