PI: Youngsheng Lian, University of Louisville.

Project Description:

Fuel injection system plays an important role in determining the combustion efficiency and pollutant emission. Modern diesel injection system often uses a high-pressure fuel rail to deliver fuel into the combustor. The high pressure is required for high speed fuel injection which leads to better fuel atomization that is critical to improve the combustion efficiency and reduce pollutant generation. The high-pressure operation condition imposes stringent requirements on the engine system in terms of safety and cost. Furthermore, high pressure fuel sometimes leads to undesirable phenomena such as cavitation in the spray nozzle, which can damage the spray nozzle. It is therefore desirable to reduce the pressure while not compromising the engine performance. We propose to analyze and optimize a genetic high-pressure injection system to reduce the required pressure using a validated in-house multiphase flow solver. Based on our analysis we will conduct design optimization to reduce the required pressure while maintaining the engine performance.