Large-eddy simulation of cavitating nozzle and jet flows

We present implicit large-eddy simulations (LES) to study the primary breakup of cavitating liquid jets. The considered configuration, which consists of a rectangular nozzle geometry, adopts the setup of a reference experiment for validation. The setup is a generic reproduction of a scaled-up automotive fuel injector. Modelling of all components (i.e. gas, liquid, and vapor) is based on a barotropic two-fluid two-phase model and employs a homogenous mixture approach. The cavitating liquid model assumes thermodynamic- equilibrium. Compressibility of all phases is considered in order to capture pressure wave dynamics of collapse events. Since development of cavitation significantly affects jet break-up characteristics, we study three different operating points. We identify three main mechanisms which induce primary jet break-up: amplification of turbulent fluctuations, gas entrainment, and collapse events near the liquid-gas interface.