Numerical studies of flow in fuel injector nozzles - Interaction of separation and cavitation

The flow through injector nozzles is important because it affects the spray and the atomization process. If cavitation occurs inside the nozzle, the numerical modelling is quite complicated. The first part of this report deals with the numerical investigation of single-phase flow through an injector nozzle. Experimental data are compared with laminar and turbulent flow calculations. The results are discussed by assuming that cavitation occurs if the pressure drops beyond the vapor pressure. The influence of the throat inlet radius is investigated. Preliminary studies of cavitating flow were performed by using a law of state-cavitation model.