Quantification of Shot-to-Shot Variation in Single Hole Diesel Injectors

Recent advancements in x-ray radiography diagnostics for direct injection sprays at Argonne's Advanced Photon Source have allowed absorption measurements of individual spray events, in addition to ensemble-averaged measurements. These measurements offer insight into the shot-to-shot variation of these sprays in the near-nozzle, spray formation region. Three single hole diesel injectors are studied across various injection and ambient pressures, spanning 14 different conditions. We calculated two dimensional maps of the standard deviation in line of sight mass distribution between individual spray events. These illuminated the spatial and temporal extent of variability between spray events. Regions of large fluctuations were observed to move downstream during the initial spray period and reached a steady state location after this initial transient. This steady state location was observed to have strong dependencies on rail pressure and ambient pressure, and a weaker dependency on nozzle hole diameter. Regions of elevated shot-to-shot variation in mass may indicate regions of initial instability, spray formation, and mixing.