Assessment of an effervescent breakup model for Lagrangian simulations of real fuel sprays

Flash boiling drastically alters the characteristics of spray atomization and plume structure, which could impose challenges for modern propulsion systems design regarding fuel/air mixture formation and emission performances. Numerical simulations serve as effective tools to understand and predict flash boiling sprays for modern engine applications. This study carried out Eulerian-Lagrangian spray simulation campaigns for two gasoline injectors, and realistic single-composite and multi-component fuel models were used instead of simple surrogates. A validated effervescent breakup model was adopted to account for the non-trivial breakup mechanism induced by bubble nucleation within the liquid droplets. Effects of key model parameters were discussed in detail to propose a consistent set of model constants, and comprehensive validation was achieved against near- and far-field spray experiments. The effervescent breakup model has demonstrated satisfactory effectiveness, and the numerical findings also highlight the necessity of employing real fuel properties for spray analysis. • Flash boiling sprays CFD simulation. • Effervescent breakup model assessment. • Real fuel sprays.