Large-Eddy Simulation of Diesel Spray Combustion with Exhaust Gas Recirculation

A Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) study of the transient combustion in the spray H experiment investigated in the frame of the Engine Combustion Network (ECN) is presented. Combustion is modeled using a LES formulation of the ADF-PCM approach, the principle of which is to tabulate approximated diffusion flames based on the flamelet equation to account for complex chemical effects. The liquid phase is resolved with an Eulerian mesoscopic approach coupled with the DITurBC model for the injection. The structure of the combustion resulting from the n-heptane liquid fuel jet is investigated and compared to the literature. A very good reproduction of experimental findings by the presented LES approach is reported for small EGR rates. Albeit the qualitative effect of increasing the EGR rate is captured, the quantitative quality of the LES predictions deteriorates with increasing EGR rate. One possible explanation for this poor reproduction of EGR effects might be related to the fact that the used semi-detailed scheme was not validated for high EGR rates.