Time resolved numerical modeling of oil jet cooling of a medium duty diesel engine piston

In medium to heavy duty diesel engines, ever increasing power densities are threatening piston's structural integrity at high engine loads and speeds. This investigation presents the computational results of the heat transfer between piston and an impinging oil jet, typically used to keep the pistons cool. Appropriate boundary conditions are applied and using numerical modeling, heat transfer coefficient (h) at the underside of the piston is predicted. This predicted value of heat transfer coefficient significantly helps in selecting right oil (essentially right oil grade), oil jet velocity, nozzle diameter (essentially nozzle design) and distance of the nozzle from the underside of the piston. It also predicts whether the selected grade of oil will contribute to oil fumes/mist generation. Using numerical simulation (finite element method), transient temperature profiles are evaluated for varying heat flux (simulating varying engine loads) to demonstrate the effect of oil jet cooling. The model, after experimental validation, has been used to understand the transient temperature behavior of the piston and the time taken in achieving steady state. High speed CCD camera is used to investigate the oil jet breakup, localized pool boiling and mist generation due to impinging jet on the piston's underside. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.