Modeling of the atomization process of mixed biofuels with the addition of carbon nanotubes

Abstract

The actual direction of achieving the required environmental performance of internal combustion engines is the use of alternative fuels. Vegetable oils and fuels based on them are considered as promising alternative fuels for diesel engines. To ensure acceptable properties of such biofuels, vegetable oils are usually used in a mixture with petroleum diesel fuel. The article examines a mixture of 90% by weight of petroleum diesel fuel and 10% sunflower oil. To improve the quality of the diesel engine workflow, 1000 mg/l of carbon nanotubes from Timesnano (China) were added to this mixed biofuels. To assess the quality of atomization of these mixtures in diesel engines, a simulation of the process of atomization of these fuels into a constant volume chamber using the Converge CFD software package was carried out. The results of the calculated studies showed that the addition of 90% of petroleum diesel fuel and 10% of sunflower oil of carbon nanotubes to the mixture leads to an increase in the diameter of the droplets of the sprayed fuel, which contributes to a certain increase in the length of the sprayed fuel jets. At the same time, this is accompanied by a slight increase in the angle of the cone of the jet opening. It should also be noted the better evaporation of motor fuels when carbon nanotubes are added to them. These effects provide better quality of fuel atomization and mixing processes.