Prediction of Diesel spray penetration with short injections in low density gas

Abstract. The spray produced by a conventional common rail system is injected into quiescent air at low pres-sure (1 to 5 bar) and low temperature (300 to 473K). Fuel pressure, measured in the rail, spans from 300 to 1200 bar, and the injected quantity from 2 to 15 milligrams in one single injection. The spray penetration is plotted as a function of the elapsed time and of the ambient conditions. Penetration data relative to non evaporative condi-tions are then used to modify and extend a previously proposed empirical correlation that now can also be used to predict the spray penetration for very short injections.