Investigation of injector coking effects on spray characteristic and engine performance in gasoline direct injection engines

Highlights: • Injector tip deposits effects on spray characteristics and atomization were examined. • Injector tip deposits effects on mass flow rate reduction were investigated. • Injector tip deposits impacts on diffusion flame formation were examined. Spray and droplet characteristics of a coked injector were compared to those of a clean injector at the atmospheric conditions and investigated using high-speed imaging and a Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA). Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray 3D microtomography images were analysed to understand the physical characteristics of injector nozzle deposits. Furthermore, Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) was utilized to obtain the elemental composition of the deposit. A single cylinder optical gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine was used to compare diffusion flames for each injector. In this study, the location and topography of the deposits demonstrated that they extensively formed in the external holes of the injector, and reduced in size and quantity through the internal holes. Elemental analysis of the deposits exhibited that carbon (C) and oxygen (O) were the predominant elemental components through both the internal and external holes of the injector. The coked injector exhibited higher penetration lengths, smaller plume angles, larger spray cone angles, higher mean droplet velocity and larger droplet size as compared to the clean injector. Images of the optical engine indicated strong diffusion flames around the coked injector tip. In-cylinder pressure measurements indicated that the coked injector produced lower in-cylinder pressures, implying lower combustion stability compared with the clean injector. This work was carried out to obtain a comprehensive study of injector coking effects on spray behaviour and engine performance.