Methodology for the large-eddy simulation and particle image velocimetry analysis of large-scale flow structures on TCC-III engine under motored condition

Abstract

Large-eddy simulation has been increasingly applied to internal combustion engine flows because of their improved potential to capture the spatial and temporal evolution of turbulent flow structures compared with Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes simulation. Furthermore, large-eddy simulation is universally recognized as capable of simulating highly unsteady and random phenomena, which drive cycle-to-cycle variability and cycle-resolved events such as knocks and misfires. To identify large-scale structure fluctuations, many methods have been proposed in the literature. This article describes the application of several analysis methods for the comparison between different datasets (experimental or numerical) and the identification of large-structure fluctuations. The reference engine is the well-known TCC-III single-cylinder optical unit from the University of Michigan and GM Global R&D center; the analyses were carried out under motored engine conditions. A deep analysis of in-cylinder gas dynamics and flow structure evolution was performed by comparing the experimental results (particle image velocimetry of the velocity fields) with a dataset of consecutive large-eddy simulation cycles on four different cutting planes at engine-relevant crank angle positions. Phase-dependent proper orthogonal decomposition was used to obtain further conclusions regarding the accuracy of the simulation results and to apply conditional averaging methods. A two-point correlation and an analysis of the tumble center are proposed. Finally, conclusions are drawn to be used as guidelines in future large-eddy simulation analyses of internal combustion engines.