LES of Gas Exchange in IC Engines

Abstract

As engine technologies become increasingly complex and engines are driven to new operating points, understanding transient phenomena is important to ensure reliable engine operation. Unlike Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) studies that only provide cycle-averaged information, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) studies are capable of simulating cycle-to-cycle dynamics. In this work, a finite difference based structured methodology for LES of IC engines is presented. This structured approach allows for an efficient mesh generation process and provides potential for higher order numerical accuracy. An efficient parallel scalable block decomposition is done to overcome the challenges associated with the low ratio of fluid elements to overall mesh elements. The motion of the valves and piston is handled using a dynamic cell blanking approach and the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) method, respectively. Modified three-dimensional Navier-Stokes Characteristic Boundary Conditions (NSCBC) are used in the simulation to prescribe conditions in the manifolds. The accuracy of the simulation framework is validated using various canonical configurations. Flow bench simulations of an axisymmetric configuration and an actual engine geometry are done with the LES methodology. Simulations of the gas exchange in an engine under motored conditions are also performed. Overall, good agreement is obtained with experiments for all the cases. Therefore, this framework can be used for LES of engine simulations. In the future, reactive LES simulations will be performed using this framework.