Characterization of Tumble Motion in SI Engines: A New Parameter

A well-timed turbulence due to tumble in SI engines is found to be of substantial benefit to the engine combustion process. A mean flow analysis of tumble motion in conjunction with k-ε turbulence model has been developed to provide a detailed mechanism for turbulence enhancement due to tumble. Considering that the tumble phenomenon is highly geometry dependant, an attempt is made to relate tumble-generated turbulence to the parameters relating to intake conditions and combustion chamber geometry. Finally, a new parameter ‘vortex life span’ has been proposed to characterize tumble and its turbulence, which globally encompasses intake and combustion chamber related features. The sensitivity of this parameter is demonstrated at various operating conditions. It is found that the ‘vortex life span’ has an inverse relationship with commonly measured BDC tumble ratio and is more sensitive to the chamber geometry effects.