Multidimensional Predictions of In-Cylinder Turbulent Flows: Contribution to the Assessment of k-ε Turbulence Model Variants for Bowl-in-Piston Engines

As is well known, the in-cylinder flow phenomena can strongly affect the engine combustion process and the related emission sources. Therefore, a better understanding of the fluid motion is critical for developing new engine concepts with the most attractive operation and emission characteristics. To that end, multidimensional flow computational codes with reliable turbulence models are useful investigation and design tools. This paper is concerned with mean-flow and turbulence simulation in a motored model engine with a compression ratio of 6.7. The flow configurations comprise an axisymmetric combustion chamber with one centrally located valve and each of a flat piston and cylindrical bowl-in-piston arrangements. The calculations are performed using a non-commercial CFD code that was originally developed by the authors. A finite volume conservative implicit method, applying various order-of-accuracy schemes, is employed for the discretization of the partial differential equations modeling the in-cylinder turbulent flow, and the resultant algebraic equations are linearized and sequentially solved by an iterative procedure. Velocity-pressure coupling is ensured by a pressure correction method similar to that of the SIMPLER algorithm. Results of the simulation are presented at the model engine speed of 200 rpm throughout the engine cycle. They were obtained using three versions of the k-ε turbulence model (Standard, Two Scale and RNG) which differ from each other for underlying concepts, complexity and accuracy in capturing flow features. Modified boundary conditions with respect to logarithmic wall-functions were applied. Insight was also gained into the nonlinear effects of stress-strain constitutive relation on turbulence modeling. The effects of the equation differencing schemes and computational grid spacing on flow predictions were tested. Then the numerical results were compared to those of LDV measurements and the influence of the k-ε model variants on the flow field features were examined during the induction stroke and around compression TDC.