The study presents a one-dimensional, transient and compressible flow models of a commercial Common Rail Injector (CRI) and a prototype of a single-fuel Hydraulically actuated Electrically controlled Unit Injector (HEUI) developed at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in conjunction with local industry. The unique feature of the UNSW HEUI is the fact that it uses diesel fuel as the driver for pressure amplification within the unit injector. The work undertaken is part of a wider study aimed at optimization of the design of diesel injectors for dual-fuel systems to reduce green house gas emissions. The contribution of this thesis is the development of the model of the UNSW HEUI injector, which can be used to investigate possible modifications of the injector for its use in dual-fuel injection systems. The developed models include electrical, mechanical and hydraulic subsystems present in the injectors. They are based on Kirchhoff??s laws, on the mass and momentum conservation equations and on the equilibrium of forces. The models were implemented in MATLAB/SIMULINK graphical software environment, which provides a high degree of flexibility and allows simulation of both linear and nonlinear elements. The models were used to perform sensitivity analysis of both injectors. The sensitivity analysis has revealed that the temperature of the solenoid coil is one of the critical parameters affecting the timing and the quantity of the fuel injection of both injectors. Additional critical parameters were found to be the dimensions of the piston of the CRI, the stiffness of the needle spring of the HEUI and the dimensions of the intensifier of the HEUI. The models also revealed that in the case of pilot injections the speed of the solenoid is the major limiting factor of the performance. The developed models provide better understanding of the issues and limitations of the injectors. They give detailed insight into their working principles. The investigations of the models permit making quantitative analysis of the timing of the HEUI solenoid and to evaluate the proposed change of the direction of the pressure acting on the HEUI solenoid plunger.

published_or_final_version / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph.D)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Parekh, David; Committee Member: Fuller, Thomas; Committee Member: Joshi, Yogendra; Committee Member: Mavris, Dimitri; Committee Member: Wepfer, William. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

The fuel systems fitted to the current generation of civil transport aircraft are rather complicated, due to the presence of multiple tanks, pumps, valves and complex pipeline systems. During fuel transfer between the tanks, when controlling the aircraft centre of gravity or engine feed and refuel operations, a number of pumps and valves are involved resulting in complex pressure and flow interactions. In order to minimise the pressure surges during sudden system changes and flow overshoot during fuel transfer and refuelling, different motor drive system control strategies have been investigated. It is proposed that the current control method of electrically driven centrifugal-type pumps could be replaced by improved open and closed loop strategies where the flow overshoot can be minimised and pressure surges reduced. Steady-state and dynamic models of an AC induction motor drive and typical aircraft fuel system pipework components have been developed. The validation of these models has been performed using experimental data obtained from a fuel test rig constructed at the University of Bath using water as the working fluid. The simulation results have been shown to agree well with those from experimentation. In addition, the induction motor has been modelled based on its physical properties using the Finite Element Method software MEGA. The investigated fuel system has been described in linear terms and its behaviour has been identified. It is shown that the system dynamic behaviour can be controlled/improved using well established closed loop proportional-integral control. An open loop technique of simultaneous pump and valve control has been proposed and validated using experimental results, resulting in a reduction of both the transient pressure surges and flow overshoot during sudden valve closures, showing significant performance improvements. Improved closed loop control strategies for the pump drive system have also been developed in simulation. These are based on adaptive proportional-integral-derivative and fuzzy logic control strategies.

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Typescript. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Cold-flow tests were conducted in mediums of air and water to investigate the internal flow field about the nozzle region of a proposed solid rocket motor (SRM) configuration that would potentially replace the current external boosters on NASA's Space Shuttle. One-eighth-scale clear acrylic models of the proposed submerged aft-dome and aft finned grain elements were constructed to simulate the aft segment of the SRM at ignition and 35 seconds into the firing sequence. Pressure, velocity, and turbulence profiles were obtained during cold air testing, while air bubbles and dye were used for flow visualization during water tunnel testing. The flow visualization experiments indicated the presence of strong inlet vortices, alternating vortex shedding from both grain models' fins, circumferential flow in the aft-dome and around the nozzle, and recirculatory flow in the aft-dome and near an upstream portion of the 35-second grain model. Data acquired during cold air testing showed a turbulent low-velocity flow field in the aft-dome for both grain models. With respect to pressure and mean velocity virtually the entire nozzle/aft-dome region exhibited a minimal sensitivity to nozzle vectoring. / Master of Science