Experimental and numerical assessment of impingement and mixing of urea-water sprays for nitric oxide reduction in diesel exhaust

This study presents a joint experimental and numerical investigation of a spray used in selective catalytic NOx reduction (SCR) after-treatment systems for Diesel engine exhaust gases. The focus lies on the impingement conditions and distribution and mixing mechanisms of the spray in cross-flowing exhaust gases. These aspects are vital to system performance but still not well described. A pressure-driven SCR injector is characterized in an optically accessible flow test rig at different temperatures and mass flow rates representative of Diesel engine exhaust gas conditions by means of Mie scattering and Phase Doppler Anemometry (PDA). The effects of cross-flow velocity and temperature on spray structure, droplet size and velocity distributions are assessed resulting in a comprehensive characterization of the spray. Results show that the dense spray core, with droplets up to 200 pm, only moderately reduces in density as smaller droplets are entrained at high exhaust flows. Wall impingement conditions however vary substantially as impingement angles are shallower at higher cross-flow velocities. A detailed assessment of the numerical model is presented and validation is carried out at different measurement locations of interest. The predicted droplet size distributions and velocities follow the observed trends and impingement angles as well as spray film areas on the channel floor are also in agreement with the experimental data. The validated model is subsequently used to numerically study the mixing dynamics. The findings suggest that at low cross-flow conditions two counter-rotating kidney vortices are formed which entrain reflected droplets of the spray impinging on the channel floor, which leads to improved mixing. Vapor concentrations increase close to the side walls and reflected droplets lead to film-formation on the side walls. At higher cross-flow velocities, vortex formation is not evident and spray-wall interaction is less pronounced - impairing mixing and leading to a reduction in concentration uniformity at down-stream locations. Film formation and high vapor concentrations are restricted to the bottom channel centerline. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.