Development and Analysis of Wall Models for Internal Combustion Engine Simulations Using High-speed Micro-PIV Measurements

The performance, efficiency and emissions of internal combustion (IC) engines are affected by the thermo-viscous boundary layer region and heat transfer. Computational models for the prediction of engine performance typically rely on equilibrium wall-function models to overcome the need for resolving the viscous boundary layer structure. The wall shear stress and heat flux are obtained as boundary conditions for the outer flow calculation. However, these equilibrium wall-function models are typically derived by considering canonical flow configurations, introducing substantial modeling assumptions that are not necessarily justified for in-cylinder flows. The objective of this work is to assess the validity of several model approximations that are commonly introduced in the development of wall-function models for IC-engine applications. This examination is performed by considering crank-angle resolved high-resolution micro-particle image velocimetry (µ-PIV) measurements in a spark-ignition direct-injection single cylinder engine. Using these measurements, the performance of an algebraic equilibrium wall-function model commonly used in RANS and LES IC-engine simulations is evaluated. By identifying shortcomings of this model, a non-equilibrium differential wall model is developed and two different closures are considered for the determination of the turbulent viscosity. It is shown that both wall models provide adequate predictions if applied inside the viscous sublayer. However, the equilibrium wall-function model consistently underpredicts the shear stress if applied in the log-layer. In contrast, the non-equilibrium wall model provides improved predictions of the near-wall region and shear stress irrespective of the wall distance and the piston location. By utilizing the experimental data, significant adverse pressure gradients due to the large vortical motion inside the cylinder (induced by tumble, swirl and turbulence) are observed and included in the non-equilibrium wall model to further improve the model performance. These investigations are complemented by developing a consistent wall heat transfer model, and simulation results are compared against the equilibrium wall-function model and Woschni’s empirical correlation.