Validation of a code for modeling cavitation phenomena in Diesel injector nozzles

In this paper, the validity of a code implemented for OpenFOAM® for modeling cavitation phenomena has been checked by comparing data acquired by numerical simulations against data obtained for a simple contraction nozzle and for a real diesel injector nozzle. The comparison of numerical and experimental data has been performed, for the simple nozzle, in terms of mass flow rate, velocity at the exit and pressure and cavitation distributions. The numerical results for the real diesel nozzle geometry have been validated with experimental measurements of mass flow rate, momentum flux and effective injection velocity. The results obtained in both cases and their comparison with available experimental data showed that the model is able to predict with a high level of confidence the behavior of the fluid in such conditions.