Simplified flow models are commonly used to design and optimize internal combustion engine systems. The exhaust valves and ports are modelled as straight pipe flows with a corresponding discharge coefficient. The discharge coefficient is usually determined from steady-flow experiments at low pressure ratios and at fixed valve lifts. The inherent assumptions are that the flow through the valve is insensitive to the pressure ratio and may be considered as quasi-steady. The present study challenges these two assumptions through experiments at varying pressure ratios and by comparing measurements of the discharge coefficient obtained under steady and dynamic conditions. Steady flow experiments were performed in a flow bench, whereas the dynamic measurements were performed on a pressurized, 2 l, fixed volume cylinder with one or two moving valves. In the latter experiments an initial pressure (in the range 300–500 kPa) was established whereafter the valve(s) was opened with a lift profile corresponding to different equivalent engine speeds (in the range 800–1350 rpm). The experiments were only concerned with the blowdown phase, i.e. the initial part of the exhaustion process since no piston was simulated. The results show that the process is neither pressure-ratio independent nor quasi-steady. A measure of the “steadiness” has been defined, relating the relative change in the open flow area of the valve to the relative change of flow conditions in the cylinder, a measure that indicates if the process can be regarded as quasi-steady or not.

The gas dynamics of the flow past an exhaust valve has been investigated using Schlieren photography. An experimental setup was designed and constructed, which allowed optical access to the valve head and seat region as well as to the exhaust port. The setup was constructed so that the shock structures of a steady flow, with a static valve, could be compared to the structures found in experiments with a more realistic dynamically discharging cylinder, with a moving valve. The steady flow experiments were carried out at a valve lift to a port diameter ratio of 0.155 with cylinder pressures up to 325 kPa. The dynamic valve experiments were performed with an initial cylinder pressure of 300 kPa and at an equivalent engine speed of 1350 rpm. The steady flow experiments belonged to one of the two flow regimes, depending on the cylinder pressure: regime I, a wall-bounded supersonic jet (for low cylinder pressures) or regime II, a fully expanded supersonic nozzle-flow (for high cylinder pressures). By comparing the images from the dynamic valve experiment to those of the steady flow experiments, it was shown that the flow in the dynamic experiments exhibits more similarities with regime I. However, large differences in the shock structures between the steady flow in regime I and the dynamic valve flow remain. This indicates that experiments using a steady flow and a fixed valve lift do not encompass the essential physics found in real engine flows and should be avoided. 

An entirely pressure-based vortex-shedding meter has been designed for use in practical time-dependent flows. The meter is capable of measuring mass-flow rate in variable density gases in spite of the fact that fluid temperature is not directly measured. Unlike other vortex meters, a pressure based meter is incredibly robust and may be used in industrial type flows; an environment wholly unsuitable for hot-wires for example. The meter has been tested in a number of static and dynamic flow cases, across a range of mass-flow rates and pressures. The accuracy of the meter is typically better than about 3% in a static flow and resolves the fluctuating mass-flow with an accuracy that is better than or equivalent to a hot-wire method.

The periodic vortex shedding from bluff bodies may be used in flow metering applications. However, because the bluff-body is highly confined (typically in a pipe) the shed vortices may interact with the pipe wall; causing an undesirable non-linear behaviour. An experimental investigation has been conducted; examining the vortex-shedding characteristics of highly confined bluff-bodies in pipe flow, at high Reynolds number (ReD=4.4×104 to 4.4×105). The bluff-bodies were comprised of a forebody and tail; both of which affected the primary-shedding characteristics. The shedders typically produced two unsteady modes: Mode-I was associated with the vortex shedding and mode-II resulted from a separation of the pipe-wall boundary layer. The mode-I behaviour allowed two classes of shedder to be defined: long-tails and short-tails. Modes I and II interacted, particularly for long-tailed geometries. When the length-scale of mode-II exceeded 0.8κ (where κ is the physical scale of the primary shedding vortex), mode-II disrupted mode-I, as the mode-frequency ratio (fII/fI) approached an integer value. The coupling of modes I and II caused mode-I to deviate from its preferred Strouhal number. When the deviation exceeded 25–30%, mode-I locked on to the mode-II frequency. This did not happen for short-tailed geometries, as the length-scale of mode-I was always dominant. Mode-coupling for short-tails occurred only when the mode frequencies were equal. 

A method to experimentally determine the dynamic characteristics of pressure measurement installations has been developed and tested. The method involves pressurising a volume enclosed by a rubber membrane until the membrane burst, generating a negative pressure step. The natural frequency and damping ratio of the system can then be found through analysis of the step response of the measurement system.

An example showing how it is possible to compensate for the dynamic characteristics of the installation, for qualitative measurements of highly dynamic processes is also given. This is done by modelling the system as an acoustic oscillator. Since the model requires that the time derivative of the signal is taken it amplifies noise in the signal, meaning that the quantitative values of the corrected measurements should be handled with care.