Abstract A consolidated effort at optically characterising flow patterns, in-nozzle cavitation, and near-nozzle
jet structure of a marine diesel fuel injector is presented. A combination of several optical techniques was employed
to fully transparent injector models, compound metal-glass and full metal injectors. They were all based on a common
real-scale dual nozzle hole geometry for a marine twostroke diesel engine. In a stationary flow rig, flow velocities
in the sac-volume and nozzle holes were measured using PIV, and in-nozzle cavitation visualized using high-resolution
shadowgraphs. The effect of varying cavitation number was studied and results compared to CFD predictions.
In-nozzle cavitation and near-nozzle jet structure during transient operation were visualized simultaneously, using
high-speed imaging in an atmospheric pressure spray rig. Near-nozzle spray formation was investigated using ballistic
imaging. Finally, the injector geometry was tested on a full-scale marine diesel engine, where the dynamics
of near-nozzle jet development was visualized using highspeed shadowgraphy. The range of studies focused on a
single common geometry allows a comprehensive survey of phenomena ranging from first inception of cavitation under well-controlled flow conditions to fuel jet structure at real engine conditions.