Experimental Study of Primary Atomization Characteristics of Sonic Air-Assist Atomizers

The present study compares two twin-fluid atomizer concepts based on the airflow (shock waves) pattern obtained through shadowgraph imaging for atomization of water with a low air/water pressure supply. The research work was conducted using the backlight imaging technique for converging (sonic) and converging–diverging (supersonic) air-assist atomizers with a 3.0 mm (throat) diameter. An annular sheet of thicknesses 70 µm and 280 µm with a high-speed air-core was employed to study the breakup dynamics for different water mass flow rates (100–350 kg/h) and air mass flow rates (5–35 kg/h). Different sheet breakup patterns were identified as the function of the ALR ratio (air-to-liquid mass flow), liquid Weber number (WeL), and Reynolds number (Reg). Different breakup modes extend from canonical Rayleigh bubble breakup, ligament-type breakup, to the pure pulsating breakup via annular sheet disintegration. The sheet breakup dynamics were studied in terms of spray angle and breakup length. With higher ALR values, breakup length showed a decreasing trend, while spray angle showed an increasing trend in the converging and converging–diverging (CD) air-assist atomizers, respectively, owing to the drastic difference in the jet flow dynamics.

Reversal and Inversion of Capillary Jet Breakup at Large Excitation Amplitudes

The evolution of the capillary breakup of a liquid jet under large excitation amplitudes in a parameter regime relevant to inkjet printing is analysed using three-dimensional numerical simulations. The results exhibit a reversal of the breakup length of the jet occurring when the velocity scales associated with the excitation of the jet and surface tension are comparable, and an inversion of the breakup from front-pinching to back-pinching at sufficiently large excitation amplitudes. Both phenomena are shown to be associated with the formation of vortex rings and a local flow obstruction inside the jet, which modify the evolution of the jet by locally reducing or even reversing the growth of the capillary instability. Hence, this study provides a mechanism for the well-known breakup reversal and breakup inversion, which are both prominent phenomena in inkjet printing. An empirical similarity model for the reversal breakup length is proposed, which is shown to be valid throughout the considered range of characteristic parameters. Hence, even though the fluid dynamics observed in capillary jet breakup with large excitation amplitudes are complex, the presented findings allow an accurate prediction of the behaviour of jets in many practically relevant situations, especially continuous inkjet printing.

The Natural Breakup Length of a Steady Capillary Jet: Application to Serial Femtosecond Crystallography

One of the most successful ways to introduce samples in Serial Femtosecond Crystallography has been the use of microscopic capillary liquid jets produced by gas flow focusing, whose length-to-diameter ratio and velocity are essential to fulfill the requirements of the high pulse rates of current XFELs. In this work, we demonstrate the validity of a classical scaling law with two universal constants to calculate that length as a function of the liquid properties and operating conditions. These constants are determined by fitting the scaling law to a large set of experimental and numerical measurements, including previously published data. Both the experimental and numerical jet lengths conform remarkably well to the proposed scaling law. We show that, while a capillary jet is a globally unstable system to linear perturbations above a critical length, its actual and shorter long-term average intact length is determined by the nonlinear perturbations coming from the jet breakup itself. Therefore, this length is determined solely by the properties of the liquid, the average velocity of the liquid and the flow rate expelled. This confirms the very early observations from Smith and Moss 1917, Proc R Soc Lond A Math Phys Eng, 93, 373, to McCarthy and Molloy 1974, Chem Eng J, 7, 1, among others, while it contrasts with the classical conception of temporal stability that attributes the natural breakup length to the jet birth conditions in the ejector or small interactions with the environment.

Experimental comparison of the spray atomization of heavy and light fuel oil at different temperatures and pressures for pressure-swirl injector

In this study, the atomization of heavy fuel oil (Mazut) and diesel fuel at different pressures is compared experimentally. Also, the effects of temperature on the Mazut fuel atomization are investigated experimentally. Mass flow rate, discharge coefficient, wavelength, liquid film thickness, ligament diameter, spray angle, breakup length, and sature mean diameter are obtained for the Mazut and diesel fuel. Fuels spray images at different pressures and temperatures are recorded using the shadowgraphy method and analyzed by the image processing technique. Error analysis is performed for the experiments, and the percentage of uncertainty for each parameter is reported. The experimental results are compared with the theoretical results. Also, Curves are proposed and plotted to predict changes in the behavior of atomization parameters. Diesel fuel has less viscosity than Mazut fuel. Diesel fuel has shorter breakup length, wavelength, liquid film thickness, and sature mean diameter than Mazut fuel at the same pressure. Diesel fuel has a larger spray angle and a larger discharge coefficient than Mazut fuel at the same pressure. As the pressure and temperature increase, fuel atomization improves. The viscosity of Mazut fuel is decreased by temperature increase. As the fuel injection pressure and temperature increase, breakup length, wavelength, liquid film thickness, and sature mean diameter decrease; also, spray angle increases.

Simulation of Elliptical Liquid Jet Primary Breakup In Supersonic Crossflow

The study of elliptical liquid jets in supersonic flow in a Mach 2.0 is performed numerically. The primary breakup process of the elliptical liquid jet is simulated for a Weber number 223, liquid/gas flux momentum 4.0. The aspect ratios of elliptical geometries are set to be 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5. The results show a remarkable difference in liquid jet disintegration morphology at different aspect ratios. Under supersonic crossflow conditions, the elliptical liquid jet shows more breakup characteristics than the round liquid jet. As the aspect ratio grows, the penetration depth decreases. The elliptical liquid jet with AR=0.25 has the largest penetration depth in all cases. Moreover, the round jet has a maximum spreading angle of 50.2°. The changing trends of the column breakup length both x direction and y direction are similar. The elliptical jet at a lower aspect ratio has a shorter breakup length due to the narrower windward area. The liquid jet has a pair of larger horseshoe vortex structure and a wider wake region at a higher aspect ratio. Two pairs of reversal vortex pairs with obvious characteristics can be observed in all the simulations.

Asymmetric Transverse Acoustic Excitation of a Hollow Cone Spray Sheet With Air Swirl

The objective of this study was to experimentally observe the effects of externally perturbing a hollow cone spray sheet with acoustic excitation. These effects were quantified by measuring changes in the spray breakup length, swirl angle, and oscillatory behaviour of the sheet edge. We used a pressure swirl nozzle embedded into a swirler with 60° vane angles and a geometric swirl no. of SG = 0.981. Water was used to produce a hollow cone spray sheet and air was used as our swirler agent. For asymmetric forcing, only one side of the spray chamber was attached to a transverse duct (aligned perpendicular to the spray axis) along with two speakers. The duct harmonics were found to be 115 Hz, 204 Hz, and 313 Hz. Our experimental modes were also found to be comparable with results obtained numerically using the acoustic solver package from ANSYS. Our results show that for most cases the spray edges, cone angle, and breakup length responds to the acoustic forcing. While the cone angle increased with air swirl, for some cases without acoustic forcing the breakup length increased with air swirl.

Reevaluating the jet breakup regime diagram

Identifying the regime of a liquid jet is necessary to determine the physical mechanisms causing breakup and consequently how to model the jet. Existing regime diagrams are based on a small amount of data classified by superficial visual characteristics, making these diagrams too inaccurate to reliably determine the correct regime. A more accurate regime diagram is developed using a large compilation of breakup length data combined with theory where the data is sparse. Improvements in the regime diagram include a new regime, the addition of the nozzle critical Reynolds number and the turbulence intensity as variables, and the recognition that how the regimes change with increasing velocity (i.e., Rayleigh to first wind-induced to second wind-induced to atomization) is not universal.

Experimental Investigations of Spray Characteristics of a Pressure-Swirl Atomizer

Spray characteristics of a pressure-swirl atomizer are investigated using high-speed shadowgraph technique under different pressure drops (Δ P) and fuel temperatures ( T). An image processing method is developed using MATLAB. The results illustrate that the mass flow rate climbs with the increase of Δ P, while the discharge coefficient ( Cd) decreases firstly and then climbs with the increase of Δ P. Δ P has larger effect on the cone angle relative to fuel temperature. With the increase of Δ P, the shape of liquid film changes from ‘onion’ to ‘tulip’ and finally be fully developed spray cone. Meanwhile, the surface of liquid film becomes smoother with the increase of Δ P. The average breakup length climbs, then decreases to nearly a constant value with the increase of Δ P, which is induced by the “Impact wave,” surface wave, and turbulent energy. There are little differences on the shape of the liquid film under different temperatures, and temperature has different influence on breakup length under different Δ P. Both the fuel temperature and Δ P have significant impact on the surface wavelength ( λ) and velocities ( U, V) of surface wave. The width of fuel stream becomes larger with the increase of Δ P and fuel temperature. The results can further deepen the understanding of spray characteristics of pressure-swirl atomizer.