JOURNAL OF PROPULSION AND POWER

Vol. 23, No. 2, March–April 2007

Experimental Study of Near-Field Flow Structure

in Hollow Cone Pressure Swirl Sprays

J. L. Santolaya, L. A. Aísa, E. Calvo, I. García, and L. M. Cerecedo

Zaragoza University, 50015 Zaragoza, Spain
DOI: 10.2514/1.20713
In this work the near field of the sprays resulting from the breakup of conical liquid sheets was investigated
through experimental techniques. The dispersed and continuous phase velocities and the size of droplets were
measured using a phase Doppler particle analyzer. A data postprocessing, applying the generalized integral method,
was used to evaluate droplet volume fluxes and total liquid flow rates. The parameters of radial mean spread and
spatial dispersion of the sprays were calculated and the overall droplet size distributions across the sprays were
obtained. Two sheet disintegration regimes, perforations and surface wave instabilities, were analyzed.
Measurements showed a significant increase in the atomization quality as well as in the liquid radial dispersion
parameter for the wavy sheet disintegration. In addition, the effects of the collision phenomena on the droplet size
distributions were shown. High collision rates were predicted in the spray densest zones and some collision outcomes,
as the droplet coalescence or the separation with satellite droplet formation, were detected.

Nomenclature max = maximum value

Ao = atomizer orifice cross-sectional area r = radial component
CD = atomizer discharge coefficient x = axial component
D = droplet diameter
DV50 = smaller droplet diameter that includes 50% of the total
liquid volumetric flow rate Introduction
do = atomizer orifice diameter
def
Fac
=
=
liquid flow rate deficits
cumulative liquid flow rate
P RESSURE swirl atomizers (PSN) are found in many
engineering applications such as the energy and power
industries, due to their good atomization characteristics and their
FT = total liquid volumetric flow rate geometrical simplicity. The operation of these injectors is based on
fV = droplet volume flux the high angular momentum that acquires the fluid inside the
P = injection pressure atomizer. As a result, the liquid concentrates along the walls at the
N = droplet number same time as an air core develops around the axis of symmetry.
Ncl = total number of droplet size classes Previous studies [1,2] have analyzed experimentally and
Q = injected liquid volumetric flow rate theoretically the characteristics of this complex internal flow.
R50 = radial mean spread of the spray The liquid, forced to follow a helical path, emerges from the nozzle
Re = Reynolds number in the form of a hollow conical sheet that soon becomes unstable and
r = radial coordinate disintegrates because of different mechanisms. The breakup
r
= dimensionless radial coordinate phenomenon has been extensively studied, particularly in plane
S = span of the cumulative distribution configurations. For conical sheets generated by PSN, Lefebvre [3]
ST = spray cross-transversal area observed that a collapsed tulip-shape sheet changed to a diverging
tt = droplet transit time through the PDPA detection wavy sheet as the liquid injection pressure was increased. The effect
volume of fluid properties on the sheet characteristics was also examined
V = velocity vector through experimental methods [4,5]. It was demonstrated that an
V
= mean velocity increase on the viscosity or on the surface tension of the liquid
Vol = droplet detection volume injected inhibits the growth of surface waves as breakup mechanism
We = Weber number and generates more developed sheets.
x = axial coordinate The mean size and spatial distribution of the droplets resulting
R = radial dispersion of the spray from the liquid disintegration do not depend only on the sheet
t = measurement time at each location breakup process. The drop-drop collision phenomena and the two-
way coupling between the phases (air-droplet) affect specially to the
Subscripts formation of the initial spray structure.
The interaction of the spray with the air flowfield redistributes
a = air spatially spray droplets due to the differences in droplet inertia,
D = droplet momentum, and drag. Typically, for pressure atomizers in the
i = droplet size class absence of any significant external air flowfield, small droplets
j = class of droplet velocity modules couple to the local induced airflow whereas larger droplets tend to
k = class of droplet velocity directions maintain the higher velocity of the liquid sheet [6]. On the other hand,
it is well known that the air entrainment has a decisive influence on
the heat and mass transfer between phases and therefore on the
Received 24 October 2005; revision received 27 July 2006; accepted for
combustion efficiency. However, entrained airflow rate measure-
publication 11 August 2006. Copyright © 2006 by the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved. Copies of this paper
ments [7] are relatively little.
may be made for personal or internal use, on condition that the copier pay the Droplet collision is expected to be a frequent event immediately
$10.00 per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood downstream of the sheet breakup, promoted by the high
Drive, Danvers, MA 01923; include the code 0748-4658/07 $10.00 in concentrations and by the relative velocities of the droplets. In a
correspondence with the CCC. previous investigation, Qian and Law [8] establish five distinct
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