Experimental investigations of aviation kerosene spray in different ambient conditions with various nozzle diameters and injection pressures

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the spray characteristics of aviation kerosene (RP-3) under sub/trans/supercritical conditions and provide a reference for engine test research under advanced combustion mode. The experiment is carried out in a constant volume chamber. To understand the influence of nozzle diameter and injection pressure on spray characteristics of RP-3 under different critical conditions, 270 groups of spray images are collected under three nozzle diameters (100, 300, 450 μm), five injection pressures (60, 80, 100, 120, 140 MPa), and nine critical conditions. The macroscopic parameters are calculated and new empirical correlations are generated to investigate the axial and radial development of spray. The results show that kerosene spray has different spray characteristics under sub/trans/supercritical conditions. The effect of nozzle diameter on kerosene spray is stronger than that of diesel spray. The spray with a small nozzle diameter is easily affected by gas entrainment. The injection pressure has an insignificant effect on spray macroscopic characteristics, but high injection pressure is conducive to increasing the vapor phase ratio and promoting oil-gas mixing, especially under supercritical conditions. The new correlations have good agreement with kerosene experimental results.