Liquid Sheet Disintegration and Atomization Process on a Simplified Airblast Atomizer

Abstract

Liquid sheet break-up in coflowing shear flow is the mean by which liquids are atomized in practical injectors for gas turbine combustors. The present study explores experimentally the mechanisms of liquid sheet instabilities and spray formation. Experiments are conducted on four airblast geometries. A high-speed video camera associated with an image processing unit was used to study the liquid sheet instabilities. A microphone and a frequency analyzer were used to track the disintegration frequency. Instability amplitude and disintegration length of the liquid sheet were measured. A two-component Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer was used to characterize the resultant spray. The spatial distribution of the particle size is influenced by the swirling flow field. These experimental results will be used to assess models of fuel sheet instabilities and disintegration.