A Near-field Comparison of Flows at Similar Momentum Ratios in a Co-Flow Airblast Atomizer
ORAL
Abstract
Spray atomizers can be found in a wide variety of applications, from combustion systems to nasal inhalers. Capturing the dynamics of sprays and their formation in the near-field region are often challenging due to their optically dense nature. In this study, a co-flow airblast atomizer was used to disperse a stream from an inner liquid needle. Gas and liquid flow rate combinations were varied to achieve conditions with similar gas-liquid momentum ratios. The high-resolution X-ray capabilities at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory were used to characterize the near-field spray formation region. Quantitative results from focused-beam X-ray measurements, such as the fluid's equivalent path length (EPL), were determined and compared for various momentum ratios. Similar momentum ratios provided similar EPL measures in selected regions, even while the gas and liquid Reynolds numbers were varied. Regions where differences appeared for the same momentum ratio are also identified and discussed.
*This work was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research under grant number N00014-16-1-2617. The 7-BM beamline of the Advanced Photon Source is a U.S. DOE Office of Science User Facility operated under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.
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