Abstract
The paper introduces the experimental results of the droplets formation for three different aqueous solutions. The new wind tunnel was built to study water droplets atomization from liquid films at high speed flow similar to that found in steam turbines. Liquid atomization is a widely studied problem for sprays and generally in the field of aerosol research. A similar phenomenon occurs in steam turbines but mainly with undesirable effects, the formed droplets from the film (coarse droplets) have a negative effect on the reliability and efficiency of the turbines due to the erosion and corrosion by the droplets impact on the leading edges of the blades. The new wind tunnel is equipped with classical pressure and temperature measurement systems for the determination of the initial condition in the settling chamber and measurement of the static pressure along the nozzle with a known profile. The photogrammetric method and light scattering are used to measure the diameter distribution of the droplets. The liquid film is made with an aqueous solution supplied on the symmetrical aerofoil NACA 0008. Different aqueous solutions were studied for different liquid surface tension effects.
Highlights
The paper contains the first result of the measurement of three different aqueous solutions with different surface tensions
A similar phenomenon is known in steam turbines but mostly with undesirable effects, coarse droplets have a negative effect on the reliability and efficiency of steam turbines
The motivation for the new wind tunnel assembly arises from the previous measurement [2] of the coarse droplets in the steam turbine under operational conditions
Summary
The paper contains the first result of the measurement of three different aqueous solutions with different surface tensions. The purpose of the measurement was to assess the surface tension effect on the atomization of the liquid film. The study of the water droplets formation, movement and further impact back on the moving blade in turbines at high speed has an important role in the never-ending effort to enhance the efficiency of the energy production and decrease its environmental impact. There are other applications where liquid films are present on a moving body, for example on the trailing edge of wings, propellers and blades the result of this study could be useful. A better understanding of the formation of coarse droplets and their properties may provide future enhancements for the steam turbine and other similar applications. Previous measurements of coarse droplets directly in the steam turbine made it necessary to build an experimental tunnel for the study of the formation of the droplets and their properties [2] in the laboratory
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