Characterization of a Liquid Fuel Injector under Continuous and Modulated Flow Conditions

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to characterize the spray delivered by a modulated liquid fuel injector designed for active combustion control applications. A novel actuator is used to create a time-varying liquid fuel flow rate upstream of a commercially available injector. In order to be useful in existing burners, the actuator must not degrade the spray, by changing either the size or velocity distributions of the droplets produced by the injector. The amplitude of the induced modulations in flow rate must be strong enough to induce the required periodicity in heat release rate. This paper reports the results obtained from particle imaging velocimetry and phase Doppler anemometry used to characterize the spray, plus hot-film anemometry and pressure transducer measurements used to characterize the response of the fuel line to the induced flow rate fluctuations and to measure the excitation amplitude. It is found that the actuator response time is sufficiently rapid to modulate the liquid flow rate without changing the spray characteristics. Strong modulation of the flow rate is possible at low forcing frequencies, but the time-averaged flow rate is reduced. At higher forcing frequencies, the actuator response time cuts off, leading to a smaller amplitude flow rate modulation, and a relatively unchanged time-averaged fuel flow rate. For these reasons, this actuator is well suited to the control applications envisaged.