Gas entrainment in an evaporating spray jet

Abstract

Gas entrainment induced by a spray jet can be significantly affected by the spray evaporation rate. In this study, we have directly measured the air entrainment induced by a liquid nitrogen spray jet into an unbounded and stagnant room air. It is realized that the air entrainment is proportional to the axial gradient of oxygen mass flow in a pure nitrogen spray jet. Hence, the air entrainment can be determined by a combined measurement of local cross-sectional distributions of oxygen concentration, gas temperature and gas velocity along the jet path. These measurements are directly obtained using an in situ oxygen concentration analyzer, a thermocouple system, and a Laser Doppler Velocimeter. In order to evaluate the effect of evaporation rate, direct measurements and numerical simulations of the air entrainment by a cold gaseous jet of nitrogen (at a temperature slightly above that of liquid nitrogen) into room air are also performed. Measurements of the entrainment rate and flow similarity of the gaseous jets without droplets compared very well against those from the single-phase jet theories and numerical simulation, which validates our experimental approach and analysis method. Our experimental results indicate rough flow similarities exist in evaporating spray jets with round nozzles. Although the air entrainment by the liquid nitrogen spray is found significantly increased, as compared to that by the cold gaseous jet of nitrogen from the same nozzle and at the same jetting velocity, the increased ratio is far less than the equivalent momentum ratio of the liquid nitrogen spray to the gas nitrogen jet. This experimental finding suggests that the evaporation of spray markedly weakens the gas entrainment. In this study, a parametric model is also developed to provide a theoretical basis of the data analysis for the cross-section averaged spray evaporation rate within the spray jet region.