Gas–liquid coaxial atomization with swirl in high-pressure environments

Abstract

We present recent experimental results on the dynamics of atomization of a liquid column by a coaxial turbulent gas jet, under varying air angular momentum (swirl) conditions and densities. We compare between atomization under atmospheric conditions and in a pressurized environment where the atomizing and ambient air density is 5 times the atmospheric level. For both conditions, the parameter space includes a gas-to-liquid momentum ratio in the range of M=25−56 and swirl ratios of SR=0−1. High-speed shadowgraphy images in the spray near-field are used to quantify the spatial and temporal evolution of the liquid–gas interface. In the mid-field, Phase Doppler Interferometry, collected radially across the spray, quantify droplet size, velocity, and number density distributions. At high pressure and with increasing M, we observe a decrease in spray angle when SR=0 but a spray angle increase when SR>0.5 (critical swirl). We reconcile these observations with the crown de-wetting mechanism, first observed in X-ray shadowgraphs of the spray. Crown de-wetting depends on gas inertia relative to the liquid, which increases linearly with atomization environment pressure, leading to this switch in behavior. This mechanism also explains the modified droplet radial distribution in the mid-field, with critical transition from concave to convex-shaped trends in the mean droplet size profile. Finally, we reconstruct the full spray droplet population from radial measurements, showing that swirl not only modifies the transport of droplets in the spray cross-section, but also enhances break-up and reduces the Sauter Mean Diameter globally, for all momentum ratios and pressure conditions tested.