Spray characterization in a multi-jet airblast injector with swirling air crossflow

Abstract

Experimental spray characterization in a multi-jet airblast injector with swirling crossflow of air is the goal of the present work. The current injector allows radial injection of six liquid jets from a central hub into swirling and crossflowing air into the annular region around the hub. In the present study, three different aspects related to jet-in-crossflow are concurrently addressed viz. air flow confinement, air swirl and simultaneous atomization of multiple liquid jets. Such key features have been rarely reported in the past in spite of their relevance to practical injectors such as in Lean Premixed Prevaporized (LPP) gas turbine combustors. The spray structure and spatial distribution of droplets are visualized at different cross-sectional planes in the spray by application of the Laser Sheet Imaging (LSI) technique. The Droplet size, three components of droplet velocities and local liquid mass flux are measured at different axial and radial locations using the Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA) technique. The injector is operated over a wide range of aerodynamic Weber number (Weg) of the liquid jets (Weg = 57 – 430). The physics behind the spatial evolution of characteristic droplet size is analyzed by estimating the droplet Weber number and the probability of droplet coalescence. The plume-to-plume interaction, subsequent to droplet generation from the primary atomization of adjacent liquid jets, is found to contribute to the variation of droplet size in the current injector. The influence of Weg on the evolution of spray characteristics is investigated in detail.