Coaxial Jet Research Articles

Ar(1s5) density in a co-axial argon plasma jet with N2–O2 shielding

Atmospheric-pressure microplasma jets (µAPPJs) are versatile sources of reactive species with diverse applications. However, understanding the plasma chemistry in these jets is challenging due to plasma-flow interactions in heterogeneous gas mixtures. Spatial metastable density profiles help to understand these physical and chemical mechanisms. This work focuses on controlling the shielding gas around a µAPPJ. We use a dielectric barrier discharge co-axial reactor where a co-flow shields the pure argon jet with different N2–O2 gas mixtures. A voltage pulse (4 kV, 1 µs, 20 kHz) generates a first discharge at the pulse’s rising edge and a second discharge at the falling edge. Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy measures the local Ar(1s5) density. A pure N2 (100%N2–0%O2) co-flow leads to less reproducible and lower peak Ar(1s5) density ( 5.8×1013cm−3 ). Increasing the O2 admixture in the co-flow yields narrower Ar(1s5) absorbance profiles and increases the Ar(1s5) density ( 6.9×1013 to 9.1×1013cm−3 ). The position of the peak density is closer to the reactor for higher O2 fractions. Absence of N2 results in comparable Ar(1s5) densities between the first and second discharges (maxima of 9.1×1013 and 9.3×1013cm−3 , respectively). Local Ar(1s5) density profiles from pure N2 to pure O2 shielding provide insights into physical and chemical processes. The spatially-resolved data may contribute to optimising argon µAPPJ reactors across the various applications and to validate numerical models.

Coaxial 3D Bioprinting Process Research and Performance Tests on Vascular Scaffolds.

Three-dimensionally printed vascularized tissue, which is suitable for treating human cardiovascular diseases, should possess excellent biocompatibility, mechanical performance, and the structure of complex vascular networks. In this paper, we propose a method for fabricating vascularized tissue based on coaxial 3D bioprinting technology combined with the mold method. Sodium alginate (SA) solution was chosen as the bioink material, while the cross-linking agent was a calcium chloride (CaCl2) solution. To obtain the optimal parameters for the fabrication of vascular scaffolds, we first formulated theoretical models of a coaxial jet and a vascular network. Subsequently, we conducted a simulation analysis to obtain preliminary process parameters. Based on the aforementioned research, experiments of vascular scaffold fabrication based on the coaxial jet model and experiments of vascular network fabrication were carried out. Finally, we optimized various parameters, such as the flow rate of internal and external solutions, bioink concentration, and cross-linking agent concentration. The performance tests showed that the fabricated vascular scaffolds had levels of satisfactory degradability, water absorption, and mechanical properties that meet the requirements for practical applications. Cellular experiments with stained samples demonstrated satisfactory proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) within the vascular scaffold over a seven-day period, observed under a fluorescent inverted microscope. The cells showed good biocompatibility with the vascular scaffold. The above results indicate that the fabricated vascular structure initially meet the requirements of vascular scaffolds.

Using shock generator for the fuel mixing of the extruded single 4-lobe nozzle at supersonic combustion chamber

The importance of the fuel injection configuration on the propulsion efficiency of high-speed vehicles is apparent. In this article, the use of an annular extruded 4-lobe nozzle for the injection of fuel jet in a supersonic combustor of a scramjet engine in the existence of a shock generator is examined. The main aim of this study is to obtain the efficient jet arrangement for efficient fuel mixing inside the engine of hypersonic vehicles. A numerical approach is used to model the supersonic air stream and cross-jet flow with the SST turbulence model. The role of nozzle altitude and internal air jet on the fuel mixing of the hydrogen within the high-speed domain are disclosed. The importance of the horseshoe vortex and counter-rotating vortex on the fuel distribution is also presented. Our results show that the usage of a coaxial jet instead of an annular jet would increase fuel mixing by more than 40% in the combustion chamber.

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

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.

Numerical investigation on mixing of heated confined swirling coaxial jets with blockage

Abstract A coaxial jet that has one application in gas turbine combustion chambers where there is a requirement for very good mixing of air and fuel for complete and stable combustion. A study has been carried out to improve the mixing of annular and central jets in the confined space of the combustor. The combustor model is used with two confined coaxial air-swirling jets under non-combustion conditions. The influence of a heated central jet and the effect of blockage at different locations in confined spaces on mixing has been studied. To understand mixing in jets in confinement, the center line axial velocity profile and streamlines have been presented at different locations. The computational results are obtained using commercial CFD software, ANSYS FLUENT 18.0, with a standard k–ω turbulence model. After validation with the existing literature, parametric studies have been carried out with co-swirl and counter-swirl conditions of annular and central jets at different blockage locations in confinement. The results show a good understanding of the mixing process of two jets in confinement.

Insights into the hydrodynamics in the annular pipe of industrial‐scale top‐blown smelting furnace

AbstractThe coaxial jet consisting of swirl jet and axial jet plays a critical role in the industrial processes but is rarely investigated; therefore, it is numerically explored by means of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach in the present work. The force on the swirler, axial and tangential velocity at the annular pipe outlet, and the spatial distribution of swirl number (SN) are selected to evaluate the effect of geometrical parameters on the swirling performance. The results clarify that the velocity and their azimuthal components in the transverse cross‐section can be categorized into six segments based on high/low velocity values. The coaxial jets form a weak swirl with high axial, certain tangential, and low radial velocities. x‐ and y‐vorticity vary within −200 to 200 s−1. Coaxial jet mixing decays the SN. Based on the multi‐objective matrix analysis, swirler height has the largest effect on swirl performance followed by diameter, angle, and number based on analysis. Optimal parameters are 130° vane angle, 240 mm diameter, 10 vanes, and 250 mm height of the swirler.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Heat Transfer Characteristics by Co-axial Jet

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Heat Transfer Characteristics by Co-axial Jet

A Novel Three-Layer Coaxial Atmospheric Pressure Microwave Plasma Jet

A Novel Three-Layer Coaxial Atmospheric Pressure Microwave Plasma Jet

Effects of hydrogen addition on soot emission of methane and propane coaxial jet diffusion flames

Effects of hydrogen addition on soot emission of methane and propane coaxial jet diffusion flames

Droplet-gas interactions in nanoelectrospray multiphase flow

Electrospray (ES) is production of a charged droplet plume that transits from an electrically biased supply capillary to a counter electrode under the influence of an electric field. Drag interactions with the surrounding gas decelerate the droplets while transferring the momentum from droplets to accelerate the surrounding gas, resulting in an induced gas flow. This work seeks to characterize the structure of the resulting gas jet and identify the key mechanisms defining the flow structure. The phenomenon of gas jets produced by momentum transfer from nano-electrospray (nES) plumes is explored with schlieren visualization, thermal anemometry, and numerical simulations. Schlieren visualization experiments provide information on the flow structure in support of simulation predictions, and the hot thermistor anemometry measurements of gas velocities outside the spray demonstrate quantitatively validated simulation results. The study reveals the formation of a moderately high velocity coaxial gas jet within the nES plume and provides insight into the overall flow structure of the induced flow. The multiphase electrohydrodynamic simulations enable numerical experimentation to explore the fundamental physics of coupled droplet-gas transport and the resulting flow structure. The simulations, confirmed by the experiments, reveal gas jetting induced by nES with a narrow (sub hundred micrometers in diameter) core originating from the nES liquid-jet breakup region and a surrounding larger-in-extent zone (several hundred micrometers in diameter) of lower velocity gas flow within the electrospray plume. This behavior is due to nES ejecting a stream of droplets from the tip of a narrow liquid cone-jet, where the combined effect of many small droplets transferring momentum to a confined region of gas yields a narrow but high-velocity gas stream. The micro-jets produced by nES have practical utility for mass spectrometry, 3D printing and fabrication, and thermal management.

Modulation of coaxial cone-jet instability in active co-flow focusing

The breakup of coaxial cone-jet interfaces to compound droplets in axisymmetric co-flow focusing (CFF) upon actuation is studied through numerical simulations. Due to the coupling effect of double interfaces, the response behaviours of coaxial cone-jet flow to actuation are more complex than those of a single-layered interface structure. Particularly, the coaxial jet presents totally different response modes between weak and strong interface coupling situations. In this work, the phase diagrams of response modes for coaxial jet breakup are depicted, considering the effect of perturbation frequency, amplitude and liquid flow rates. In particular, the breakup of a coaxial jet can be synchronized with actuation within a frequency range containing the natural breakup frequency, resulting in uniform compound droplets with a single core inside the shell, and the size of droplets can be adjusted by frequency. As the perturbation frequency exceeds the upper critical value, the external perturbation is unable to dominate the jet breakup, while below the lower critical frequency, the jet breaks up with multiple droplets generated in one period. The perturbation amplitude mainly affects the jet breakup length and also leads to the transition between different response modes. The coaxial cone upstream of the orifice can act as a buffer layer, regulating the perturbation amplitude of the coaxial jet downstream. The degree of buffering effect is affected by the perturbation frequency and amplitude. As the perturbation amplitude approaches unity, the decrease of perturbation frequency leads to the intermittent jet behaviour from the cone tip with a vibrating manner of the coaxial cone. Based on the linear instability analysis on the simplified single jet models for weak-coupled and strong-coupled jets, scaling analyses are carried out, which predict the jet breakup length and the natural frequency and critical frequency for the synchronized breakup. Finally, a strong pulse is added on the perturbation to produce compound droplets with a controllable number of cores. The present work provides valuable guidance for the practical application of on-demand compound droplet generation through active CFF.

Swirling instability of coaxial liquid jet in gas surroundings

Linear instability analysis of an inviscid coaxial swirling jet is carried out by deriving an analytical dispersion relation of perturbation growth. The azimuthal Rankine vortex and the axial discontinuous velocity distribution are utilized as the jet basic flow. Due to the existence of double interfaces, the instability mechanisms of the coaxial swirling jet are much more complex than those of the single-layered swirling jet. The effects of control parameters (including the swirling ratio, the Weber number, the jet radius ratio, the velocity ratios between different fluids, and the azimuthal velocity jump at the inner interface) on the temporal instability of coaxial swirling jet with different azimuthal modes are studied. By comparing the growth rate of different azimuthal modes, the predominant mode that determines the jet breakup is identified. The results indicate that an increase in the swirling ratio, the Weber number, and the radius ratio can lead to predominant mode transition to larger azimuthal wavenumbers. The velocity ratio between the inner jet and the annular jet and that between the surrounding fluid and the annular jet mainly affect the axial Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability. An enhancement of the KH instability leads to the jet breakup with smaller azimuthal wavenumbers. The azimuthal velocity jump affects the azimuthal KH instability, the centrifugal instability, and the Coriolis instability simultaneously, thus leading to a multiple influence on modes transition. The phase-diagram of the predominant modes is further given, showing that the relative importance between the centrifugal force and the interfacial tension plays a significant role on the transition of predominant modes.

The role of the shock generator on the mixing performance of hydrogen jet released from the extruded transverse 3-lobe nozzle in a scramjet engine

The role of a shock generator in the fuel distribution of a scramjet engine is highly significant. In this article, the usage of the erected 3-lobe nozzle in the existence of a shock generator for fuel injection inside a supersonic combustion chamber is fully studied. A three-dimensional model of the extruded 3-lobe nozzle with two altitudes of 4 mm and 2 mm is produced to disclose the importance of the produced vortex upstream/downstream by the usage of the extruded injector. Comprehensive computational analysis is done to investigate the mixing efficiency and fuel diffusion of the proposed jet configuration. Impacts of the coaxial inward air jet on the hydrogen dispersion of the annual extruded 3-lobe injector are also revealed in the present research. The results of the flow structure indicate that the produced vortex upstream of the erected nozzle improves the fuel dispersion behind the hydrogen jet. Our findings show that the effects of injector height are more considerable than the use of an inner air jet for advance of the fuel mixing within the combustor of a scramjet engine.

Lifting of Single and Coaxial Nonpremixed Jet Flames Under Transverse Acoustic Forcing

The dynamics of gaseous reacting turbulent nonpremixed single and coaxial jet flames in unforced and acoustically forced environments was investigated at atmospheric pressure. Two burner configurations were used: one having a single fuel jet and one having a coaxial jet of fuel and oxidizer streams. The flames were exposed to transverse acoustic waves tuned to produce pressure antinode acoustic forcing at various frequencies and amplitudes. The flame responses were recorded using high-speed Schlieren and OH* chemiluminescence imaging. The center jet was set to be the same between the single and the coaxial jets at two different Reynolds numbers. The annular flow of the coaxial jet was set to have the same bulk velocity as the ambient coflow, a configuration here called a coaxial single jet. The configuration was so named because it was expected that a coaxial jet having the same annular bulk velocity as the ambient coflow would produce results similar to that of the single jet in the same coflow. It was found instead that the flame lifting behavior was considerably different, even qualitatively. The flow visualizations revealed differences in large-scale structures that explain the different lifting regimes.

Effect of velocity ratio and Mach number on thin lip coaxial jet

Abstract The effect of nozzle lip thickness and velocity ratio on coaxial subsonic jet mixing, at different Mach numbers, has been studied experimentally and numerically. Decay of coaxial subsonic jets emanating from coaxial nozzles of lip thickness 0.7, 1.7 and 2.65 mm with velocity ratio (VR) from 0.2 to 1.0 at primary jet exit Mach numbers of 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 has been studied. Free jet without co-flow (VR0) was also studied for comparison. Jet centerline Mach number decay, turbulence and velocity variation in the radial direction are analyzed. The results show that mixing the coaxial jet at a low-velocity ratio is better than a high-velocity ratio, at all Mach numbers of the present study. The nozzle lip thickness has a significant influence on the secondary jet. Mixing of the jet in the presence of VR0.2 coaxial jet is found to be the highest. Characteristic decay of Mach 0.8 and 1.0 jet for lip thickness 1.7 and 2.65 mm is faster than lip thickness 0.7 mm. For a given lip thickness, increasing of velocity ratio is found to retard the mixing between primary and secondary jets.

Numerical and experimental study on double coaxial gas assisted water jet guided laser machining of superalloy

To achieve more uniform gas film and higher working temperature, the design of film holes on combustion section parts of aero engine is developing towards three trends: smaller diameter, higher aspect ratio and more quantity. To realize the high quality manufacture of small film holes with high aspect ratio, a new water jet guided laser (WJGL) machining method based on double coaxial assistant gas was proposed in this article. An outer coaxial gas jet with high density was added to the existing coaxial jet of water and helium. That outer coaxial gas jet can weaken the interference effect of reverse water and sweep out the low speed water in deep blind hole. The sweep effect of outer coaxial assistant gas was confirmed by simulation and experimental results. The penetration time of Ф0.7 mm holes with depth of 4 mm decreased from 410 s to 173 s with the help of outer coaxial assistant gas. A series of Ф0.7 mm holes with the aspect ratio of 14.6:1 were machined using double coaxial assistant gas WJGL method on superalloy specimens with thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). The roughness of side wall was better than 0.6 μm, and no breakage or stratification was found at the interface of TBCs and matrix. This method can also be used in the manufacture of SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) parts with deep small holes.

Confinement Effects on Coaxial Jet Diffusion Flame

ABSTRACT A combined experimental and numerical study has been conducted to investigate the characteristics of confined coaxial jet diffusion flames in air coflow, using methane as fuel. The main concerns were focused on the unequal fuel velocity (0.1–72 m/s)/air velocities (0.045–0.53 m/s) and confinement ratio (δ*, defined as the ratio of the confinement tube diameter and the jet diameter), and most of the flow remains laminar while the ranges of δ* and gas velocities vary widely. The flame height linearly increases with the central fuel jet velocity, until the flame tip-opening or liftoff occurs, which is similar to that of the free jet flame. The critical fuel jet velocity for flame liftoff decreases with the ratio of air velocities to δ * . The critical fuel jet velocity of flame tip-opening increases with δ*, and the critical volumetric flow rate of air increases to a maximum, then decreases, indicating a combined effect of the oxygen supplement and the mixing with the fuel. Under smaller δ* with high jet flow velocity, a circular plane flame is observed before flame extinction. The formation of a recirculation zone in a confinement with combustion reaction has a significant influence on flame behaviors. A critical nondimensional Craya-Curtet number is used to predict the onset of flow recirculation with combustion reaction. At a certain coflow air velocity, the critical number initially increases and then remains constant with δ*, while at a certain δ*, the critical number decreases with air velocity. When the Craya-Curtet number is higher than the critical point, recirculation cannot be established, resulting in the formation of a tip-closed flame. With the decrease of the Craya-Curter number, the recirculation evolves to the upstream of the flame, then, the flame may be lifted off, along with the recirculation zone moving downstream. With the effect of recirculation, the stoichiometric mixture fraction contour shrinks toward the central axis where there is a higher local velocity. Therefore, the flame will be lifted off under a lower jet velocity in a smaller δ * . With the increase of the jet velocity, the Craya-Curtet number further decreases, and the recirculation becomes much stronger than the upstream inflow, resulting in the flame being compressed into a circular plane flame at a small δ* with a relatively high jet flow velocity or blowout directly at a relatively large δ * .

Stochastic modeling of multiple scalar mixing in a three-stream concentric coaxial jet based on one-dimensional turbulence

Modeling turbulent mixing is a standing challenge for nonpremixed chemically reacting flows. Key complications arise from the requirement to capture all relevant scales of the flow and the necessity to distinguish between turbulent advective transport and molecular diffusive transport processes. In addition, anisotropic mean shear, variable advection time scales, and the coexistence of turbulent and nonturbulent regions need to be represented. The fundamental issues at stake are addressed by investigating multi-scalar mixing in a three-stream coaxial jet with a map-based stochastic one-dimensional turbulence model. ODT provides full-scale resolution at affordable costs by a radical reduction of complexity compared to high-fidelity Navier–Stokes solvers. The approach is partly justified by an application of the boundary-layer approximation, but neglects fluctuating axial pressure gradients. It is demonstrated that low-order scalar statistics are reasonably but not fully captured. Despite this shortcoming, it is shown that the model is able to reproduce experimental state-space statistics of multi-stream multi-scalar mixing. The model therefore offers physics-compatible improvements in multi-stream mixing modeling despite some fundamental limitations that remain from unjustified assumptions.

Fuel mixing enhancement of transverse coaxial air and fuel jet by upstream shock wave on in scramjet engines: numerical study

In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to disclose the impacts of upstream shock waves on fuel mixing of cross coaxial air and fuel jet at a scramjet engine. This study has tried to investigate the impact of three different lobe injectors (2-lobe, 3-lobe, and 4-lobe nozzle) on the fuel penetrations along the scramjet combustor. The supersonic air stream is M = 4 while cross hydrogen and air jet are released in sonic velocity. This study uses CFD simulations to analyze the effects of upstream shock waves on fuel mixing in the transverse coaxial jet and assess their potential for improving combustion efficiency. The results demonstrate that the usage of upstream shock waves significantly increases shock interactions and augments the vortex region downstream of the jet. Our results show that the impacts of shock waves on the penetration of fuel jet released from the coaxial lobe nozzle are substantial.

Numerical Simulation and Optimization of Stable Coaxial Jet Formation and Direct-Write Printing Array Nanoarchitectonics

Numerical Simulation and Optimization of Stable Coaxial Jet Formation and Direct-Write Printing Array Nanoarchitectonics