Liquid Sheet Disintegration and Atomization Process on a Simplified Airblast Atomizer

Liquid sheet break-up in co flowing shear flow is the mean by which liquids are atomized in practical injectors for gas turbine combustors. The present study explores experimentally the mechanisms of liquid sheet instabilities and spray formation. Experiments are conducted on four airblast geometries.A high speed video camera associated to an image processing unit was used to study the liquid sheet instabilities. A microphone and a frequency analyzer were used to track the disintegration frequency. Instability amplitude and disintegration lenght of the liquid sheet were measured.A two component Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer was used to characterize the resultant spray. The spatial distribution of the particle size is influenced by the swirling flow field.These experimental results will be used to assess models of fuel sheet instabilities and disintegration.© 1992 ASME