Calculation approach validation for airblast atomizers

The impact of the details of both prefilming and plain-jet airblast atomizers on spray parameters is investigated using a semianalytical calculative procedure and six atomizers with different designs and a variety of liquids and breakup processes. The air velocity components in the atomizer flow field are given by mathematical expressions, and the spray droplets are considered to form at ligament breakup through a disturbance wave growth concept. The trends of variation of the mean drop size and drop-size distribution with air/liquid ratio and air pressure differential are successfully predicted by the present approach. It is shown that this relatively simple procedure can readily assess the impact of atomizer details on performance. The approach can also be satisfactorily applied to various common liquids.