Effect of nozzle length-to-diameter ratio on atomization of turbulent liquid jets

Breakup of liquid jets is of considerable interest motivated by its applicability in combustion and propulsion systems (CI and SI engines), and agricultural fertilizer/pesticide sprays, among others. Almost all of the practical liquid injectors introduce some degree of turbulence in the liquid jet leaving the injector passage and an intriguing question is the relative importance of the liquid turbulence, cavitation, and the aerodynamic forces in the breakup processes of fuel injectors. A better design of liquid fuel injector would reduce pollutants and increase the efficiency of liquid fuel combustion processes. An experimental study to investigate the effect of nozzle length to diameter ratio on the surface properties of turbulent liquid jets in gaseous crossflow and still air was carried out. Straight cavitation-free nozzles with length/diameter ratios of 10, 20 and 40 were used to generate turbulent liquid jets in gaseous crossflow. The present study was limited to small Ohnesorge number liquid jets (Oh < 0.01) injected in crossflow within the shear breakup regime (WeG > 110). The diagnostics consisted of pulsed shadowgraphy, pulsed digital holographic microscopy and x-ray diagnostics. The x-ray tests were conducted at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) facility of Argonne National Laboratory. The test matrix was designed to maintain the same aerodynamic forces in order to isolate the effects of jet turbulence on the breakup process. The measurements included liquid jet surface properties, breakup location of the liquid column as a whole, the breakup regime transitions, bubble size inside the jet and seeding particle displacement inside the jet structures. The results include the jet surface characteristics, the liquid column breakup lengths, bubble growth, and phenomenological analysis to explain the observed results. It is observed that for a jet breakup in crossflow the injector passage length does play a role in determining the breakup length as well as influence the characteristics of the jet upwind surface. The present results for jet breakup in still air also show that the ligament distribution follows an arrangement along the jet surface and bubble formation associated with the jet breakup as well. The x-ray diagnostic allowed the surface and internal topography of fuel jets to be visualized and the breakup mechanism in the dense-spray near-injector region to be revealed.