The spray and breakup characteristics of a swirling liquid sheet were investigated by measuring the spray angle and breakup length as the axial Weber number We l was increased up to 1554 and the ambient gas pressure up to 4.0 MPa. As the We l and ambient gas density p increased, the disturbances on the annular liquid sheet surface were amplified by the increase of the aerodynamic forces, and thus the liquid sheet disintegrated from the injector exit. The measured spray angles according to the ambient gas density differed before and after the sheet broke up. Before the liquid sheet broke up, the spray angle was almost constant; however, once the liquid sheet started to break up, the spray angle decreased. As the ambient gas density and We l increased, the increasing aerodynamic force caused the breakup length to decrease. Finally, the measured breakup lengths according to the ambient gas density and We l were compared with the results of the linear instability theory. Considering the attenuation of sheet thickness in the linear instability theory, the corrected breakup length relation agreed well with our experimental results.

Effect of ambient gas density on spray characteristics of swirling liquid sheets

Review on pressure swirl injector in liquid rocket engine

Study on spray patterns of gas-centered swirl coaxial (GCSC) injectors in high pressure conditions

A comprehensive study is conducted to enhance the understanding of swirl injector flow dynamics at supercritical conditions. The formulation is based on full-conservation laws and accommodates real...

https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/1.J055868

Comprehensive Study of Cryogenic Fluid Dynamics of Swirl Injectors at Supercritical Conditions

In this paper, a combined theoretical and numerical analysis is performed to study the internal and external flowfields of a liquid swirl injector. The effect of ambient pressure on the injector dynamics is explored systematically over a range of 1-50 atm. An increase in the ambient pressure increases the liquid film thickness, but decreases the spreading angle. This phenomenon can be attributed to the modification of the velocity profiles within the liquid film near the gas-liquid interface due to the alteration of the gas-phase shear stresses with pressure. The friction force at the interface plays a minor role. The generation and existence of stationary waves in the injector nozzle is also considered. At a higher ambient pressure, the pressure drop across the liquid sheet downstream of the injector exit increases, thereby suppressing the spreading of the liquid sheet. This in turn increases the thickness of the liquid sheet, and subsequently increases the breakup length at higher pressure. A semi-empirical model is developed to relate the velocity and pressure distributions near the surface of the liquid sheet. Good agreement is achieved between the measured and predicted shape and spreading angle of the liquid sheet.

Effect of ambient pressure on liquid swirl injector flow dynamics

Fluid mechanics of a liquid swirl injector element at various chamber backpressures were investigated. The center-jet swirling element was designed using typical liquid propellant rocket engine parameters, then manufactured and tested in a high-pressure, optically accessible, cold flow facility. Water was injected into a chamber pressurized with gaseous nitrogen at a constant swirl injector flow rate of 0.09 kg/s. The chamber backpressure ranged from 0.10 to 4.81 MPa. The film thickness and spray angle near the nozzle exit were measured by shadowgraphy. The film thickness was also measured within the injector upstream of the exit through a transparent nozzle tube section. Increasing the chamber backpressure for this fixed mass flow rate increased the film thickness from predicted design values. Measured discharge coefficient values increased with increasing chamber backpressure, reflecting the observed increase in internal nozzle film thickness. The spray angle decreased for increasing chamber backpressure.

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R. J. Kenny

Papers

Effect of Chamber Backpressure on Swirl Injector Fluid Mechanics