Spray generated by an airblast atomizer at high-pressure conditions

We present an experimental investigation of a spray generated by an airblast atomizer. Experiments have been performed in a pressure chamber equipped by transparent windows allowing an optical access to the spray. Several techniques of spray investigation have been applied: spray visualization using the high-speed video system, spray visualization and instantaneous velocity measurements using the PIV technique, spray velocimetry and sizing using the IPI and phase Doppler instruments. Phase Doppler instrument has been used to characterize the droplets in the spray: their diameter, two components of the velocity vector. Also the integral parameters of the spray, such as the local volume flux density, have been characterized. We conduct a parametric study of the effect of the ambient pressure, the air flow rate and the water flow rate on an atomized spray. Measurements at different radial locations in the spray and in two planes were performed. The measurements in these two planes allow one to determine the distributions of all the three components of the average drop velocity vector: axial, radial and azimuthal. PDA measurements show that atomized spray is sensitive to any change in the studied parameters. For example, increasing air flow rate from 20 SCMH to 45 SCMH and keeping same water flow rate and pressure, leads to an increase in all velocity components and also to a change in droplets diameters. On the other hand, keeping constant pressure and air flow rate and increasing water flow rate from 0.7 to 1.4 l/hr, leads to an increase in water droplets sizes and the axial velocity component, whereas the other velocity components show a non uniform change. Moreover, increasing the ambient pressure leads to the growth of the spray velocity and drops diameters.