Chihiro Inoue

Study on Atomization Process of Liquid Sheet Formed by Impinging Jets

Aiming at clarifying and quantifying atomization characteristics at impinging jet injector, numerical analysis, experimental observation and theoretical analysis were conducted. For computing atomization phenomena, a numerical method was developed. The method was verified through quantitative comparisons with corresponding experiment of pinch off. Then experimental and theoretical studies were performed on atomization of axisymmetric liquid sheet, which was produced by collision of two water jets in opposite direction, as well as numerical analysis. The numerical results of the atomization process through KelvinHelmholtz type of instability showed qualitative resemblance with experimental visualization and theoretical analysis. Finally, atomization characteristics at impinging jet injector were numerically analyzed. Liquid distributions from the injector face plate were quantified, and the dynamic behavior of the liquid sheet was found to affect strongly on liquid distributions at downstream.

Atomization and Flow Characteristics of Liquid Sheet Produced by Jet Impingement

Aiming at elucidating the relationship between a liquid sheet atomization and the detailed flowfield inside the sheet produced by an impingement-type injector, numerical computation, experimental observation, and theoretical analysis were performed. A numerical methodwas developed to examine atomization phenomena. First, themethod was verified through quantitative comparisonwith a corresponding experiment of pinch off. Then, experimental and theoretical analyses were conducted on the atomization of an axisymmetric liquid sheet through Kelvin–Helmholtztype instability, which was produced by two opposing watexr jets. The numerical results showed qualitative resemblance to the corresponding experimental and theoretical analyses. Finally, it was clarified that a nonuniform injection velocity profile resulted in a velocity distribution with an inflection point inside the sheet. As a result, the sheet tended to be unstable and enhanced atomization.

Liquid Sheet Dynamics and Primary Breakup Characteristics at Impingement Type Injector

Aiming at elucidating the relationship between injection conditions, especially injection velocity profiles, and atomization characteristics of liquid sheet at the impingement type of injector, numerical analysis, experimental observation and theoretical analysis were carried out. For computing atomization phenomena, a numerical method has been developed. The method was verified through quantitative comparisons with corresponding experiment of pinch off. Then experimental and theoretical studies were performed on atomization of axisymmetric liquid sheet, which was produced by collision of two water jets in opposite direction. The numerical results of the atomization process through Kelvin-Helmholtz type of instability showed qualitative resemblance with corresponding theoretical analyses. It was clarified that non-uniform injection velocity profile resulted in velocity distribution with inflection point inside the sheet. Thus the sheet with non-uniform injection velocity profile tended to be unstable and enhanced atomization. The effect of injection velocity profile on atomization at the impingement type injector was also represented.

Multimode Flutter Analysis of Transonic Fan Using FSI Simulation

Fully coupled steady fluid-solid interaction (FSI) and flutter simulations were conducted on a NASA Rotor 67 transonic experimental fan to demonstrate the capability of application for capturing various aeroelastic phenomena in turbomachinery. The effect of blade deformation on the aerodynamic performance was investigated by steady FSI. Aeroelastic modes were determined using the modal identification technique for the vibration of the cascade. The proposed identification method successfully estimated aeroelastic modes without significant uncertainty. Aeroelastic eigenvalues were localized around the structural modes in vacuum forming the “mode family”, and there was negligible change in their frequency. The calculated aerodynamic coupling between the structural modes was small. Based on the reconstructed local unsteady aerodynamic force, the major damping sources in the 1F mode family were determined to be the shock motion and supersonic region near the leading edge. From these results, it was confirmed that the developed FSI method was applicable to the analysis of unsteady characteristics of blades in multimode oscillation.© 2014 ASME

Impinging Atomization Enhanced by Microjet Injection - effect, mechanism and optimization -

Impinging atomization, which has been widely utilized in liquid rocket propulsion systems, is able to produce fine drops at a rated operation. In contrast, the atomization characteristics deteriorate under off design conditions when injection velocity comes to be slower. In the present study, for improving atomization characteristics at off design conditions, an effective technique is verified utilizing small amount of gas (microjet) injection. The microjet is supplied from a pressurized reservoir and is injected from the center of the liquid nozzles toward the impingement point. To clarify the flow field and the mechanism of the effect, experimental visualizations, drop size measurements and corresponding numerical analyses are carried out. It is elucidated that Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) becomes one-tenth of the original SMD by the microjet injection with the amount of only 1% of liquid mass flow rate. The dominant non-dimensional number is found to be the ratio of the dynamic pressure (microjet/liquid jet) at the impingement point. The optimized atomization efficiency is achieved when the dynamic pressure ratio is approximately two.

Consistent Theoretical Model of Mean Diameter and Size Distribution by Liquid Sheet Atomization

A consistent theoretical model is proposed and validated for calculating droplet diameters and size distributions. The model is derived based on the energy conservation law including the surface free energy and the Laplace pressure. Under several hypotheses, the law derives an equation indicating that atomization results from kinetic energy loss. Thus, once the amount of loss is determined, the droplet diameter is able to be calculated without the use of experimental parameters. When the effects of ambient gas are negligible, injection velocity profiles of liquid jets are the essential cause of the reduction of kinetic energy. The minimum Sauter mean diameter produced by liquid sheet atomization is inversely proportional to the injection Weber number when the injection velocity profiles are laminar or turbulent. A non-dimensional distribution function is also derived from the mean diameter model and Nukiyama-Tanasawa’s function. The new estimation methods are favorably validated by comparing with corresponding mean diameters and the size distributions, which are experimentally measured under atmospheric pressure.Copyright

Heat Exchange and Pressure Drop Enhanced by Sloshing

For the prediction of heat transfer coupled with sloshing phenomena in the propellant tanks of reusable launch vehicle, the pressure drop induced by heat transfer and the dynamic motion of liquid in sub-scale vessels were experimentally observed and numerically investigated. The correlation between the pressure drop and liquid motion was confirmed in the experiment. The mechanisms enhancing heat transfer were discussed based on the computation. It was suggested that splash and wavy surface induced by violent motion of liquid cause the pressure drop in the closed vessel. In addition, as the preliminary investigation, non-isothermal sloshing of liquid nitrogen and liquid hydrogen were successfully visualized and pressure drop depending on the gaseous species was discussed.

Numerical Analysis on Dynamics and Inner Structures of Liquid Jet in Pinch-Off

In order to obtain fundamental knowledge of atomization, the three dimensional unsteady phenomena of pinch off were numerically studied by developed method. The numerical results of liquid shapes and velocity distributions were compared with the corresponding experimental ones. They showed satisfactorily good agreement in a qualitative sense. The liquid jet shape, the pressure and velocity distributions, and the inner flow structure were clarified through the comparisons of distinctly different flow fields due to presence or absence of surface tension. The condition of pinch off, which had close correlation with fluid acceleration at injection, was clearly specified. It was observed that the satellite drops were suppressed by large perturbation amplitude.

Direct Self-Sustained Fragmentation Cascade of Reactive Droplets

A traditional hand-held firework generates light streaks similar to branched pine needles, with ever smaller ramifications. These streaks are the trajectories of incandescent reactive liquid droplets bursting from a melted powder. We have uncovered the detailed sequence of events, which involve a chemical reaction with the oxygen of air, thermal decomposition of metastable compounds in the melt, gas bubble nucleation and bursting, liquid ligaments and droplets formation, all occurring in a sequential fashion. We have also evidenced a rare instance in nature of a spontaneous fragmentation process involving a direct cascade from big to smaller droplets. Here, the self-sustained direct cascade is shown to proceed over up to eight generations, with well-defined time and length scales, thus answering a century old question, and enriching, with a new example, the phenomenology of comminution.

Numerical and Experimental Investigation on Spray Flux Distribution Produced by Liquid Sheet Atomization

Eulerian-Lagrangian hybrid method is implemented for the prediction of liquid atomization phenomena produced by 2 liquid water jets impinging by an angle of 40 deg. in quiet ambient air. To calculate the flow fields with liquid/gas interface, Eulerian analyses are conducted inside a fixed computational grid system. After the atomization occurs, every droplet is converted to a spherical particle. The motion of particles are tracked in Lagrangian form. For the validation of the developed Eulerian-Lagrangian hybrid method, flow visualization by using a high-speed video camera is carried out. To obtain quantitative values of spray characteristics, the liquid mass flux distribution in space is measured by utilizing a patternator. Numerical and experimental results of atomization process and mass flux distribution of spray show a similarity, and thus the developed method is evaluated that it has potential to predict spray characteristics produced by liquid sheet atomization. The developed numerical method can calculate unsteady spray distributions not only at the plane close to the injector but also far downstream. The spray mass flux distribution in the transient state, which is hard to measure by experiment, is demonstrated.Copyright