Comparison of breakup models for large space in high pressure pulse sprays

Abstract

Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Malta, 16-18 July, 2012.

Optimization of breakup models for high-pressure pulse sprays in a stationary combustor was investigated by an experimental and numerical study. In the spray experiment, we measured the droplet distribution and spray flux under atmospheric pressure. We also conducted a numerical simulation of spray flow using various breakup models and compared the results with those obtained from our experiments to assess the numerical accuracy of the breakup models and propose a suitable breakup model for large spaces. The breakup of the droplets was calculated using three breakup models. The first two are widely used models—Taylor Analogy Breakup (TAB) model (O’Rourke and Amsden, 1987) and the modified KH–RT model. Besides, we propose a third breakup model that combines the KH and TAB models. The results of the proposed model, the KH–TAB model, are in good agreement with those obtained from our measurements. Hence, we conclude that the KH–TAB model is an appropriate breakup model for large spaces such as in the stationary combustor.