A Combined Numerical and Experimental Study of Air Bubble Dynamics in Converging Section of Effervescent Atomizer

Inside of an effervescent atomizer gas is injected into a liquid cross-flow in order to produce a bubbly two-phase mixture. The presence of gas bubbles leads to enhanced liquid break-up as compared to simple pressure atomization of the liquid phase alone [1]. In the present work, the dynamic shapes and sizes of single air bubbles injected in liquid water cross flow of an effervescent atomizer’s mixing chamber are investigated numerically and experimentally. Particular focus is aimed on the convergent channel section just prior to the atomizer exit orifice where the bubble experiences a significant drop in pressure. Volume of fluid (VOF) modeling and simulations are performed using the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code ANSYS FLUENT and further provide information on the liquid velocities near the air bubble. A high-speed imaging system and digital image processing are used for capturing experimental data on this highly dynamic process. The numerical results are compared with experimental visualizations to better understand the physical interactions between the two phases approaching the atomizer exit.