Liquid Jet in Cross Flow Modeling

All key combustor performance & operability characteristics like emissions, exit profile, durability, LBO etc. have a dependence on spray quality. Hence it is important to accurately predict spray characteristics for accurate combustor modeling. In this paper, a CFD based liquid jet in cross flow spray modeling approach adopted at GE Aviation is presented. Liquid jet in cross flow is a complex phenomenon that broadly involves jet trajectory evolution, surface breakup, column fracture and dispersion of secondary droplet particles. A two-phase steady state Volume of Fluid (VOF) approach is used to predict the liquid jet trajectory. A combination of output from VOF and empirical correlations (Sallam et. al; Oda et. al) is used to predict droplet distribution that includes diameter, velocity components and mass flow rate. Surface breakup is modeled by injecting droplets along the leeward surface of the liquid jet with spanwise perturbation to capture the transverse spread. Jet column breakup is modeled by injecting droplets including effects of unsteady fluctuations empirically to mimic the column fracture behavior. Discrete particles are then transported in a lagrangian frame coupled with secondary breakup of droplets. This approach has been validated on a benchmark quality dataset with an average SMD (Sauter Mean Diameter) error of ∼6 microns and is being used on Gas Turbine combustor fuel-air mixing devices employing liquid jet in cross flow atomizers.