Pressure swirl or simplex atomizers are commonly used in a number of industrial applications for liquid atomization, including fuel injection systems for gas turbine engines, spray drying, and paint sprays. Computational modeling of the two-phase flow in the atomizer coupled with a non-linear analysis of instability of liquid sheet exiting from the atomizer has been carried out. The Volume-of-Fluid method is employed to determine the two-phase gas-liquid flow inside the atomizer. Results are validated using available experimental data for film thickness at exit, spray angle, and discharge coefficient. The predictions of breakup length using the non-linear model are compared with available experimental measurements which show excellent agreement. The effect of flow conditions and nozzle geometry on the flow field and sheet breakup are investigated. The coupled internal flow simulation and sheet instability analysis provides a comprehensive approach to modeling atomization from a pressure-swirl atomizer.

Volume Subject Area:
Fluids Engineering
Topics:
Flow (Dynamics), Modeling, Pressure, Sprays, Computer simulation, Discharge coefficient, Drying, Film thickness, Fluids, Fuels, Gas turbines, Geometry, Internal flow, Nozzles, Simulation, Two-phase flow
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