An experimental study on the spray characteristics of the air-blast atomizer

In order to investigate the effect of different mixing forms and pressure variations on the spray characteristics of the air-blast atomizer, in terms of two air-blast atomizers with different mixing forms, a series of experiments was conducted by using the laser induced fluorescence (LIF) and particle image velocimetry (PIV) system. The effects of liquid pressure and air pressure on the spray angle and velocity field were studied and analysed, respectively. The fluids used in the experiments were air and aviation kerosene. The results indicate that the spray angle and particles velocity are not sensitive to the liquid pressure for both atomizers, but significantly affected by the air pressure. Specifically, the spray angle of the atomizer A increases firstly and then decreases with the increase of the air pressure. For the atomizer B, at the initial stage, the spray angle increases continuously and finally it maintains a stable value. Under a constant liquid pressure, the velocity of the particles of the atomizer A increases obviously with the air pressure. For the atomizer B, as air pressure increases, the particles velocity increases and some vortices have been formed. The research demonstrates that under the same condition, the mixing mode of the atomizer B can make the mixture of air and liquid more uniformly with better spray characteristics.