SPATIAL STRUCTURE AND DROPLET DISTRIBUTION OF ATOMIZATION BY THREE CIRCULARLY ARRANGED IMPINGING JETS

Atomization by three circularly arranged impinging jets is investigated experimentally, considering both head-on and off-center impacts. A related experimental apparatus is established to capture and record the atomization process, both spatially and temporally, via a high-speed camera and a phase Doppler particle analyzer. The formed liquid sheets are interpreted and categorized as having either open or closed rims, and impact waves are shown quantitatively to be predominant in their fragmentation. The impact parameter B, quantifying the misalignment effect of the impinging jets, affects primarily the deflection of the liquid sheet and the spatial uniformity of the atomized droplets. For the size distribution of the atomized droplets, the probability density function is shown to be independent of B, but the droplet sizes in atomization will become more even with increasing Weber number. The probability density function with respect to the normalized droplet size is also analyzed and is found to fit well with a gamma distribution. Off-center impingement is shown to decrease the mean droplet size but hinder the spatial uniformity of atomization