Breakup behaviours and spray characteristics of liquid jets injected from twin-fluid atomizer into crossflow

Abstract

Liquid fuel-only injection into combustion air is widely used in gas turbine combustors for power generation, particularly in large capacity type. This combustion air goes by the name of ‘crossflow’. For the liquid fuel-only injection, breakup process, trajectory of liquid jet and droplet sizes have been extensively investigated. However, there remain much space to be devised for improvement in atomization. In the present study, twin-fluid injection is introduced instead of liquid-only injection into a gas turbine combustor, where atomization air is supplied through the side port and mixed with liquid in the mixing port at right angle, and two phases mixture is injected into the crossflow. A simple-structured twin-fluid atomizer is designed. An experimental study was conducted to compare the behaviours between liquid-only and twin-fluid injected transversely into a crossflow. High-speed photography technique is used to clarify the atomization characteristics of jet/spray. One feature of twin-fluid injection is that annular liquid film appears at the exit of the mixing port, and the film easily disintegrates by aerodynamical force of the crossflow. The jet/spray of the twin-fluid injection is not blown away easily by crossflow, and flow across the crossflow. Furthermore, the jet/spray of the twin-fluid spread and droplets disperse more widely in the crossflow. In addition, the twin-fluid injection produces numerous fine droplets and few coarse droplets.