Abstract:
Stationary prefilming-cup airblast atomizers, in
which the fuel is first spread into a thin cylindrical
sheet and then exposed on both sides to high velocity
air, have several important advantages over other common
methods of fuel injection in their application to
continuous combustion systems.
This thesis reports the results of a detailed
programme of research on airblast atomization directed
primarily to the investigation of the effect of atomizer
linear scale, or size, on the mean drop diameter of
sprays and, to the provision of a comprehensive picture
of the performance of thin-sheet airblast atomizers over
a wide range of working conditions. Three geometrically
similar atomizers giving cross-sectional areas in the
ratio of 1 : 4 : 16 were used; covering the range of
prefilming cup diameter, D, from 19.05mm. to 76.20
millimeters, and were capable of handling various liquids
at flow rates from 0.003kg/s up to 0.225 kg/s, at fuel
pressures below 33 x 10^ N/m^ (about 50 p.s.i.). .
It was found that atomizer scale has an appreciable
direct effect on atomization quality. The Sauter mean
diameter of low liquid viscosity sprays increases with
the 0.44 power of atomizer linear dimension (D), while
for liquids of high viscosity this effect is slightly higher.
