Periodic atomization characteristics of simplex swirl injector induced by klystron effect

The atomization dynamic characteristics of a simplex swirl injector was investigated experimentally by using a hydrodynamic mechanical pulsator and the shadow photography technique. The frequency response characteristics of the fluid film and atomization fluctuations and their correlations with pressure fluctuations were obtained by using an in-house code of image processing. It is demonstrated that the klystron effect induced by periodic pressure fluctuations results in periodic liquid film fluctuation with large amplitudes, periodic superposition of droplets and reduction of the breakup length. It was found that the atomization of the simplex swirl injector only responds to the pressure fluctuation in frequency range approximately from 0 to 300 Hz, and it is particularly sensitive to pressure fluctuations at frequencies from 100 to 200 Hz. According to this experiment, the responsive frequency limitation is merely affected by injector configuration, rather than the supply line.

A high-fidelity design methodology using LES-based simulation and POD-based emulation:A case study of swirl injectors

Engineering design is undergoing a paradigm shift from design for performance to design for affordability, operability, and durability, seeking multi-objective optimization. To facilitate this transformation, significantly extended design freedom and knowledge must be available in the early design stages. This paper presents a high-fidelity framework for design and optimization of the liquid swirl injectors that are widely used in aerospace propulsion and power-generation systems. The framework assembles a set of techniques, including Design Of Experiment(DOE), high-fidelity Large Eddy Simulations(LES), machine learning, Proper Orthogonal Decomposition(POD)-based Kriging surrogate modeling(emulation), inverse problem optimization, and uncertainty quantification. LES-based simulations can reveal detailed spatiotemporal evolution of flow structures and flame dynamics in a high-fidelity manner, and identify important injector design parameters according to their effects on propellant mixing, flame stabilization, and thermal protection.For a given a space of design parameters, DOE determines the number of design points to perform LES-based simulations. POD-based emulations, trained by the LES database, can effectively explore the design space and deduce an optimal group of design parameters in a turn-around time that is reduced by three orders of magnitude. The accuracy of the emulated results is validated, and the uncertainty of prediction is quantified. The proposed design methodology is expected to profoundly extend the knowledge base and reduce the cost for initial design stages.

Numerical simulation of flow in swirl injector for power-law fluid

In order to investigate the flow characteristics of swirl injectors for gelled propellants,which actually behaved as non-Newtonian power-law fluid,a swirl axisymmetric model was established to solve Navier-Stokes equations and VOF(volume of fluid) equation,and the power-law constitutive equation was used to describe the rheology characteristics of the gelled propellants.The film thickness and velocity distribution in the swirl injector under different flow conditions were studied numerically.The simulation results show that the increased geometry characteristic parameter of the swirl injector contributes to the decrease of liquid film thickness.The liquid film thickness is almost independent of the pressure drop.The rheologic parameters have great influences on the inner flow of swirl injector: by increasing the fluid consistency index K and power index n,both the axial and the swirl velocities decrease dramatically;higher fluid consistency index K and power index n make the liquid film thickness increase.When the viscosity is large enough,the air core in the injector would vanish.

Experimental and theoretical study on the break phenomenon of self-pulsation for liquid-centered swirl coaxial injectors

Experimental observations together with theoretical analysis were conducted to investigate the break phenomenon and the corresponding mechanisms of self-pulsation for a liquid-centered swirl coaxial injector with recess number of RN=1.Instantaneous spray images were obtained based on background light imaging technology with a high-speed camera.By dynamic analysis of the flow process of the liquid sheet in the recess chamber,a 1D self-pulsation theoretical model was established,and the self-sustaining mechanisms of self-pulsation were analyzed in depth.The results show that the increase of the momentum flux ratio will lead to the occurrence of the break phenomenon of self-pulsation for the injector with a larger recess length,and the frequency and intensity of self-pulsation before and after the break phenomenon differ significantly.The flow dynamics in the recess chamber sequentially transform from a periodic expansion-dominated flow to a stable flow,and then develop to a periodic contraction-dominated flow during the break process of self-pulsation.With the occurrence of self-pulsation before the break phenomenon,the liquid sheet has little effect on the pressure disturbance in the recess chamber.In contrast,with the occurrence of self-pulsation after the break phenomenon,the pressure disturbance is obviously affected by the liquid sheet.Based on the theoretical analysis model of self-pulsation,the self-pulsation frequency can be predicted.Furthermore,the self-sustaining mechanism of self-pulsation before and after the break phenomenon is preliminarily confirmed.The energy transfer between the gas-and liquid-phase is an important factor for maintaining the self-pulsation process.

Experiment, acoustic model for the self-oscillation of coaxial swirl injector and its influence to combustion of liquid rocket engine

During the experiment of gas/liquid coaxial swirl injector conducted with air and water under atmosphere environment, it is observed that the injector may selfoscillate. The self oscillation periodically occurs and vanishes with the increasing velocity of the gas flow.A theoretical model is presented based on the experiment investigation. Simulation of the acoustic process has been performed and conclusions consistent with the experiment can be drawn from the theoretical model, which explains the exPeriment phenomena quite well. At last, the comparison between phenomena of the self oscillation and some experiments of LRE indicates that some instability phenomena in oxygen/hydrogen propellant rocket engine may be the related to self oscillation in coaxial injectors