Breakup Processes and Droplet Characteristics of Liquid Jets Injected into Low-Speed Air Crossflow

The breakup processes and droplet characteristics of a liquid jet injected into a low-speed air crossflow in the finite space were experimentally investigated. The liquid jet breakup processes were recorded by high-speed photography, and phase-Doppler anemometry (PDA) was employed to measure the droplet sizes and droplet velocities. Through the instantaneous image observation, the liquid jet breakup mode could be divided into bump breakup, arcade breakup and bag breakup modes, and the experimental regime map of primary breakup processes was summarized. The transition boundaries between different breakup modes were found. The gas Weber number (Weg) could be considered as the most sensitive dimensionless parameter for the breakup mode. There was a Weg transition point, and droplet size distribution was able to change from the oblique-I-type to the C-type with an increase in Weg. The liquid jet Weber number (Wej) had little effect on droplet size distribution, and droplet size was in the range of 50–150 μm. If Weg > 7.55, the atomization efficiency would be very considerable. Droplet velocity increased significantly with an increase in Weg of the air crossflow, but the change in droplet velocity was not obvious with the increase in Wej. Weg had a decisive effect on the droplet velocity distribution in the outlet section of test tube.