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Atomization and Sprays

Journal of the International Institutes for Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems

ISSN for PRINT: 1045-5110

Institutional price:	$787.00
Issues per year:	8

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2000, Volume10

132 pages

Issue price - $75.00

PREDICTION OF DROP SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES: JOINT PDF EFFECTS

Sandeep D. Sovani
Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories (Formerly Thermal Sciences and Propulsion Center), School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.A.

Paul E. Sojka
Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories (formerly Thermal Sciences and Propulsion Center), School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

Yudaya R. Sivathanu
En'Urga Inc.; Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories (Formerly Thermal Sciences and Propulsion Center), School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT

The first-principles-based analytical method for predicting drop size distributions in sprays developed in our previous study, and used to investigate the influence of separate fluctuations in liquid physical properties and gas-liquid relative velocity on the drop size distribution, is extended to study the impact of simultaneous fluctuations on the drop size distribution width. Fluctuations of two types are considered: those in gas-liquid relative velocity and those in liquid physical properties. These fluctuations are represented by joint probability distribution functions (pdfs) of velocity-viscosity, velocity-surface tension, and velocity-density. Results demonstrate that combined liquid physical property and velocity fluctuations can lead to drop size distributions significantly wider than those resulting from velocity fluctuations alone. For combined velocity-surface tension fluctuations, this widening is significant over a range of mean velocities, whereas for combined velocity-viscosity and velocity-density fluctuations, the widening is significant only at low mean velocities. Finally, it is observed that the drop size distribution remains almost unchanged for liquid physical property fluctuations less than 1% (RMS/mean) over wide ranges of mean velocities and velocity fluctuations. In such cases the drop size distribution can be predicted satisfactorily by considering velocity fluctuations alone and the expense of using joint pdfs can be avoided.