Liquid film thickness inside the high pressure swirl injectors: Real scale measurement and evaluation of analytical equations

Liquid film thickness inside two swirl injectors for direct injection (DI) gasoline engines was measured at different injection pressure conditions ranging from 2.0 to 7.0 MPa and then previous analytical and empirical equations were examined from the experimental results. Based on the evaluation, a new equation for the liquid film thickness inside the swirl injectors was introduced. A direct photography using two real scale transparent nozzles and a pulsed light source was employed to measure the liquid film thickness inside the swirl injectors. The error in the liquid film thickness measurement, generated from different refractive indices among transparent nozzle, fuel and air, was estimated and corrected based on the geometric optics. Two injectors which have different nozzle diameter and nozzle length were applied to introduce a more general empirical equation for the liquid film thickness inside the pressure swirl injectors. The results showed that the liquid film thickness remains constant at the injection pressures for direct injection gasoline engines while the ratio of nozzle length to nozzle diameter (L/D) shows significant effect on the liquid film thickness. The previously introduced analytical and empirical equations for relatively low injection pressure swirl injectors overestimated the effect of injection pressure at the operating range of high pressure swirl injectors and, in addition, the effect of L/D ratio and swirler geometry was rarely considered. A new empirical equation was suggested based on the experimental results by taking into account the effects of fuel properties, nozzle diameter, nozzle length and swirler geometry.     

Noncontact manipulation of microflow by photothermal control of viscous force

In this paper, we investigate a potential of local control of the viscous force in a microfluidic device for a noncontact microflow manipulation method. Photothermal effect and temperature dependence of the liquid viscosity play a key role to induce an inhomogeneous viscosity distribution in the flow field in a microchannel. Absorption of focused laser beam generates the local change in the viscosity of liquid corresponding to the temperature change. The velocity and temperature fields are measured by the micron-resolution particle image velocimetry and laser-induced fluorescence, respectively. Measurement results indicate that the local reduction of the fluid viscosity due to the temperature rise can cause the change of the flow structure in the microchannel. At the focused area of heating laser beam, namely high temperature area, the flow velocity was increased. The accompanying fluid behavior around the heated region was also recognized. In addition, the agreement between the experimental results and numerical simulation clarifies that the primary factor for the change of the microflow structure is the locally controlled viscous force.     

A numerical and experimental study of a collapsing bubble-induced droplet ejector

This paper aims to study a novel drop-on-demand droplet generation mechanism in which the oscillation and deformation of a non-equilibrium bubble in close proximity to a free surface induce an axisymmetric liquid spike on the free surface. The evolution of the liquid spike and its deformation due to the effect of surface tension force lead to the formation of a droplet. The free surface can be accorded by either a circular hole on a horizontal flat plate or by the top opening/nozzle of a vertical cylinder. A high-speed camera capable of obtaining images at a frame rate of 15,000 fps is utilized to observe the droplet formation process. Numerical simulations corresponding to the experiments are performed using the boundary integral spatial solution coupled with the time integration, i.e., a mixed Eulerian–Lagrangian method. In the experiments the bubble is generated using a very low voltage (only 55 V) in contrast to the relatively much higher voltages usually employed in reported works. This is very attractive from a safety viewpoint and accords great simplification of the setup. A comparison is made between the numerical and experimental results. A reasonable agreement has been found. The influences of the main design parameters, namely, the bubble-free surface distance and the dimension of the hole/nozzle on the bubble dynamics and on the droplet formation process are discussed and the conditions of the bubble dynamics under which a satellite-free droplet can be generated are sought. Furthermore, the effects of different geometries, namely, the horizontal flat plate and the vertical cylinder on the bubble dynamics and on the droplet features are examined. One important feature of the proposed actuation mechanism is the capability of producing droplets much smaller than the nozzle size. The possible applications of this mechanism are those where the accurate direction of the ejected droplet is of great importance such as inkjet printing.      

The effect of nozzle layout on droplet ejection of a piezo-electrically actuated micro-atomizer

We study here effects of nozzle layout on the droplet ejection of a micro atomizer, which was fabricated with the arrayed nozzles by the MEMS technology and actuated by a piezoelectric disc. A theoretical model was first built for this piezoelectric-liquid-structure coupling system to characterize the acoustic wave propagation in the liquid chamber, which determined the droplet formation out of nozzles. The modal analysis was carried out numerically to predict resonant frequencies and simulate the corresponding pressure wave field. By comparing the amplitude contours of pressure wave on the liquid-solid interface at nozzle inlets with the designed nozzle layout, behaviors of the device under different vibration modes can be predicted. Experimentally, an impedance analyzer was used to measure the resonant frequencies of the system. Three types of atomizers with different nozzle layouts were fabricated for measuring the effect of nozzle distribution on the ejection performance. The visualization experiment of droplet generation was carried out and volume flow rates of these devices were measured. The good agreement between the experiment and the prediction proved that only the increase of nozzles may not enhance the droplet generation and a design of nozzle distribution from a viewpoint of frequency is necessary for a resonant related atomizer. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (50405001).     

Free Surface of a High Speed Capillary Jet

A free surface shape of a viscous liquid jet is investigated at large Reynolds and Weber numbers. The jet is ejected into a vacuum from a cylindrical nozzle with a flat exterior surface. The liquid is completely wetting the nozzle material (zero contact angle). Free jet surface is non-cylindrical near the nozzle. There is a smooth connection between the flat external surface of the nozzle and the cylindrical surface of the jet away from the nozzle. The size of the connection region is estimated by means of the boundary layer technique.     

Producing droplets smaller than the nozzle diameter by using a pneumatic drop-on-demand droplet generator

A pneumatic droplet generator to produce water/glycerin droplets smaller than the nozzle diameter is described. The generator consists of a T-junction with a nozzle fit into one opening, the second opening connected to a gas cylinder through a solenoid valve and the third connected to a length of steel tubing. The droplet generator is filled with liquid. Opening the valve for a preset time creates a pulse of alternating negative and positive pressure in the gas above the surface of the liquid, ejecting a single droplet through the nozzle. Droplet formation was photographed and the pressure variation in the droplet generator recorded. The effect of various experimental parameters, such as nozzle size, pressure pulse width and liquid properties on droplet formation was investigated. Small droplets could not be generated when liquid viscosity was too low or too high. For pure water, droplet diameters were several times that of the nozzle. Using more viscous glycerin mixtures, droplets with diameters as small as 65% of the nozzle diameter could be produced.     

Dynamics and Breakup of Pulse Microjets of Polymeric Liquids

The possibilities of controlling the dynamics and breakup of pulsed low-viscosity liquid microjets by means of small amounts of polymeric additives are considered. Significant differences between the breakup of pulse jets of Newtonian and viscoelastic polymeric liquids are recorded by means of high-speed photography. In flight a standard Newtonian fluid jet fragments into many secondary droplets. Depending on the molecular parameters, for a polymeric liquid three variants of the behavior of the jet in flight are possible: (1) the jet tail fragments into several secondary droplets; (2) the entire tail flows into the leading drop without loss and a single drop is formed; (3) the drop ejected from the nozzle returns to the nozzle under the action of elastic internal stresses in the tail. Criteria for the transition from one regime of jet motion to another are proposed.__________Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Academii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, 2005, pp. 45–63.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Bazilevskii, Meyer, and Rozhkov.     

Experimental study of underwater rock drilling using a pulsed Ho:YAG laser-induced jets

This paper is primarily an assessment of laser-induced water jets for boring rock surfaces. It also reports the result of preliminary experiments of pulsed Ho:YAG laser-induced jets applied to drill a submerged rock specimen. The irradiation of pulsed Ho:YAG laser beams at 3 Hz inside a thin metal tube produces intermittent water vapor bubbles which result in liquid jet discharge from the exit of the metal tube. The laser-induced water jets are visualized by shadowgraphs and images are recorded by a high-speed digital video camera. High stagnation pressures were eventually generated by the jet impingements. Simultaneously shock waves of about 22.7 MPa were generated at bubble collapse, which effectively cracked the surface of the rock specimens. Repeated exposures of these laser-induced jets against submerged rock specimens have a potential to practically bore holes on rock surfaces.     

高速液体受限射流扩展形态研究

采用一种火药燃烧驱动液体喷射的新装置及其测试系统，研究受限空间中高速惰性液体射流的扩展结构。观察了环境反压、液体粘性、喷嘴结构等参量对射流扩展形态的影响，分析了射流雾化机理。研究结果对改进燃烧室设计及控制燃烧稳定性有一定的指导意义。     

Analytical and Experimental Study of Pressure Dynamics in a Pulsed Water Jet Device

Pulsed high-velocity water jets are of interest for breaking rocks and other materials. This paper describes a straightforward way of generating single water pulse with a hammer impacting a piston that rests on top of a chamber filled with water. This impacting action pressurises the water, expelling it at high velocity through a nozzle. A theoretical investigation is outlined aimed at gaining a better understanding of this system for generating water pulses. A computational model is developed to simulate the pressure dynamics in the chamber based on continuity and momentum equations for a compressible viscous flow. This model is used to optimise the relative sizes of the hammer and piston as well as the height of the water column to produce the highest velocity water pulse. The model was validated by building an experimental apparatus. In these experiments maximum pressures of about 200 MPa were measured inside the chamber over a time period of about 560???s. This produced a water pulse with maximum velocity of 600 m/s. Experiments were conducted with nozzle diameters between about 1 mm and 4 mm to study the effect of discharge volume on the pressure history. The results illustrate that although the peak attainable pressure decreases with an increase in nozzle diameter, the duration of the elevated pressure remains similar for all nozzles.     

A detailed experimental investigation of well-defined,turbulent evaporating spray jets of acetone

This paper aims at investigating the detailed structure of turbulent non-reacting dilute spray flows using advanced laser diagnostics. A simple spray jet nozzle is designed to produce a two-phase slender shear flow in a co-flowing air stream with well-defined boundary conditions. The carrier flow is made intentionally simple and easy to model so that the focus can be placed on the important aspects of droplet dispersion and evaporation, as well as turbulence–droplet interactions. Phase Doppler interferometry is employed to record droplet quantities, while planar laser-induced fluorescence imaging is applied separately to obtain acetone vapour data. Measurements are conducted for four acetone spray jets in air at several axial stations starting from the nozzle exit. The combined liquid and vapour mass fluxes of acetone integrated across the jet at downstream locations agree satisfactorily with the total mass flow rate of acetone injected.     

具有刚-柔-液-控耦合的航天器动力学研究进展

从现代复杂航天器姿态非线性动力学、液体燃料晃动动力学与控制问题、航天器刚-柔耦合系统动力学建模问题、航天器刚-液耦合动力学、航天器刚-柔-液-控耦合动力学、充液航天器实验问题等方面概述了近年来国内外在充液航天器多体耦合动力学相关领域的最新研究进展. 分别从液体燃料晃动动力学建模问题、航天器刚-柔-液-控耦合系统非线性理论和方法、计算机数值仿真及物理实验问题等方面展望了有待进一步加强的研究课题.     

Structure and mixing of a transient flow of helium injected into an established flow of nitrogen: two dimensional measurement and simulation

The transient injection and mixing between nitrogen and helium in a confined chamber at atmospheric pressure is studied experimentally. The 2D injector and mixing chamber contained a middle injection slot for nitrogen flanked by a pair of outer slots for helium. Experiments were conducted by introducing the helium streams into a previously established quasi-steady flow of nitrogen. The nitrogen stream was seeded with nitric oxide (NO) that served as a source for quantitative, planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) imaging of the transient mixing process. PLIF images were acquired by triggering an Nd:YAG laser system at selected times following helium valve actuation. The observed flow structures and extent of mixing between the two streams proved to be highly unsteady and irregular with the helium/nitrogen jets frequently deviating from the centerline toward the confining walls. Representative unsteady CFD solutions also show this same absence of symmetry and the same general flow structures as the measurements, however, they predict somewhat higher helium concentration in recirculation regions than were observed in the measurements.     

Measuring the temperature of fluid in a micro-channel using thermochromic liquid crystals

Thermochromic liquid crystal (TLC) thermometry, which has been previously used at the macro-scale, is applied quantitatively in a microfluidic device for the first time. Much like the micro-scale version of the PIV technique, TLC thermometry implementation at the micro-scale must account for constraints on imaging and illumination configurations and the proximity of the measurements to interfaces and surfaces from which light scatters. Unlike ??PIV, TLC thermometry requires the use of white light, so unwanted reflections are managed using circular polarization filtering, which is implemented for the first time and may also have applications at the macro-scale. The validity and precision of the TLC thermometry technique are tested by imposing a linear temperature gradient along a micro-channel filled with stationary fluid. Additional work is required to develop the technique into a fully functional form and to realize the potential for use in various microfluidic applications including ??lab-on-a-chip?? devices, MEMS switches, inkjet printer nozzles, and for use with simultaneous velocity measurements.     

On the role of the liquid flow characteristics on low-Weber-number atomization processes

At low Weber numbers, the aerodynamic forces due to the interaction between gas and liquid do not influence liquid atomization processes. In these situations, atomization processes depend on issuing liquid flow characteristics only. According to the literature, the atomization efficiency is best when the issuing liquid flow shows a high turbulence level. Some injectors are based on this concept and promote the production of turbulence by imposing deflection of the flow inside the nozzle. However, many studies indicate that the level of turbulence does not solely control the atomization efficiency. By conducting a numerical and experimental study on the behavior of cavity nozzles, it is found that internal flow deflection to produce turbulence also produces a non-axial flow component at the nozzle exit whose effect on the atomization process is of paramount importance. Indeed, the results show that the surface energy produced during the atomization process is linearly dependent on the sum of the turbulent kinetic energy and the non-axial kinetic energy at the nozzle exit. This sum represents the energy available for the atomization process, and the influence of the injection pressure as well as of the nozzle geometry on this energy is investigated.     

大推力液体火箭发动机结构中的力学问题

依据大推力液体火箭发动机工作时极端的力热环境状态, 阐述分析了大推力发动机强振动、大静载、多源激励和传递路径复杂的力学特点. 静力学方面介绍了整机结构载荷分析和组件静力学分析方法, 动力学方面介绍了整机低频模型、精细化动力学修正、多源载荷等效等问题的研究情况. 针对发动机典型的部件, 梳理了大推力发动机研制中面临的力学挑战, 包括高温高压燃气摇摆装置、转子动力学、动静干涉流体激振、诱导轮汽蚀振荡、大范围轴向力平衡、超音速涡轮颤振、推力室热疲劳、喷管侧向力载荷、总装管路疲劳断裂等问题, 指出了力学需求和未来研究方向. 最后对发动机结构概率失效分析的现状进行了简要介绍, 为大推力液体火箭发动机研制提供力学支撑.      

纳米狭缝孔道中毛细浸润现象的分子动力学模拟

纳米固体表面的润湿性对于控制和设计纳米流体器件十分关键．本文使用分子动力学模拟研究了不同固液界面相互作用强度、温度、矩形孔道深宽比（H/L）、梯形孔道上下底之比（U/D）以及表面粗糙度等参数对液体浸入纳米狭缝通道动态过程的影响．结果表明,液体浸入狭缝的完全润湿时间受固液相互作用强度和狭缝形状以及尺寸的影响;纳米狭缝孔道粗糙结构对液体的浸入有抑制作用,表面粗糙度越大,抑制作用越明显．本研究可为纳米流体器件的设计提供一定的模拟信息．     

Injection coupling with high amplitude transverse modes: Experimentation and simulation

High frequency combustion instabilities have technical importance in the design of liquid rocket engines. These phenomena involve a strong coupling between transverse acoustic modes and combustion. They are currently being investigated by combining experimentation and numerical simulations. On the experimental level, the coupling is examined in a model scale system featuring a multiple injector combustor (MIC) comprising five coaxial injectors fed with liquid oxygen and gaseous methane. This system is equipped with a novel VHAM actuator (Very High Amplitude Modulator) which comprises two nozzles and a rotating toothed wheel blocking the nozzles in an alternate fashion. This device was designed to obtain the highest possible levels of transverse oscillation in the MIC. After a brief review of the VHAM, this article reports cold flow experiments using this modulator. Velocity maps obtained under resonant conditions using the VHAM are examined at different instants during a cycle of oscillation. Experimental data are compared with numerical pressure and velocity fields obtained from an acoustic solver. The good agreement observed in the nozzle vicinity indicates that numerical simulations can be used to analyze the complex flow field generated by the VHAM. To cite this article: Y. Mery et al., C. R. Mecanique 337 (2009).     

Viscoelasticity in inkjet printing

We investigate the effects of viscoelasticity on drop generation in inkjet printing. In drop-on-demand printing, individual ink ‘drops’ are ejected from a nozzle by imposed pressure pulses. Upon exiting the nozzle, the shape of each ‘drop’ is that of a nearly spherical bead with a long thin trailing ligament. This ligament subsequently breaks up under the Rayleigh instability, typically into several small droplets (known as satellite drops). These satellite drops can create unwanted splash on the target substrate and a reduction in printing quality. Satellite drops can potentially be eliminated by adding polymer to the ink; elastic stresses can act to contract the trailing ligament into the main drop before capillary breakup occurs. However, elasticity can also reduce the drop velocity and can delay or even prevent the break-off of the drop from the ink reservoir within the nozzle. To achieve optimal drop shape and speed, non-Newtonian parameters such as the polymer concentration and molecular weight must be chosen correctly. We explore this parameter space via numerical simulations, using the Lagrangian–Eulerian finite-element method of Harlen et al. (J Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech 60:81–104, 1995). Results are compared with experimental observations taken from real printheads.     

压电式微滴按需喷射的过程控制和规律

微滴喷射增材制造技术中沉积微滴的大小与均匀性是影响成型件质量的关键因素.本文设计了一种用于生成均匀微滴的压电驱动式微滴喷射装置,通过压电材料带动柔性膜片振动,将液体从喷嘴中喷出生成微滴,采用数值模拟和实验相结合的方法,研究了不同控制参数下膜片振幅及其对生成微滴尺寸和均匀性的影响.研究结果表明:膜片振幅大小受到驱动电压和压电频率的共同影响,压电频率是导致膜片中心点振幅实验测量值小于理论计算值的主要原因,膜片振动会导致喷嘴内部压力发生变化从而影响微滴生成尺寸.在相同驱动电压条件下,压电频率为10 Hz时存在压电膜片振幅最大值.随着膜片振幅的增大,喷孔处液体速度和液柱长度增大到临界值时可以生成微滴,当喷孔处的液柱长度超过临界值时,会形成卫星液滴. 当膜片振幅区间在30 $\mu$m$\sim $42 $\mu $m可以稳定生成微滴,生成最小微滴尺寸为339.8$\mu$m,直径最大变化率为0.29%,相邻两微滴间距最大变化率为2.67%,生成微滴的尺寸及均匀性较好.研究结果有助于提高压电式微滴喷射装置的液滴生成质量.