Numerical investigation of nonequilibrium flows of mixtures of fusible metal particles and gases in a laval nozzle

There are numerous papers [1–11] on the determination of the parameters of condensed oxide particles which are formed during combustion of metallized fuels. The ambiguity, and sometimes the contradictoriness, of the test results obtained [3–5, 9–11] indicate the difficulties in conducting correct experimental investigations. In this connection, numerical studies using mixtures of calibrated liquid-metal particles and different gases are of practical interest. Different probes can be calibrated by using calibrated two-phase flows, the two-phase flow around models and probes can be studied, as can the interaction between liquid-metal particles and the front of an aerodynamic compression shock, their intrusion in different entraining media, the interaction between fine particles (particle-projectiles) and large size particles (particle-targets), etc. In many cases, the prehistory of the flow and the parameters of the gas mixture with the particles in the area of the nozzle exit section must be known to investigate the above-mentioned phenomena. The parameters of different nonequilibrium flows of mixtures of gallium particles and gases in a Laval nozzle are investigated numerically in this paper; the maximum diameter (upper boundary of the spectrum) of the particles (d_s = 30 ) which are not destroyed in the nozzle under the effect of the aerodynamic forces and are suitable for use in a calibrated two-phase stream is determined. The computations were carried out in a one-dimensional approximation according to [12–14].Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 2, pp. 86–91, March–April, 1976.The authors are grateful to V. K. Starkov and U. G. Pirumov for discussing the results of the research and to N. M. Alekseev for aid in constructing the graphs.