Numerical aspects of calculation of confined swirling flows with internal recirculation

Predictions were performed for two different confined swirling flows with internal recirculation zones. The convection terms in the elliptic governing equations were discretized using three different finite differencing schemes: hybrid, quadratic upwind interpolation and skew upwind differencing. For each flow case, calculations were carried out with these schemes and successively refined grids were employed. For the turbulent flow case the k-ε turbulence model was used. The predicted cases were a laminar swirling flow investigated by Bornstein and Escudier, and a turbulent low-swirl case studied by Roback and Johnson. In both cases an internal recirculation zone was present. The laminar case is well predicted when account is taken of the estimated radial velocity component at the chosen inlet plane. The quadratic upwind interpolation and skew upwind schemes predict the main features of the internal recirculation zone also with a coarse grid. The turbulent case is well predicted with the coarse as well as the finer grids, the skew upwind and quadratic upwind interpolation schemes yielding results very close to the measurements. It is concluded that the skew upwind scheme reaches grid independence slightly before the quadratic upwind scheme, both considerably earlier than the hybrid scheme.     

On the nonlinear stability of a swirling liquid jet

The nonlinear deformation and atomization of a rotating column is considered using an axisymmetric boundary element formulation. Swirl has been considered by superposing a potential vortex to the bulk flow of the jet. The resulting model has been shown to reproduce the classical linear result due to Ponstein and parametric studies are conducted in the nonlinear regime to determine wave shapes and droplet sizes. As with prior nonlinear column breakup studies, results indicate that satellite drops are formed from the main wave under virtually all conditions. The ratio of the main drop to satellite drop diameter is shown to be remarkably constant over a variety of wave numbers/column lengths thereby providing a potential approach to produce tightly controlled bimodal sprays.     

Numerical study of hysteresis in annular swirling jets with a stepped‐conical nozzle

This study investigates the experimentally observed hysteresis in the mean flow field of an annular swirling jet with a stepped‐conical nozzle. The flow is simulated using the Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) approach for incompressible flow with a k–ε and a Reynolds stress transport (RSTM) turbulence model. Four different flow structures are observed depending on the swirl number: ‘closed jet flow’, ‘open jet flow low swirl’, ‘open jet flow high swirl’ and ‘coanda jet flow’. These flow patterns change with varying swirl number and hysteresis at low and intermediate swirl numbers is revealed when increasing and subsequently decreasing the swirl. The influence of the inlet velocity profile on the transitional swirl numbers is investigated. When comparing computational fluid dynamics with experiments, the results show that both turbulence models predict the four different flow structures and the associated hysteresis and multiple solutions at low and intermediate swirl numbers. Therefore, a good agreement exists between experiments and numerics. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficient approaches of determining the motion of a spherical particle in a swirling fluid flow using weighted residual methods

The motion of a spherical particle released in a swirling fluid flow is studied employing the least-squares method and method of moments. The governing equations are obtained and solved employing the two methods. The accuracy of the results is examined against the results of a fourth-order Runge–Kutta numerical method. The effects of various parameters, namely the initial radius, initial radial velocity, initial angular velocity, and drag-to-inertia ratio, on the non-dimensional velocity profiles and particle position distribution are considered. The results show that the radial velocity increases over time while the angular velocity decreases, and that an increase in the initial radial velocity increases the particle radial distance and angular velocity but decreases the radial velocity profile.     

Experimental and analytical investigation of liquid sheet breakup characteristics

The main objective of this research is to study analytically and experimentally the liquid sheet breakup of a flat fan jet nozzle resulting from pressure-swirling. In this study the effects of nozzle shape and spray pressure on the liquid sheet characteristics were investigated for four nozzles with different exit widths (1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 mm). The length of liquid sheet breakup, liquid sheet velocity and the size of formed droplets were measured by a digital high speed camera. The breakup characteristics of plane liquid sheets in atmosphere are analytically investigated by means of linear and nonlinear hydrodynamic instability analyses. The liquid sheet breakup process was studied for initial sinuous and also varicose modes of disturbance. The results presented the effect of the nozzle width and the spray pressure on the breakup length and also on the size of the formed droplets. Comparing the experimental results with the theoretical ones for all the four types of nozzles, gives a good agreement with difference ranges from 4% to 12%. Also, the comparison between the obtained results and the results due to others shows a good agreement with difference ranged from 5% to 16%. Empirical correlations have been deduced describing the relation between the liquid sheet breakup characteristics and affecting parameters; liquid sheet Reynolds number, Weber number and the nozzle width.     

Effects of the gas phase molecular weight and bubble size on effervescent atomization

The effervescent atomization from an industrial Coker feed nozzle is compared for two different gas densities (air and mixed gas of 81.4 vol.% helium/18.6 vol.% nitrogen) at equivalent operating temperatures. The application is to observe the similarity of lab tests using air at 20 °C to the industrial process using steam at 300-400 °C. The effects of operating conditions, such as gas to liquid mass ratio, mixing pressure and void fraction on the flow regime, bubble size, and droplet size distribution were also examined in this study. The experiments were performed using mixtures of water with air or mixed gas, which resulted in gas to liquid mass ratios ranging from 1% to 4%.Stroboscopic back scattered imagery (SBSI) indicates that the average bubble size inside the nozzle conduit is similar when air and water are used as the process fluids, when compared to the case when mixed gas and water are used as the process fluids. Under similar conditions, the Phase Doppler Particle Anemometer (PDPA) data indicate that the droplet size in the spray is similar when using either mixed gas or air as the atomization gas.Experimental results obtained by high-speed video shadowgraphy (HSVS) indicate that the flow pattern inside the nozzle feeding conduit was slug flow with a tendency to attain annular flow with increased air to liquid mass ratios. Thus, from the experimental results it is evident that the smaller molecular weight of the mixed gas versus air (8.4 versus 29) does not significantly reduce the bubble (<±10% difference) and droplet size (<±1.5% difference), indicating a weak dependence of the gas phase density on two-phase atomization. This confirms that laboratory experiments on effervescent nozzles using air have reliable similarity to systems that use high temperature steam for the gas phase.     

Experimental analysis of the flow characteristics of a pressure-atomised spray

An experimental setup has been created to allow measurements of the properties of the gas phase, the liquid phase and the mixture in a pressure-atomised spray of water, in terms of both mean quantities and Reynolds stresses. This setup involves laser Doppler velocimetry for determining the velocity of either the gas or liquid phase, according to the parameters used, such as seeding or no-seeding of the ambient air, laser source power, or photo-multiplier gains, droplet tracking velocimetry for determining the velocity and characteristic size of the droplets, and a single optical probe for determining the mean volume fraction of the liquid, from which the liquid mean mass fraction and the mean density of the mixture are inferred. The experimental conditions, in particular in terms of liquid and gas Weber numbers, were chosen in a range for which the liquid phase turbulent kinetic energy should be mainly responsible for the liquid-jet primary break-up, these flow conditions lying within the second wind-induced atomization regime. Results reported herein are more specifically focused on the region ranging from 400 nozzle diameters to 800 nozzle diameters, where the liquid core is disrupted. They provide new information about the formation and properties of such pressure-atomised sprays, in particular in terms of the role played by the Reynolds stresses resulting from the slip velocity between the liquid and the gas. The mean slip velocity is directly related to the turbulent flux of liquid. Such information will be used in the future to develop new turbulence models since very limited experimental information is so far available for these terms.     

Transient three-dimensional startup side load analysis of a regeneratively cooled nozzle

The objective of this effort is to develop a computational methodology to capture the side load physics and to anchor the computed aerodynamic side loads with the available data by simulating the startup transient of a regeneratively cooled, high-aspect-ratio nozzle, hot-fired at sea level. The computational methodology is based on an unstructured-grid, pressure-based, reacting flow computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer formulation, and a transient inlet history based on an engine system simulation. Emphases were put on the effects of regenerative cooling on shock formation inside the nozzle, and ramp rate on side load reduction. The results show that three types of asymmetric shock physics incur strong side loads: the generation of combustion wave, shock transitions, and shock pulsations across the nozzle lip, albeit the combustion wave can be avoided with sparklers during hot-firing. Results from both regenerative cooled and adiabatic wall boundary conditions capture the early shock transitions with corresponding side loads matching the measured secondary side load. It is theorized that the first transition from free-shock separation to restricted-shock separation is caused by the Coanda effect. After which the regeneratively cooled wall enhances the Coanda effect such that the supersonic jet stays attached, while the hot adiabatic wall fights off the Coanda effect, and the supersonic jet becomes detached most of the time. As a result, the computed peak side load and dominant frequency due to shock pulsation across the nozzle lip associated with the regeneratively cooled wall boundary condition match those of the test, while those associated with the adiabatic wall boundary condition are much too low. Moreover, shorter ramp time results show that higher ramp rate has the potential in reducing the nozzle side loads.

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Flow pattern and flow characteristics for counter-current two-phase flow in a vertical round tube with wire-coil inserts

Flow pattern, void fraction and slug rise velocity on counter-current two-phase flow in a vertical round tube with wire-coil inserts are experimentally studied. Flow pattern and slug rise velocity are measured visually with a video camera. The void fraction is measured by the quick-closing valve method. Four kinds of coils with different coil pitches and coil diameters are used as inserts. The presence of wire-coil inserts induces disturbance into gas and liquid flows so that the shape and motion of gas slug or bubbles in a wire-coil inserted tube are quite different from those observed in a smooth tube without insert. The bubbly flow occurs in the low gas superficial velocity region in the wire-coil inserted tube, while the slug or churn/annular flow only appears in the smooth tube without insert over the all test range. The measured slug rise velocity in the wire-coil inserted tube is higher than that in the smooth tube. With modified mean flow velocity calculated with core area, the slug rise velocity in wire-coil tube inserted is in good agreement with Nicklin's correlation. The void fraction in a wire-coil inserted tube is lower than that in a smooth tube in the range of high gas superficial velocities. By introducing a simple assumption on considering the effective flowing area, the measured void fractions in a wire-coil inserted tube are in relatively good agreement with the predicted result based on the drift flux model proposed by others with the correlation for slug rise velocity given by others when the coil pitch is dense.     

Wave pattern characteristics of a two-phase nozzle flow by shock propagation

In this paper, the wave pattern characteristics of shock-induced two-phase nozzle flows with the quiescent or moving dusty gas ahead of the incident-shock front has been investigated by using high-resolution numerical method. As compared with the corresponding results in single-phase nozzle flows of the pure gas, obvious differences between these two kinds of flows can be obtained. Received 14 June 1996 / Accepted 19 October 1996     

Atomization of viscous and non-newtonian liquids by a coaxial,high-speed gas jet. Experiments and droplet size modeling

This paper describes a collaborative theoretical and experimental research effort to investigate both the atomization dynamics of non-Newtonian liquids as well as the performance of coaxial atomizers utilized in pharmaceutical tablet coating. In pharmaceutically relevant applications, the coating solutions being atomized are typically complex, non-Newtonian fluids which may contain polymers, surfactants and large concentrations of insoluble solids in suspension. The goal of this investigation was to improve the understanding of the physical mechanism that leads to atomization of viscous and non-Newtonian fluids and to produce a validated theoretical model capable of making quantitative predictions of atomizer performance in pharmaceutical tablet coaters. The Rayleigh–Taylor model developed by Varga et al. has been extended to viscous and non-Newtonian fluids starting with the general dispersion relation obtained by Joseph et al. The theoretical model is validated using droplet diameter data collected with a Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer for six fluids of increasing rheological complexity. The primary output from the model is the Sauter Mean Diameter of the atomized droplet distribution, which is shown to compare favorably with experimental data. Critical model parameters and plans for additional research are also identified.     

Bending-torsional stability analysis of aerodynamically covered pipes with inclined terminal nozzle and concurrent internal and external flows

Stability analysis of a cantilevered pipe with an inclined terminal nozzle as well as simultaneous internal and external fluid flows is investigated in this study. The pipe is embedded in an aerodynamic cover with negligible mass and stiffness simply to streamline the external flow and avoid vortex induced vibrations. The structure of pipe is modeled as an Euler–Bernoulli beam and effects of internal fluid flow including flow-induced inertia, Coriolis and centrifugal forces and the follower force induced by the exhausting jet are taken into account. In addition, neglecting the compressibility effect and using the unsteady Wagner model, aerodynamic loading is determined as a distributed lateral load for any generic structural state. The integral form of coupled equations of motion are obtained using the Hamilton’s principle. Solution to the coupled flexural–torsional equations of motion is realized via the extended Galerkin method. After discretization of the equations of motion, an eigenvalue representation of the problem is obtained. Several parameter studies are then conducted to examine the effects of concurrent fluid flows and other related parameters on the stability margins of the system.     

Numerical analysis of swirling turbulent droplet-laden flow and heat transfer in a sudden pipe expansion

The effect of swirling intensity on the structure and heat transfer of a turbulent gas–droplet flow after a sudden pipe expansion has been numerically simulated. Air is used as the carrier phase, and water, ethanol, and acetone are used as the dispersed phase. The Eulerian approach is applied to simulate the dynamics and heat transfer in the dispersed phase. The gas phase is described by a system of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, taking into account the effect of droplets on mean transport and turbulent characteristics in the carrier phase. Gas phase turbulence is predicted using the second-moment closure. A swirling droplet-laden flow is characterized by an increase in the number of small particles on the pipe axis due to their accumulation in the zone of flow recirculation and the action of the turbulent migration (turbophoresis) force. A rapid dispersion of fine droplets over the pipe cross-section is observed without swirling. With an increase in swirling intensity, a significant reduction in the length of the separation region occurs. The swirling of a two-phase flow with liquid droplets leads to an increase in the level of turbulence for all three types of liquid droplets investigated in this work due to their intensive evaporation. It is shown that the addition of droplets leads to a significant increase in heat transfer in comparison with a single-phase swirling flow. The greatest effect of flow swirling on heat transfer intensification in a two-phase gas-droplet flow is obtained for the droplets of ethanol and water and smallest effect is for the acetone droplets.     

Flow of a dispersed phase in the Laval nozzle and in the test section of a two-phase hypersonic shock tunnel

An unsteady gas-particle flow in a hypersonic shock tunnel is studied numerically. The study is performed in the period from the instant when the diaphragm between the high-pressure and low-pressure chambers is opened until the end of the transition to a quasi-steady flow in the test section. The dispersed phase concentration is extremely low, and the collisions between the particles and their effect on the carrier gas flow are ignored. The particle size is varied. The time evolution of the particle concentration in the test section is obtained. Patterns of the quasi-steady flow of the dispersed phase in the throat of the Laval nozzle and the flow around a model (sphere) are presented. Particle concentration and particle velocity lag profiles at the test-section entrance are obtained. The particle-phase flow structure and the time needed for it to reach a quasi-steady regime are found to depend substantially on the particle size. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 5, pp. 102–113, September–October, 2008.     

Simulation of primary atomization with an octree adaptive mesh refinement and VOF method

We present different simulations of primary atomization using an adaptive Volume-of-Fluid method based on octree meshes. The use of accurate numerical schemes for mesh adaptation, Volume-of-Fluid advection and balanced force surface tension calculation implemented in Gerris, the code used to perform the simulations included in this work, has made possible to carry out accurate simulations with characteristic scales spreading over several orders of magnitude. The code is validated by comparisons with the temporal linear theory for moderate density and viscosity ratios, which basically corresponds to atomization processes in high pressure chambers. In order to show the potential of the code in different scenarios related to atomization, preliminary results are shown in relation with the study of the two-dimensional and 3D temporal and spatial problem, the influence of the injector and the vortex generated inside the chamber, and the effect of swirling at high Reynolds numbers.     

Oscillations of the fluid flow and the free surface in a cavity with a submerged bifurcated nozzle

The free surface dynamics and sub-surface flow behavior in a thin (height and width much larger than thickness), liquid filled, rectangular cavity with a submerged bifurcated nozzle were investigated using free surface visualization and particle image velocimetry (PIV). Three regimes in the free surface behavior were identified, depending on nozzle depth and inlet velocity. For small nozzle depths, an irregular free surface is observed without clear periodicities. For intermediate nozzle depths and sufficiently high inlet velocities, natural mode oscillations consistent with gravity waves are present, while at large nozzle depths long term self-sustained asymmetric oscillations occur.For the latter case, time-resolved PIV measurements of the flow below the free surface indicated a strong oscillation of the direction with which each of the two jets issue from the nozzle. The frequency of the jet oscillation is identical to the free surface oscillation frequency. The two jets oscillate in anti-phase, causing the asymmetric free surface oscillation. The jets interact through a cross-flow in the gaps between the inlet channel and the front and back walls of the cavity.     

Steady-state dynamics of a non-ideal rotor with internal damping and gyroscopic effects

A rotor driven by an ideal source, i.e., a source capable of delivering unlimited amount of power, becomes unstable beyond a certain threshold spin speed due to non-conservative circulatory forces. The circulatory forces considered in this paper arise out of rotating internal damping. If the drive is non-ideal then the rotor spin speed cannot exceed the stability threshold. This phenomenon is a type of the Sommerfeld effect. In this work, a DC motor driving four-degrees-of-freedom rotor with internal damping and gyroscopic effects is considered and the corresponding steady-state spin frequency and the whirl orbit amplitude are analytically derived as functions of the parameters of the drive and the rotor system.     

Impact of density stratification on the global mode in a swirling jet: Stochastic modelling and Lagrangian coherent structures

In an experimental investigation, the stochastic dynamics of the global mode in a turbulent swirling jet are considered. From the application of the swirling jet in gas turbine combustors, it was observed that a specific density gradient in the flow leads to a suppression of the global mode. This phenomenon was replicated in a generic swirling jet using an electrical heating coil placed inside the breakdown bubble. In the present investigation, the dynamics of the global mode obtained from PIV and pressure measurements are analysed using a stochastic reduced-order model to describe the instability. The stochastic model is necessary to explain the interaction between the deterministic dynamics of the global mode and the perturbations by the background turbulence. The calibration of the stochastic model provides the amplification rate of the global mode that defines the transition of the flow, dependent on the swirling strength and the density difference. The spatial structure of the global mode is further investigated from Lagrangian coherent structures of the flow field which are computed from the 3D time-resolved velocity field reconstruction based on planar PIV measurements. The Lagrangian visualisations and schlieren visualisations are used to explain the absence of the density effects on the global mode at larger Reynolds numbers. The analysis gives a detailed view of the stochastic dynamics of a hydrodynamic instability in a turbulent flow.     

Investigation of a Gas Flow with Solid Particles in a Supersonic Nozzle

A two-phase flow with high Reynolds numbers in the subsonic, transonic, and supersonic parts of the nozzle is considered within the framework of the Prandtl model, i.e., the flow is divided into an inviscid core and a thin boundary layer. Mutual influence of the gas and solid particles is taken into account. The Euler equations are solved for the gas in the flow core, and the boundary-layer equations are used in the near-wall region. The particle motion in the inviscid region is described by the Lagrangian approach, and trajectories and temperatures of particle packets are tracked. The behavior of particles in the boundary layer is described by the Euler equations for volume-averaged parameters of particles. The computed particle-velocity distributions are compared with experiments in a plane nozzle. It is noted that particles inserted in the subsonic part of the nozzle are focused at the nozzle centerline, which leads to substantial flow deceleration in the supersonic part of the nozzle. The effect of various boundary conditions for the flow of particles in the inviscid region is considered. For an axisymmetric nozzle, the influence of the contour of the subsonic part of the nozzle, the loading ratio, and the particle diameter on the particle-flow parameters in the inviscid region and in the boundary layer is studied. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 46, No. 6, pp. 65–77, November–December, 2005.