Study of the breakup of liquid droplets in the vortex wake behind pylon at high airspeeds

The study is devoted to the establishment of regularities in the process of liquid-droplet breakup in the vortex wake behind pylon at high subsonic airspeeds. The article describes the laboratory setup, the diagnostic tools, and the experimental procedure. Structure of the unsteady gas flow behind pylon was examined, and the main characteristics of the generated vortex wake were evaluated. Experimental data concerning the variation of droplet diameters in the gas-dynamic fractionation process versus the flow conditions and liquid injection regimes were obtained. Typical distribu-tions of droplet diameters and velocities in the vortex wake behind pylon are reported. A comparison of experimental data on the rate of the gas-dynamic fractionation process with calculations made using previously developed evaluation procedures was performed. The results of the study may prove useful when choosing the configuration of systems for implementation of liquid injection into a high-speed flow and, also, for validation of mathematical models intended for calculation of parameters of two-phase flows.