Theoretical and experimental investigations on the formation of air core in a swirl spray atomizing nozzle

Theoretical and experimental studies have been made to investigate the variations of air core diameter, the most important hydrodynamic picture inside a swirl nozzle, with the pertinent guiding parameters like injection condition expressed as the Reynolds number at inlet to the nozzle and the geometrical dimensions of the nozzle, namely, the length and diameter of the swirl chamber, angle of spin chamber and the orifice diameter. The theoretical relations have been established through an approximated analytical solution of the hydrodynamics of flow of a viscous incompressible fluid in a swirl nozzle. A series of experiments have been carried out to support and compare the theoretical results. Finally, it has been recognized that for any nozzle, the air core diameter becomes a direct function of Reynolds number Re _i at inlet to the nozzle only at its lower range and then remains constant. Amongst the nozzle geometrics, the ratio of orifice to swirl chamber diameter D ₂/D ₁ has got the most predominant effect on the air core diameter. An increase in the ratio of orifice to swirl chamber diameter D ₂/D ₁, and in the spin chamber angle 2 and a decrease in the swirl chamber length to diameter ratio L ₁/D ₁ increase the ratio of air core to orifice diameter and vice versa.Nomenclature A _E Area of tangential inlet ports of the nozzle - A ₂ Area of the orifice - a Air core radius - D ₁ Swirl chamber diameter - D ₂ Orifice diameter - d ₂ Air core diameter - E A nondimensional parameter defined by equation (14) - E _R A nondimensional parameter defined by equation (33) - L ₁ Length of the swirl chamber - P Static pressure - P _b Back pressure of the nozzle - Q Volume flow rate - R Radius vector or the longitudinal co-ordinate with respect to spherical co-ordinate system (figure 3) - R ₁ Radius of the swirl chamber - R ₂ Radius of the orifice - Re _i Reynolds number at inlet to the nozzle - R _z Radius of the nozzle at any section - r Radial distance from the nozzle axis - U Longitudinal component of velocity with respect to spherical co-ordinate system (figure 3) - V Component of velocity in the axial plane perpendicular to R as defined in (figure 3) - V _r Radial velocity component - V _z Axial velocity component - V _Ø Tangential velocity component - Average tangential velocity at inlet to the nozzle - w Component of velocity perpendicular to axial plane with respect to the spherical co-ordinate as defined in figure 3 - z Distance along the nozzle axis from its inlet plane - Half of the spin chamber angle - Boundary layer thickness - ₂ Boundary layer thickness at the orifice - Angle which a radius vector according to the system of spherical coordinates (figure 3) makes with the nozzle axis - Dynamic viscosity - Kinematic viscosity - Density - Ø Running co-ordinate in the azimuthal direction with respect to the cylindrical polar co-ordinate system as shown in figure 3 - Circulation constant