Research on the CFD numerical simulation of flash boiling atomization

Flash boiling atomization (FBA) can achieve the droplets with smaller diameter and more uniform diameter distribution compared with the traditional atomization, which therefore can contribute to accomplishing higher mass and heat transfer efficiency in the gas-liquid ejector. However, the research on the mechanism of FBA was still insufficient, especially that there is not yet a recognized and reliable model which can integrate the factors during FBA process. In this work, FBA model was established based on the traditional primary breakup model, which was then compared with the cited experimental data to verify the reliability of the model. Afterwards, the FBA model was adopted to study the influence of the vaporization ratio, surface tension, density and viscosity of the droplets on the atomization efficiency. The results showed that with the increase in the vaporization ratio and density, smaller droplets with more uniform diameter distribution were obtained; while the increase in the surface tension and viscosity caused the increase in the droplet diameter and discreteness of the diameter distribution. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.