THE DROPLET SIZE AND PENETRATION HEIGHT OF A KEROSENE JET IN A CROSSFLOW

The atomization and mixing processes of fuel in crossflows are among the important aspects of research into rocket-based combined-cycle (RBCC) engine technology. In this paper, the droplet size and penetration height of the kerosene jet in crossflows are studied. The influences of the orifice diameter, number, and arrangement, the injection pressure drop of fuel, the orifice diameter and the Mach number of the crossflow are analyzed applying different optical measuring methods. The results reveal that the injection pressure drop of fuel and the crossflow Mach number are both positively correlated with the atomization performance, whereas the orifice diameter is negatively correlated with the atomization performance. By analyzing the penetration height under different operating conditions, it can be seen that when the other factors are kept constant, the penetration height increases with increasing orifice diameter and pressure drop. Using a least-squares, an empirical formula for the jet penetration height in terms of momentum flux ratio and axial distance was obtained.