J. L. Burget

Abstract

The accurate measurement of liquid spray drop size and velocity is important in a variety of applications. These applications include agricultural sprays, furnaces, spark ignition and compression ignition engines, gas turbines, and a variety of industrial processes. Because of the need to improve combustion efficiency and minimize soot and other harmful emissions, one of the most active areas of research is fuel spray combustion. Quantitative measurements of the vapor phase in fuel sprays is vital to the understanding of spray dynamics and the operation of combustion devices.

There are various measurement techniques available to measure vapor phase characteristics in a fuel spray including schlieren photography, vapor fluorescence using exiplex emission, and mechanical isokinetic probes. Schlieren photography and vapor flux fluorescence using exiplex emission are nonintrusive techniques which provide only a qualitative picture of the vapor phase. Mechanical isokinetic probes have provided a quantitative picture of the vapor phase, but have the disadvantage of disrupting the flow field.

The Aerometrics Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (P/DPA) is a laser based instrument that provides a quantitative, nonintrusive method to obtain simultaneous size and velocity measurements. This instrument incorporates the Laser Doppler Velodmeter for flow measurements with particle sizing methods.

My role in this project consists of setup and validation of the P/DPA. This includes developing an appropriate spray set up and making measurements in a variety of spray environments for the validation of drop size, velocity, and liquid volume flux measurements. The instrument will ultimately be used in the investigation of two phase flows, including the measurement of particle size and velocity distributions in fuel sprays.

Document Type

Report

Presentation Date

April 1991

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