Atomization and Sprays, Vol.17, No.2, 153-169, 2007
Effects of impingement conditions on the characteristics of mutual impinging spray
The present study aims to investigate the influence of the impinging angle, impingement distance, and injection pressure on the characteristics of a mutual impinging spray that is formed by the direct impact between two solid-cone sprays. In the present study, the droplet sizes and velocities are measured by the phase Doppler particle anemometer system and the overall shape of spray is recorded by a photographic technique. The distribution of liquid volume fraction is also measured by the self-manufactured patternator. The results for the mutual impinging sprays are also compared with those for single nozzle-injected sprays. The Sauter mean diameters measured in the interspray impingement system become 35 and 45% smaller for impingement distances of 20 and 50 mm, respectively, compared to those of a single nozzle-injected spray. For different impinging angles, i.e., 60 degrees and 90 degrees, the decreasing rate in droplet velocity is found to be about 60 and 70%, respectively, of that measured in the single nozzle-injected spray. It is confirmed that mutual impinging sprays may be an alternative way to enhance atomization, provided that such optimized conditions are found in engineering applications.