Unraveling the geometry dependence of in-nozzle cavitation in high-pressure injectors.

Cavitation is an intricate multiphase phenomenon that interplays with turbulence in fluid flows. It exhibits clear duality in characteristics, being both destructive and beneficial in our daily lives and industrial processes. Despite the multitude of occurrences of this phenomenon, highly dynamic and multiphase cavitating flows have not been fundamentally well understood in guiding the effort to harness the transient and localized power generated by this process. In a microscale, multiphase flow liquid injection system, we synergistically combined experiments using time-resolved x-radiography and a novel simulation method to reveal the relationship between the injector geometry and the in-nozzle cavitation quantitatively. We demonstrate that a slight alteration of the geometry on the micrometer scale can induce distinct laminar-like or cavitating flows, validating the multiphase computational fluid dynamics simulation. Furthermore, the simulation identifies a critical geometric parameter with which the high-speed flow undergoes an intriguing transition from non-cavitating to cavitating.

Interaction between supersonic disintegrating liquid jets and their shock waves.

We used ultrafast x radiography and developed a novel multiphase numerical simulation to reveal the origin and the unique dynamics of the liquid-jet-generated shock waves and their interactions with the jets. Liquid-jet-generated shock waves are transiently correlated to the structural evolution of the disintegrating jets. The multiphase simulation revealed that the aerodynamic interaction between the liquid jet and the shock waves results in an intriguing ambient gas distribution in the vicinity of the shock front, as validated by the ultrafast x-radiography measurements. The excellent agreement between the data and the simulation suggests the combined experimental and computational approach should find broader applications in predicting and understanding dynamics of highly transient multiphase flows.

Similarity between the primary and secondary air-assisted liquid jet breakup mechanisms.

We report an ultrafast synchrotron x-ray phase-contrast imaging study of the primary breakup mechanism of a coaxial air-assisted water jet. There exist great similarities between the primary (jet) and the secondary (drop) breakup, and in the primary breakup on different length scales. A transition from a ligament- to a membrane-mediated breakup is identified around an effective Weber number We' approximately 13. This observation reveals the critical role an effective Weber number plays in determining the atomization process and strongly supports the cascade breakup model.