Turbulent Liquid Atomization

In most energy conversion systems, fuel is injected in liquid form. Atomization of the liquid fuel, or the process by which a coherent liquid flow disintegrates
into droplets, represents one of the key challenges that remain to be tackled to make predictive simulations possible. Because atomization governs the size
of the fuel droplets, and therefore their subsequent evaporation rate, it will have farreaching repercussions on many aspects of the combustion process, for
e!ample pollutant formation. "owever, the inherent multiphysics and multiscale nature of this process limits both e!perimental and numerical investigations.
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Advanced Numerical Methods for Complex Reacting Turbulent Flos
$arge eddy simulation %$&'( has been shown to be highly suited for the computation of the stronglyunsteady phenomena that occur in combustion devices.
'till, $&' of multiphysics problems is a young research field, and especially in the areas of multiphase flows and combustion, the required models are often
none!istent or lack the desired accuracy. )ontrarily to direct numerical simulation %*+'( where all flow scales are resolved, $&' separates turbulent flow fields
into largescale resolved and smallscale unresolved components by a spatial filtering procedure, and models the unresolved components. &ven resolving only
the largescale turbulence significantly improves the accuracy of flow predictions compared to ,eynolds averaged approaches %,A+'(, while greatly reducing
the computational cost in comparison to *+'.
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Advanced Numerical Methods for Multiphase Flos
Because primary atomization represents a challenge for e!perimentalists, numerical modeling should provide a much needed alternative. "owever, numerical
studies of primary atomization have also been very sparse. -o simulate twophase flows, various techniques have been developed, that all enjoy some benefit
and suffer from limitations. Because no clear gold standard has emerged on how to conduct a numerical simulation of comple! twophase flows, the number
of direct numerical studies of primary atomization remains limited. 'everal key issues remain, such as the discontinuous nature of the flow properties across
the phaseinterface, the singularity of the surface tension forces, and the very large range of scales involved in atomization.
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Lagrangian and !ulerian "par# Modeling
'prays and other dispersedphase systems can be described by a kinetic equation containing terms for spatial transport, acceleration, and particle processes
%such as evaporation or collisions(. In principle, the kinetic description is valid from the dilute %noncollisional( to the dense limit. "owever, its numerical
solution in multidimensional systems is intractable due to the large number of independent variables. As an alternative, $agrangian methods .discretize. the
density function into .parcels. that are simulated using #onte)arlo methods.
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$as%solid Risers
/asparticle flows in vertical risers are used in many industries including gasification0pyrolysis for biofuel conversion, coal combustion, and fluid catalytic
cracking. &!perimental studies have shown riser flows to be unsteady with large solidvolume fraction fluctuations. ,egions of denselypacked particles,
referred to as clusters and streamers form, which greatly affect the overall flow behavior and mi!ing properties. A &ulerian$agrangian approach is used to
simulate riser flows and better understand the cluster formation. -he gas phase is solved on an &ulerian grid while each particle is tracked individually.
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Turbulent "pra# Combustion
In gas turbine engines, liquid fuel must first evaporate before it can be consumed by combustion. "ence, liquid atomization and vaporization is of paramount
importance in combustion systems, and governs how fuel is supplied to the flame. A key element in predicting the comple! behavior of gas turbine engines is
therefore accurately modeling spray evaporation. Indeed, in reacting multiphase flows the combustion process is intricately linked to spray evaporation. -he
energy required by the phase change is provided by the heat of combustion, and the fuel consumed by the flame comes from liquid vaporization creating a
comple! subfiltered mi!ing field.
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!lectroh#drod#namic Atomization
1ver the past decade, there has been considerable interest in controlling the emissions from small engines in the size range of 233 cm
4
or smaller. 5uel
injection schemes may reduce the incidence of pollutant emissions. "owever, the cost of implementation is a barrier to large scale adoption. -he cost of fuel
injection is driven by both the need to pump the fuel to the injection pressure and to add parts for the injector head. 1ne approach to smallscale fuel injection
is to capitalize upon the benefits of electrohydrodynamics %&"*( and enhance fuel atomization. -here are many possible benefits to &"* aided atomization for
combustion, such as smaller droplets, wider spray cone, and the ability to control or .tune. the spray for improved performance.