Experimental investigations of aviation kerosene spray in different ambient conditions with various nozzle diameters and injection pressures

The purpose of this study is to explore the spray characteristics of aviation kerosene (RP-3) under sub/trans/supercritical conditions and provide a reference for engine test research under advanced combustion mode. The experiment is carried out in a constant volume chamber. To understand the influence of nozzle diameter and injection pressure on spray characteristics of RP-3 under different critical conditions, 270 groups of spray images are collected under three nozzle diameters (100, 300, 450 mu m), five injection pressures (60, 80, 100, 120, 140 MPa), and nine critical conditions. The macroscopic parameters are calculated and new empirical correlations are generated to investigate the axial and radial development of spray. The results show that kerosene spray has different spray characteristics under sub/trans/supercritical conditions. The effect of nozzle diameter on kerosene spray is stronger than that of diesel spray. The spray with a small nozzle diameter is easily affected by gas entrainment. The injection pressure has an insignificant effect on spray macroscopic characteristics, but high injection pressure is conducive to increasing the vapor phase ratio and promoting oil-gas mixing, especially under supercritical conditions. The new correlations have good agreement with kerosene experimental results.

Automated summary

This study investigates the spray characteristics of aviation kerosene (RP-3) under sub/trans/supercritical conditions. The effects of nozzle diameter and injection pressure on the spray characteristics are studied. The results show that the spray characteristics of kerosene differ under different critical conditions. Nozzle diameter has a stronger effect on kerosene spray compared to diesel spray, while injection pressure has a negligible effect on spray macroscopic characteristics.