Numerical Modeling of Liquid Jet in Non-Uniform Crossflow Using Enhanced Madabhushi Model

Abstract

One of the most used spray configurations for gas turbines and power combustors is liquid jet in crossflow. The process of breakup of liquid jet is very complex and understanding this mechanism is of paramount importance in engine design. This has led to the commencement of several studies from leading research groups [1–6]. Several new modeling methods such as the Madabhushi breakup model or more detailed VOF and Level set methods have been used successfully to understand and describe these complex breakup processes. However, most of these studies have been restricted to liquid jet in uniform single stream crossflow. In reality, these jets could be subjected to several gaseous streams and the breakup mechanism may vary significantly. Recently there have been some studies to understand the effect of non-uniformities on the crossflow velocity distribution and the droplet diameter. In the current work, we attempt to extend the scope of the Madabhushi breakup model to jets subjected to non-uniform crossflow. Non-uniform crossflow is created by co-directional and parallel gas flow using several hollow tubes. Locally, the momentum flux ratio changes by a factor of 4 and uniformity ratio (the ratio of the velocities of the two gas streams) of 2. A modified version of the Madabhushi model as proposed by Lambert et. al is used here to simulate the jet breakup. Model tuning has been conducted using University of Cincinnati Research data specifically designed for this configuration in partnership with General Electric Company. For turbulence, realizable k-ε with scalable wall function is used. The droplets are tracked using Ansys Fluent Discrete Particle Model (DPM). A second modeling approach VOF-to-DPM is also used which uses VOF equation along with LES with Dynamic Kinetic Energy Subgrid-Scale Model. This model requires no fine tuning of parameters and is more accurate but comes with more computational expense. Various simulations are performed with pure water, pure diesel and emulsified diesel and water with uniform and non-uniform cross flows inside a chamber at a pressure of 50psi. Overall, the trends due to difference in material properties of the two liquids especially on penetration and Sauter mean diameter are well captured. The droplet characteristics such as axial velocity, Sauter mean diameter and volumetric flux are compared with experimental measurements and shows reasonable agreement. Overall, the liquid penetration is within reasonable accuracy. Discrepancies were seen in the spatial variation of the spray quantities such as Sauter mean diameter, droplet axial velocity etc. The simulation revealed a more averaged field whereas in experiments some layering was observed with bigger droplets at the edge of the spray, away from the wall.