Effect of flash boiling on the spray characteristics of pressure swirl spray nozzles using liquid nitrogen

Abstract

Liquid nitrogen is a widely utilized effective low-temperature cooling medium, also employed in the ATR-GG (Gas Generator cycle Air Turbo rocket) engine to cool high-temperature components. Due to the high-temperature work environment and the ease with which liquid nitrogen evaporates and boils, liquid nitrogen would experience a flash boiling process. In order to study the influence of flash boiling on spray characteristics, experiments and simulations were conducted with two types of hollow-cone nozzles and two types of solid-cone nozzles under subcooled water at normal temperature which is not affect by flash boiling and superheat liquid nitrogen inflow conditions. The research found that flashing already begins inside the nozzle, significantly reducing the discharge coefficient of the solid-cone nozzle. The nitrogen gas-liquid mixture fills the air core of the hollow-cone spray, resulting in a comparatively smaller impact on the discharge coefficient. The liquid nitrogen spray exhibit spray collapse, unable to achieve the spray cone angels as the water spray. The major reason is that during the flashing process, nitrogen vapor expansion enhances the axial velocity, reducing the spray cone angle. The study recommends using hollow-cone nozzles to mitigate the impact of flash boiling on the spray characteristics.