Investigation of Fuel Atomization with Density Functions

Abstract

Atomization involves mass, energy, and impulse transfer, in such a complex way that the overall process can only be described by empirical and semi-empirical correlations to date. The phenomenon of atomization is used in numerous applications, e.g., in combustion technology and metallurgy. However, many formulae are available in the literature to derive mean diameters of the spray, size distribution functions are barely discussed. Based on the measurement results performed earlier by a Phase Doppler Anemometer, twenty probability density functions were evaluated and seven are discussed in detail over the course of the present paper. The atomization pressure was varied, and characteristic regimes of the spray were measured. Interestingly, the analysis showed that not only the three most commonly used probability density functions (Nukiyama-Tanasawa, Rosin-Rammler, and Gamma) are eligible for describing the size distribution of the spray.