Spray characteristics and liquid distribution of multi-hole effervescent atomisers for industrial burners

The present paper provides an experimental study and optimisation of multi-hole effervescent atomisers for industrial burners using oil-based fossil, bio- or waste fuels with prospects of emission reduction. Several multi-hole nozzles were designed based on our previous work. We probed the spray quality by phase-Doppler anemometry. 3-D plots of Sauter mean diameter and mean droplet velocity demonstrate their spatial distribution within the spray. The effect of geometrical and operational factors on the spray is discussed. Droplet size-velocity correlations as well as the size and velocity distributions are presented, and differences are found against other investigations. A spray macrostructure is photographically observed and spray cone angles of the multi-hole nozzles are analysed. An internal two-phase flow is estimated using the Baker's map for horizontal two-phase flow. Our previous two-phase flow visualisations suggested a liquid-gas gravitational separation when the multi-hole atomiser operated horizontally. This issue is addressed here; the results of spray heterogeneity measurements document that fuel flow rates through individual exit holes differ significantly. This difference spans between 0 and 70% depending on the nozzle design and flow regime. Effervescent sprays are unsteady under some operating conditions; spray unsteadiness was detected at low pressure and low gas-to-liquid-ratios. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.