Multiphase flow modeling for jet atomization
Christopher Ivey, Stanford University
The atomization of a liquid fuel strongly influences combustion efficiency for many engines; a good engine design will quickly break down the liquid jet into small, evenly dispersed fuel droplets with high evaporation rates. The control of these systems requires predictive models of the jet atomization process. Multiphase flows, unlike multicomponent mixtures, have immiscible regions that, when modeled, require an interface tracking procedure and a treatment for the jump in fluid properties across the interface. Further, the breakdown cascade eventually introduces features that cannot be resolved by the mesh, requiring a subgrid model for the smallest liquid structures. We survey a class of interface tracking methods, specifically the volume of fluid and level-set methods, and a Lagrangian point particle description of subgrid droplets, presenting validation data when available.
Abstract Author(s): Christopher Ivey and Parviz Moin