Characterization of drop aerodynamic fragmentation in the bag and sheet-thinning regimes by crossed-beam, two-view, digital in-line holography

Journal Article · Wed Apr 19 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · International Journal of Multiphase Flow

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2017.04.011· OSTI ID:1356855

Guildenbecher, Daniel R. ^[1]; Gao, Jian ^[2]; Chen, Jun ^[3]; Sojka, Paul E. ^[3]

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1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
2. Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
3. Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). School of Mechanical Engineering

When a spherical liquid drop is subjected to a step change in relative gas velocity, aerodynamic forces lead to drop deformation and possible breakup into a number of secondary fragments. In order to investigate this flow, a digital in-line holography (DIH) diagnostic is proposed which enables rapid quantification of spatial statistics with limited experimental repetition. To overcome the high uncertainty in the depth direction experienced in previous applications of DIH, a crossed-beam, two-view configuration is introduced. With appropriate calibration, this diagnostic is shown to provide accurate quantification of fragment sizes, three-dimensional positions and three-component velocities in a large measurement volume. We apply these capabilities in order to investigate the aerodynamic breakup of drops at two non-dimensional Weber numbers, We, corresponding to the bag (We = 14) and sheet-thinning (We = 55) regimes. Ensemble average results show the evolution of fragment size and velocity statistics during the course of breakup. Our results indicate that mean fragment sizes increase throughout the course of breakup. For the bag breakup case, the evolution of a multi-mode fragment size probability density is observed. This is attributed to separate fragmentation mechanisms for the bag and rim structures. In contrast, for the sheet-thinning case, the fragment size probability density shows only one distinct peak indicating a single fragmentation mechanism. Compared to previous related investigations of this flow, many orders of magnitude more fragments are measured per condition, resulting in a significant improvement in data fidelity. For this reason, this experimental dataset is likely to provide new opportunities for detailed validation of analytic and computational models of this flow.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1356855
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1396920
• Report Number(s): SAND2017--4361J; PII: S030193221630430X
• Journal Information: International Journal of Multiphase Flow, Journal Name: International Journal of Multiphase Flow Journal Issue: C Vol. 94; ISSN 0301-9322
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS