Periodic atomization characteristics of simplex swirl injector induced by klystron effect

The atomization dynamic characteristics of a simplex swirl injector was investigated experimentally by using a hydrodynamic mechanical pulsator and the shadow photography technique. The frequency response characteristics of the fluid film and atomization fluctuations and their correlations with pressure fluctuations were obtained by using an in-house code of image processing. It is demonstrated that the klystron effect induced by periodic pressure fluctuations results in periodic liquid film fluctuation with large amplitudes, periodic superposition of droplets and reduction of the breakup length. It was found that the atomization of the simplex swirl injector only responds to the pressure fluctuation in frequency range approximately from 0 to 300 Hz, and it is particularly sensitive to pressure fluctuations at frequencies from 100 to 200 Hz. According to this experiment, the responsive frequency limitation is merely affected by injector configuration, rather than the supply line.