Two-phase disintegration of high-pressure retrograde fluid jets at near-critical injection temperature discharged into a subcritical pressure atmosphere

•Experimental analysis of near-critical two-phase jet disintegration for high-pressure retrograde jets.•Physical breakup mechanism depends upon the fluid expansion process in combination with the thermodynamic properties of the pure injectant.•Classification of near-critical regimes based on experimental analysis and thermodynamic models for expansion and phase transition