Experimental study on the improvement of spray characteristics of aero-engines using gliding arc plasma

Abstract A gliding arc plasma fuel atomization actuator suitable for aeroengines was designed, and a gliding arc plasma fuel spray experimental platform was built to address the fuel atomization problem in aeroengine combustion chambers. The spray characteristics for different airflows, fuel flows, and discharge voltages were analyzed using laser particle size analysis. The research shows that the fuel atomization effect is improved from the increased airflow. The decreased fuel flow not only reduces the injection pressure of the fuel but also changes the discharge mode of the gliding arc, which affects reductions in the discharge power and inhibits fuel atomization. Gliding arc discharges accelerate the breaking, atomization, and evaporation of fuel droplets while reducing the particle size, which increases the proportion of small droplets. Compared with the working conditions of plasma-assisted atomization without the gliding arc, the D0.5, D0.9, and average particle size of the fuel droplets are reduced by 4.7%, 6.5%, and 4.1%, respectively, when the modulation voltage of the gliding arc power supply is 200 V.