Atomization Characteristics of Gelled Fuels Containing Different Concentrations of Metal Particles

Gelled fuels have promising applications in the aerospace field. Higher density and calorific value can be achieved with the addition of energetic metal particles to gelled fuels, which can also effectively improve the combustion efficiency of the fuel and thus enhance the engine performance. However, the addition of metal particles can also make the rheological properties of gelled fuels more complex, which introduces difficulties regarding their atomization and combustion. In order to investigate the effect of the concentration of metal particles on the rheological and atomization characteristics of gelled fuels, the gelled fuel was prepared with three metal particle concentrations of 0%, 15%, and 30%. In this paper, the rheological properties of the gelled fuel were tested by a rotational rheometer, and the atomization properties (spray cone angle, Sauter mean diameter (SMD), and droplet size distribution) of the gelled fuel were measured experimentally. In this paper, three nozzle structures were designed, including a DC nozzle, a swirl nozzle, and a self-excited oscillation nozzle. The effects of different nozzle structures and metal particle concentrations on the atomization of gelled fuels are compared and discussed.