Rapid Characterization of Fuel Atomizers Using an Optical Patternator

Abstract

Planar laser scattering (PLS) and planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) techniques are currently being used for rapid characterization of fuel sprays associated with gas turbine atomizers, diesel injectors, and automotive fuel injectors. These techniques can be used for qualitative, quantitative, and rapid measurement of fuel mass, spray geometry, and Sauter mean diameters in various sprays. The spatial distribution of the fuel mass can be inferred directly from the PLIF image, and the Sauter mean diameter can be measured by simultaneously recording the PLIF and PLS images and then ratioing the two. A spray characterization system incorporating the PLS and/or PLIF techniques has been loosely termed an optical patternator, and in this study, it has been used to characterize both steady and pulsed sprays. The results obtained with the optical patternator have been directly validated using a phase Doppler particle analyzer (PDPA).