Sub- and supercritical jet disintegration

Shadowgraph visualization and Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) are applied to single orifice injection in the same facility and same fluid conditions to analyze sub- to supercritical jet disintegration and mixing. The comparison includes jet disintegration and lateral spreading angle. The results indicate that the shadowgraph data are in agreement with previous visualization studies but differ from the PLIF results that provided quantitative measurement of central jet plane density and density gradients. The study further evaluated the effect of thermodynamic conditions on droplet production and quantified droplet size and distribution. The results indicate an increase in the normalized drop diameter and a decrease in the droplet population with increasing chamber temperatures. Droplet size and distribution were found to be independent of chamber pressure.