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This effort presents the application of an experimental high frequency and time-resolved global optical flow diagnostics for the characterization of pulsed spray flows. Such flows are encountered during active control of thermoacoustic instabilities, where high-bandwidth fuel modulation is often utilized to disrupt the combustor acoustic and unsteady heat release coupling. The understanding of spray dynamics is thus of paramount importance for these active control methodologies in order to achieve optimum control authority. A novel time-resolved Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (TRDPIV) implementation is employed for the dynamic investigation of the modulated spray. The method can measure both the droplet velocities as well as the droplet size distribution, from the same recorded images. The method provides planar image based droplet sizing using Mie scattering from DPIV measurements, with >5KHz sampling rate. Thus, eliminating complicated experimental approaches based on interferometer or fluorescence-Mie ratio. This paper presents the results of drop size characterization. Data processing is performed using different particle size evaluation schemes. The results are compared with measurements acquired from Phase Doppler Anemometry (PDA), conducted under same the experimental conditions. Experiments are conducted in non-reacting quiescent conditions, using an industrial simplex nozzle. The proportional spray modulation is obtained using a throttle valve-piezoelectric stack actuation system. The measurements for the current DPIV work are obtained under different pulsing amplitudes and frequencies. The results indicate that time-resolved DPIV can be a valuable tool in investigating dynamic response of modulated sprays.

Results from simulations using FLUENT (a commercial CFD package) are compared with Time Resolved Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) for baseline configurations in order to validate and verify the fidelity of the computations. Different turbulent models are used in this study in order to determine which one is the most appropriate. Subsequently a parametric analysis of the flow characteristics as a function of the clearance height of the impeller from the vessel floor is performed. Results are presented along planes normal and parallel to the impeller axis, displaying velocity vector fields and contour plots of vorticity turbulent dissipation and others. Special attention is focused in the neighborhood of the impeller region and the radial jet generated there. The present results provide useful information for the design of the mixing process as well as for more accurate estimations in future work.

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This paper describes a first effort to investigate the feasibility of droplet size and shape characterization by direct laser sheet imaging using time resolved Digital Particle Image Velocimetry. A 60-degree conical, high-pressure spray generated a poly-dispersed droplet distribution. Measurements were preformed for seven planes parallel to the spray axis, and separated by 4mm. A CMOS camera recorded the DPIV images at sampling rate of 10 KHz. Advanced image processing techniques were employed to identify the droplets and individually resolve their velocity using a hybrid cross-correlation particle-tracking algorithm. Subsequently, the size distribution of each droplet was quantified using geometric optics theory to convert the droplet image information to the true droplet size. Finally, the entire volume of the spray velocity and size distributions was reconstructed in a time-averaged sense. The droplet sizes from our direct imaging DPIV system were validated using a Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA). The calculated sizes from the direct imaging methodology were found to agree with the measured PDPA results for droplets images larger than the diffraction limited diameter. Resolution limitations introduced inaccuracy for smaller droplets. In addition, the shedding frequency of the spray ligament was observed to be on the order of 1KHz, demonstrating the feasibility of using a high speed, direct imaging system in the characterization of unsteady, liquid sheet breakup properties. This preliminary effort illustrates the potential of performing global time resolved velocity and size measurements using a simple DPIV configuration based on CMOS imaging technology.