Experimental characterization of liquid jet atomization in Mach 6 crossflow

The atomization of water liquid jet in Mach 6 air crossflow is investigated. Experiments are conducted in the VKI H3 Mach 6 hypersonic wind tunnel. A flat plate, with a flush mounted 1mm diameter circular injector, is used to inject water into the crossing hypersonic air stream. The mean and Sauter mean diameter of the liquid droplets are measured at different locations along the median plane on the jet using Phase Doppler Interferometry technique. The droplet size measurements are analyzed and treated to characterize the atomization process of the liquid jet. The measured mean and Sauter diameters are compared with the existing correlations in the literature. Copyright © 2009 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.