Breakup of elliptical liquid jets in gaseous crossflows at low Weber numbers

Breakup of circular and elliptical liquid jets in subsonic gaseous crossflows is experimentally studied using shadowgraph technique. The experiments are performed at gaseous Weber numbers less than 15, the liquid-to-gas momentum flux ratio between 50 and 320, and the orifice aspect ratio between 0.22 and 4.47. It is found that in addition to the momentum flux ratio, the orifice aspect ratio can change the liquid penetration height significantly. For a fixed momentum flux ratio, the penetration of elliptical jets is less than that of circular jet. Moreover, for a given momentum flux ratio and Weber number, the column breakup location of elliptical jets is earlier than that of circular jet. Empirical correlations for the penetration height as well as the column breakup location of circular and elliptical jets are developed in this study. Graphical abstract