Experimental results and calculations of two-phase flow in a swirl burner under isothermal condition

Data are presented on the flowfield and droplet velocity under non-burning conditions from a double concentric swirl burner using kerosene as the fuel. The setup allowed variation in the radial distribution of swirl and flow in the burner that allowed changes in the flow and spray characteristics. In order to test the validity of a mathematical model for the prediction of droplet motion in a swirling turbulent flow, the results of the model were compared with PIV data taken from a kerosene spray under non-burning condition. The model used two sets of data from the burner. In the first only the airflow was modeled (no fuel present), and seed particles present in the flow were tracked to develop the flowfield of the fluid phase, without the effect of fuel. In the second case droplet motion within the fluid phase was present (i.e., flowfield with carrier phase and droplets). The model accounted for the turbulence temporal correlation. The results of the model were compared with those generated by a previous model, which did not directly account for turbulence correlations. The axial velocities predicted by the modified model were found to correlate better with experimental results as compared to those predicted by the previous model.