A hybrid method for prediction the sauter mean diameter (D32) of kerosene sprays of pressure-swirl atomizers of small size gas turbine engines

The paper presents the creation and validation of a method for determining the Sauter mean diameter (D32), which includes computational flow dynamics methods and semi-empirical correlations. The paper shows the numerical modeling of the atomization process of Jet-A kerosene from a pressure-swirl atomizer at various geometric and operating parameters. One of the Euler approaches for modeling multiphase flows was used for simulating the atomization process - the volume of fluid method (VOF). Based on the data obtained through numerical modeling, the Sauter mean diameter for all nozzle configurations was calculated using known semi-empirical correlations. The values of the Sauter mean diameter are compared with experimental data, which allows us to assess the suitability of the semi-empirical correlations used for determining D32.