Liquid Jet in Crossflow: Review of Breakup modes and Injector Geometry Effects

This review focuses on the liquid jet in crossflow (LJIC) configuration.

LJIC is one of the most common strategies used for fuel injection in aerospace applications.

It is popular due to its simplicity and efficient atomization characteristics.

The aerodynamic force of the airflow is utilized to break liquid jet into small droplets.

The objective of the present work is to give a basic overview of the physical processes involved in the breakup and penetration of LJIC.

Breakup modes and underlying mechanisms are discussed in detail.

Various modes are described and associated non-dimensional numbers are explained.

Injector geometry which is often overlooked in literature is paid special attention.

The mechanism of liquid jet instability getting triggered by velocity profile redistribution is explained using experimental and computational results.

Surface waves on liquid jets are discussed.

A theoretical model used to predict the wavelength of surface waves is described.

DNS results are used to demonstrate the growth of surface instability on a liquid jet.

Jet penetration and trajectory in the presence of crossflow are discussed.

Various trajectory equations and the parameters used are discussed in detail.

Progress in computational studies for LJIC is highlighted and challenges are discussed.