How do liquid fuel physical properties affect liquid jet development in atomisers?

The influence of liquid fuel properties on atomisation remains an open question. The droplet sizes in sprays from atomisers operated with different fuels may be modified despite the small changes of the liquid properties. This paper examines experimentally the development of a liquid jet injected from a plain orifice in order to evaluate changes in its behaviour due to modifications of the liquid properties, which may influence the final atomisation characteristics. Two aviation kerosenes with similar, but not identical physical properties are considered, namely standard JP8 kerosene as the reference fuel and bio-derived Hydro-processed Renewable Jet (HRJ) fuel as an alternative biofuel. The corresponding density, dynamic viscosity, kinematic viscosity and surface tension change by about +5%, -5%, -10% and +5% respectively, which are typical for ‘drop-in’ fuel substitution. Three aspects of the liquid jet behaviour are experimentally considered. The pressure losses of the liquid jet through the nozzle are examined in terms of the discharge coefficient for different flowrates. The morphology of the liquid jet is visualised using high magnification Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) imaging. Finally, the temporal development of the liquid jet interfacial velocity as a function of distance from the nozzle exit is measured from time-dependent motion analysis of dual-frame LIF imaging measurements of the jet. The results show that for the small changes in the physical properties between the considered liquid fuels, the direct substitution of fuel did not result in a drastic change of the external morphology of the fuel jets. However, the small changes in the physical properties modify the interfacial velocities of the liquid and consequently the internal jet velocity profile. These changes can modify the interaction of the liquid jet with the surroundings, including air flows in coaxial or cross flow atomisation, and influence the atomisation characteristics during changes of liquid fuels