Fluid Mechanics and Flight Mechanics

Comparative analysis on spray characteristics of three pressure nozzles in high-speed crossflow

  • Shiqi WANG ,
  • Bo FAN ,
  • Zhixuan HAN ,
  • Neng WAN ,
  • Liang MA ,
  • Zhigang JIA ,
  • Quan WEN
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  • 1.Aero Engine Academy of China,Beijing 101304,China
    2.College of Aeronautical Engineering,Civil Aviation University of China,Tianjin 300300,China
E-mail: wangsq6@126.com

Received date: 2025-07-11

  Revised date: 2025-08-20

  Accepted date: 2025-11-19

  Online published: 2025-12-08

Supported by

National Natural Science Foundation of China(52306052);AECC Innovation Funds(ZZCX-2023-033)

Abstract

This study presents a systematic investigation into the transverse spray dispersion characteristics of three pressure nozzles, a self-excited sweeping nozzle, a plain-orifice nozzle, and a hollow-cone swirl nozzle, under high-speed crossflow conditions at Mach number 0.4. Initial characterization of their fundamental atomization performance was conducted in quiescent air, followed by spray field visualization in high-speed flow using planar laser Mie scattering imaging to quantify transient spray structures and time-averaged droplet concentration distributions. The results show that the self-excited sweeping nozzle demonstrated intermediate atomization performance between plain-orifice nozzle and hollow-cone swirl nozzle in quiescent environment. In high-speed crossflow, however, the self-excited sweeping nozzle achieves a 67% greater maximum penetration depth than the swirl nozzle and reaches 79% of that of the plain-orifice nozzle, and its spanwise spread distance matches the swirl nozzle, both 150% exceeding the plain-orifice nozzle. Assuming a rectangular spray distribution area, the total coverage area of the self-excited sweeping nozzle is 1.67 times that of the swirl nozzle and 2.17 times that of the plain-orifice nozzle. Moreover, the high-concentration droplet regions in both the central and lateral cross-sections of the self-excited sweeping nozzle are significantly larger than those of the other two nozzles, demonstrating superior spray uniformity. This study preliminarily confirms the unique advantages of the self-excited sweeping nozzle in enhancing spanwise diffusion, total spray coverage, and distribution uniformity in high-speed airflow environments. These findings provide a novel technical solution for liquid injection applications under high-speed airflow conditions such as scramjet/afterburner combustors and jet precooling systems.

Cite this article

Shiqi WANG , Bo FAN , Zhixuan HAN , Neng WAN , Liang MA , Zhigang JIA , Quan WEN . Comparative analysis on spray characteristics of three pressure nozzles in high-speed crossflow[J]. ACTA AERONAUTICAET ASTRONAUTICA SINICA, 2026 , 47(8) : 132554 -132554 . DOI: 10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.32554

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