Study on Droplet Size and Velocity Distributions of a Pressure Swirl Atomizer Based on the Maximum Entropy Formalism

A predictive model for droplet size and velocity distributions of a pressure swirl atomizer has been proposed based on the maximum entropy formalism (MEF). The constraint conditions of the MEF model include the conservation laws of mass, momentum, and energy. The effects of liquid swirling strength, Weber number, gas-to-liquid axial velocity ratio and gas-to-liquid density ratio on the droplet size and velocity distributions of a pressure swirl atomizer are investigated. Results show that model based on maximum entropy formalism works well to predict droplet size and velocity distributions under different spray conditions. Liquid swirling strength, Weber number, gas-to-liquid axial velocity ratio and gas-to-liquid density ratio have different effects on droplet size and velocity distributions of a pressure swirl atomizer.