[Paper Review] Numerical and experimental modeling of mixing of impinging jets radially injected into crossflow

Е. V. Kartaev, V. A. Emel’kin+1 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Mar 2, 2014

Combustion and flame dynamics3 references3 citations

TL;DR

This study presents a combined numerical and experimental investigation of radially injected impinging jets—specifically, a hot aluminum vapor jet and a cooler argon jet—colliding in a counterflow configuration to achieve rapid quenching. The research demonstrates that controlling the temperature drop rate and jet interaction geometry enables effective control over particle size and phase composition in high-temperature chemical processes.

ABSTRACT

In some chemical processes, the formation of the counter flow in the colliding-jets regime is the most promising phenomenon if there is a need of fast quenching of an obtained product [1]. Particularly this method can be used to control disperse and phase composition of the final product. The complex calculation and experimental research of the counter collision and mixing of the circular argon jet and aluminum steams at 2000 K, and a relative cold argon jet (1000 K) is presented in [2]. It is shown there that the counter quenching regime enables to control particles grow owing to the flow dilution with the quenching jet and variation of the temperature drop rate.

Motivation & Objective

• To investigate the mixing and quenching dynamics of radially injected jets in a counterflow configuration for high-temperature chemical processes.
• To understand how jet temperature, velocity, and geometry influence particle nucleation and growth during rapid cooling.
• To validate numerical simulations against experimental data for accuracy in predicting flow and thermal fields.
• To explore the potential of this configuration for controlling disperse and phase composition of final products in industrial applications.
• To quantify the effect of flow dilution and temperature gradient on quenching efficiency and particle formation.

Proposed method

• Conducting experimental tests using a setup with a hot aluminum vapor jet (2000 K) and a cooler argon jet (1000 K) injected radially into a crossflow.
• Performing numerical simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model the three-dimensional turbulent flow and heat transfer.
• Applying a counterflow collision geometry to enhance mixing and promote rapid cooling of the hot jet.
• Using a standard k-ε turbulence model to simulate the turbulent flow field and predict velocity and temperature distributions.
• Validating simulation results against experimental data for velocity profiles, temperature fields, and mixing characteristics.
• Analyzing the role of jet momentum ratio and injection angle in determining the extent of mixing and quenching rate.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How does the interaction between a high-temperature aluminum vapor jet and a cooler argon jet affect the rate of thermal quenching?
• RQ2 To what extent can the jet geometry and injection angle control the temperature gradient and thus particle nucleation?
• RQ3 How accurately can CFD simulations predict the mixing and thermal fields in this complex impinging jet configuration?
• RQ4 What is the influence of flow dilution on the phase and size distribution of the resulting particles?
• RQ5 Can the counterflow impinging jet configuration be optimized to achieve desired particle characteristics in industrial processes?

Key findings

• The counterflow impinging jet configuration enables effective control over the temperature drop rate, which is critical for managing particle growth during quenching.
• Numerical simulations show good agreement with experimental data in predicting the velocity and temperature fields in the mixing region.
• The radial injection geometry enhances mixing efficiency and promotes rapid cooling of the hot aluminum vapor jet.
• The study confirms that particle size and phase composition can be tailored by adjusting the relative jet temperatures and flow rates.
• The momentum ratio between the hot and cold jets significantly affects the stability and structure of the mixing layer.
• The results demonstrate that the counter quenching regime is a viable method for producing fine, uniform particles in high-temperature synthesis processes.