Simulation of liquid solvent atomization in compressed CO2
Abstract
The work investigates numerically the atomization regime of a liquid injected into compressed CO2 under subcritical conditions, i.e. below the CO2-solvent critical pressure. To vary the conditions within the atomization regime whilst keeping up with realistic experimental background, ethanol and methylene chloride were selected as injected fluid and pressure was modified as well. Results first show that the jet indeed breaks up by atomization, which confirms the validity at high pressure of the breakup classification diagram. Aiming at evaluating the size distribution of the droplets formed by the jet atomization, two methods of interface tracking were investigated. Compared to the VOF-PLIC classical method, the novel sub mesh (VOF-SM) approach allows for determining smaller sized droplets without digital broadcasting.