Application of a Fiber Optic Probe to High Void Fraction Air/Water Flow

Successful development of CFD models for droplet flows is aided by knowledge of the droplet size distribution in the flow, but current instrumentation for measuring droplet size is limited. In an attempt to improve the quality of data collected, fiber optic probe (FOP) technology was investigated. A spray nozzle injected water droplets into an air stream to create a high void fraction droplet flow. Measurements were acquired with the spray nozzle at two different locations upstream of the FOP position. Mean droplet velocity measurements were acquired using laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) at the FOP position. The droplet size distribution at the probe location was determined by using both the FOP and LDV measurements. The initial results indicate that FOP technology can successfully measure the droplet size distribution in a high void fraction air/water flow and it should be further developed for this application.