A numerical study of an atomizing jet in a resonant acoustic field*

Resonant acoustic fields are influential to the performance of rocket engines, where instabilities caused by the coupling of heat release, atomization, and acoustics can lead to catastrophic failure. Furthermore, resonant acoustic fields show potential for manipulating and controlling fuel sprays dynamically. By applying recently advanced computational techniques, we investigate the relationship between the acoustics and atomization processes involved in such scenarios. After first demonstrating the accuracy of our flow solver in predicting the levitation of liquid droplets, we simulate a turbulent liquid jet in a periodic domain, exposed to resonant acoustic fields of differing magnitude. Described by the acoustic radiation Bond number, which involves the sound properties, surface tension, and initial jet diameter, these cases range in Bond number from 0 to 1.5. In this canonical setting, the resulting liquid instabilities, break-up behavior, and evolution of hydrodynamic variables are studied.