PhD Studentship: Spray Testing for Improvements in Primary Break Up Modelling

Modern numerical simulation of spray break-up for gas turbine atomisation applications relies heavily upon the use of primary atomisation models, which predict drop size and position based upon local gas/liquid phase conditions. Whilst direct simulations of breakup are possible, computational cost is high, restricting applications to small sections of geometry and for modest run times.

Measurements on fuel injectors relevant to current design standards have shown significant influence of injector aerodynamics on the dispersed spray distribution and the importance of prefilming fuel flows on defining the initial separated fuel length scales.

Fundamental to the definition of primary breakup correlations is the Weber number, which describes the ratio between air momentum and fuel surface tension and therefore, the ability of a liquid fuel structure to resist deformation by the air stream. This is of particular relevance to gas turbine fuel injectors which are operated at high pressure and temperature within the engine environment.

The aim of the proposed research is to develop modern primary atomisation models which better capture the atomisation physics associated with modern aerospace airblast atomisers.

To ensure high quality measurement data, enabling meaningful correlations, measurements will be performed on a simplified prefilming geometry, with aero and hydrodynamic features representative of a modern aerospace airblast atomiser. This will support the development of high fidelity simulations.

Primary supervisor: Mark Brend

Secondary supervisor: Andrew Garmony

Entry requirements:

Applicants should have or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 (or equivalent) in any engineering degree programme, physics or mathematics.

English language requirements:

Applicants must meet the minimum English language requirements. Further details are available on the International website (http://www.lboro.ac.uk/international/applicants/english/).

Funding information:

The studentship is for 3 years and provides a tax-free stipend of £20,780 per annum for the duration of the studentship plus tuition fees at the UK rate. Due to funding restrictions, this is only available to those eligible for UK fees.

How to apply:

All applications should be made online via the above ‘Apply’ button. Under Campus, please select "Loughborough" and select Programme "Aeronautical Engineering Ph.D (Full Time)". Please quote the advertised reference number * AAE-MB-2509 * in your application.

To avoid delays in processing your application, please ensure that you submit the minimum supporting documents. The following selection criteria will be used by academic schools to help them make a decision on your application.

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