Ligament characterization of atomizing non-Newtonian liquid sheets: Fractal dimension

As gel propellants are increasingly used in rocket engines, non-Newtonian liquid atomization has emerged as a research subject of great interest. This paper addresses the atomization of flat sheets of aqueous xanthan gum solution, which are formed from two jets ejected from impinging injectors. Based on the experimental photos, it has been found that gel liquid sheets do not break up directly into droplets that can be characterized as spheres with Sauter mean diameter; instead, a mass of ligaments is observed. Therefore, this paper will introduce fractal dimension as a new parameter, related to the quality of atomization under these experimental conditions; and a power-law correlation between fractal dimension and Reynolds number of liquid jets has been achieved.