%0 Journal Article %A Harari, Ronen %A Sher, Eran %D 1998 %I Begell House %N 3 %P 349-362 %R 10.1615/AtomizSpr.v8.i3.60 %T BIMODAL DROP SIZE DISTRIBUTION BEHAVIOR IN PLAIN-JET AIRBLAST ATOMIZER SPRAYS %U https://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/6a7c7e10642258cc,267a1b17632d5b79,1ff034dd7a85236b.html %V 8 %X A plain-jet, external-mixing, airblast atomizer has been studied. A bimodal drop size distribution behavior has been observed, where two different drop size populations have been identified. It was observed that as a result of the impingement of the air stream on the liquid jet, a portion of the liquid flows back toward the orifice, arrives at the orifice surface, spreads outward as a thin film in the radial direction, and is then atomized by the air stream emerging from the annular slot. While the large-drop population is generated by the atomization process occurring at the liquid-air collision region, the small-drop population is generated by the backflow mechanism. This phenomenon has been studied experimentally and an approximate analysis has been proposed to describe it. %8 1998-06-01