Effect of inlet water vapor mass fraction on flow characteristics in Laval nozzle

Abstract The Laval nozzle is an important component of the supersonic cyclone to achieve the change of gas–liquid two-phase, and the condensation characteristics of the Laval nozzle have an important influence on the separation performance of the supersonic cyclone. In this work, the effect of inlet water vapor mass fraction on the condensation characteristics in the Laval nozzle was investigated using numerical simulation and experimental methods by establishing a three-dimensional numerical model of air-water vapor supersonic condensation flow. The flow field structures in the Laval nozzle under different inlet water vapor mass fractions were investigated, including Mach number, pressure, and temperature and the effects of the inlet water vapor mass fraction on the liquefaction characteristics in the Laval nozzle were investigated. In addition, the droplet distribution in the Laval nozzle were also tested by a particle image velocimetry (PIV) experimental system. The comparison of simulation and experimental results indicates that the numerical model established in this work can effectively describe the real flow situation in the Laval nozzle. The results show that the inlet water vapor mass fraction has a little effect on the flow field structure in the Laval nozzle, and has the significant impact on the water vapor condensation characteristics. With increasing the inlet steam mass fraction from 5 % to 12.5 %, the nucleation rate, droplet number, and separation efficiency in the Laval nozzle increase to 4.05 × 1021 kg−1 s−1, 3.67 × 1014 kg−1, and 79.4 %, respectively, and when further increasing the inlet steam mass fraction to 15 %, these parameters decrease.