Direct Numerical Simulations of a Planar Jet Laden with Evaporating Droplets

A direct numerical simulation (DNS) study is conducted on the various aspects of phase interactions in a planar turbulent gas-jet laden with non-evaporative and evaporative liquid droplets. A compressible computational model utilizing a finite difference scheme for the carrier gas and a Lagrangian solver for the droplet phase is used to conduct the numerical experiments. The effects of droplet time constant, mass-loading and mass/momentum/energy coupling between phases on droplet and gas-jet fields are investigated. Significant changes in velocity, temperature, density and turbulence production on account of the coupling between the liquid and gas phases are observed in non-isothermal jets with evaporating droplets. Most of these changes are attributed to the density stratification in the carrier gas that is caused by droplet momentum and heat transfer.