SUMMARY

Primary atomization, the process of forming droplets from a high pressure jet, is not a well understood phenomena because it is difficult to study experimentally. Primary atomization occurs on the micron scale over the course of nanoseconds. While numerous experiments have attempted to image primary atomization, they all lack the spatial and temporal resolution to visualize droplet formation. To study droplet formation in primary atomization, a high performance Spectral Microscopy system was designed and implemented. This is a novel experimental method for obtaining high speed (20 Million fps), high resolution (24MP, 1.2μm resolving power) images. These images are used to study the evolution of fluid structures in an engine relevant spray and evaluate assumptions in models of primary atomization.