Atomization characteristics of aviation kerosene RP-3 and single component hydrocarbon fuel n-decane were tested to study the feasibility of n-decane as an atomization surrogate fuel of aviation kerosene in component testing stage.Results showed that

at room temperature

atomization Sauter mean diameter (SMD) located at igniter orifice of the two fuels was measured using Malvern laser particle size measurement system when the air pressure drop through the swirler was 0

500

2000Pa

and the fuel pressure varied from 0.1MPa to 1.0MPa by 0.1MPa uniformly.SMD of the two fuels decreased slowly when fuel pressure increased to more than 0.5MPa

showing that atomization process of the two fuels basically completed

and the atomization SMD was between 30-45μm.When the air pressure drop was the same

the atomization SMD of n-decane was slightly larger than that of aviation kerosene due to the slightly larger viscosity and surface tension.When the fuel pressure was more than 0.5MPa

physical properties of the fuels and aerodynamic force around the atomization could be ignored

and the atomization SMD of the two fuels was very close.Further

the experimental data were analyzed and fitted to obtain the empirical relationship of atomization SMD of the two fuels in swirl flow.The relative difference of the fit coefficients was about 7%

so

n-decane could be used as the physical surrogate fuel of aviation kerosene atomization after appropriate correction.