Cryogenic sprays have many applications in modern engineering. Cooling of electronic equipment subject to high heat flows, surgical ablation of gastrointestinal mucosae or orbital maneuvering are a few examples of their versatility. However, the atomization of a cryogenic liquid is a complex process. During such an event, aerodynamic effects associated with secondary atomization are further affected by thermodynamic flashing. A better understanding of the characteristics of cryogenic sprays is then necessary to allow for improved design and optimization in applications. The overarching objective of this study is to document such characteristics. The numerical simulation was performed over cryogenic nitrogen spray using an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. In other words, while the gas phase of the flow is treated as a continuum, the nitrogen droplets are tracked individually in a Lagrangian sense. Models for evaporation, atomization, and breakups capture the physical processes experienced by droplets along their pathways. In addition, turbulence in the flow is captured by the k-omega SST model. Simulations performed over a wide range of nozzle inlet pressure suggest that the spray cone angle tends to remain constant. In contrast, the diameter of droplets along the centerline of the spray reduces significantly. Finally, it was noticed that a higher concentration of liquid nitrogen is observed on a target plate as the nozzle inlet pressure increases.
","abstract_html":"<p>Cryogenic sprays have many applications in modern engineering. Cooling of electronic equipment subject to high heat flows, surgical ablation of gastrointestinal mucosae or orbital maneuvering are a few examples of their versatility. However, the atomization of a cryogenic liquid is a complex process. During such an event, aerodynamic effects associated with secondary atomization are further affected by thermodynamic flashing. A better understanding of the characteristics of cryogenic sprays is then necessary to allow for improved design and optimization in applications. The overarching objective of this study is to document such characteristics. The numerical simulation was performed over cryogenic nitrogen spray using an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. In other words, while the gas phase of the flow is treated as a continuum, the nitrogen droplets are tracked individually in a Lagrangian sense. Models for evaporation, atomization, and breakups capture the physical processes experienced by droplets along their pathways. In addition, turbulence in the flow is captured by the k-omega SST model. Simulations performed over a wide range of nozzle inlet pressure suggest that the spray cone angle tends to remain constant. In contrast, the diameter of droplets along the centerline of the spray reduces significantly. Finally, it was noticed that a higher concentration of liquid nitrogen is observed on a target plate as the nozzle inlet pressure increases.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Shah, Neel Kishorkumar"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Aerospace Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-12-16T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-12-16T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:23Z","subjects":["Cryogenic","Spray","Liquid Nitrogen","Ansys Fluent","Flashing Effect","Evaporation","Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics","Computational Engineering","Heat Transfer, Combustion"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/edt/637","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Shah, Neel Kishorkumar"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Aerospace Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Cryogenic","Spray","Liquid Nitrogen","Ansys Fluent","Flashing Effect","Evaporation","Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics","Computational Engineering","Heat Transfer, Combustion"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/637"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Cryogenic sprays have many applications in modern engineering. Cooling of electronic equipment subject to high heat flows, surgical ablation of gastrointestinal mucosae or orbital maneuvering are a few examples of their versatility. However, the atomization of a cryogenic liquid is a complex process. During such an event, aerodynamic effects associated with secondary atomization are further affected by thermodynamic flashing. A better understanding of the characteristics of cryogenic sprays is then necessary to allow for improved design and optimization in applications. The overarching objective of this study is to document such characteristics. The numerical simulation was performed over cryogenic nitrogen spray using an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. In other words, while the gas phase of the flow is treated as a continuum, the nitrogen droplets are tracked individually in a Lagrangian sense. Models for evaporation, atomization, and breakups capture the physical processes experienced by droplets along their pathways. In addition, turbulence in the flow is captured by the k-omega SST model. Simulations performed over a wide range of nozzle inlet pressure suggest that the spray cone angle tends to remain constant. In contrast, the diameter of droplets along the centerline of the spray reduces significantly. Finally, it was noticed that a higher concentration of liquid nitrogen is observed on a target plate as the nozzle inlet pressure increases.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Numerical Simulation of a Cryogenic Spray"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Shah, Neel Kishorkumar"],"dc:description.abstract":["Cryogenic sprays have many applications in modern engineering. Cooling of electronic equipment subject to high heat flows, surgical ablation of gastrointestinal mucosae or orbital maneuvering are a few examples of their versatility. However, the atomization of a cryogenic liquid is a complex process. During such an event, aerodynamic effects associated with secondary atomization are further affected by thermodynamic flashing. A better understanding of the characteristics of cryogenic sprays is then necessary to allow for improved design and optimization in applications. The overarching objective of this study is to document such characteristics. The numerical simulation was performed over cryogenic nitrogen spray using an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. In other words, while the gas phase of the flow is treated as a continuum, the nitrogen droplets are tracked individually in a Lagrangian sense. Models for evaporation, atomization, and breakups capture the physical processes experienced by droplets along their pathways. In addition, turbulence in the flow is captured by the k-omega SST model. Simulations performed over a wide range of nozzle inlet pressure suggest that the spray cone angle tends to remain constant. In contrast, the diameter of droplets along the centerline of the spray reduces significantly. Finally, it was noticed that a higher concentration of liquid nitrogen is observed on a target plate as the nozzle inlet pressure increases.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/637"],"dc:subject":["Cryogenic","Spray","Liquid Nitrogen","Ansys Fluent","Flashing Effect","Evaporation","Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics","Computational Engineering","Heat Transfer, Combustion"],"dc:title":["Numerical Simulation of a Cryogenic Spray"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Aerospace Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:23Z"}