Recent advances in physical understanding and quantitative prediction of impinging-jet dynamics and atomization

Abstract Impinging-jet injectors are widely used in liquid propulsion applications, since their simple configuration provides reliable and efficient atomization. The flowfield involves a series of complicated spatio-temporal evolutions. Much effort has been directed toward understanding the underlying physics and developing quantitative predictions of impinging-jet atomization. This paper summarizes the recent advances in this direction, including state-of-the-art theoretical, experimental, and numerical studies, along with representative results. Finally, concluding remarks address remaining challenges and highlight modeling capabilities of high-fidelity simulations.