Xueliang Zhu

Superheated liquids such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquid chlorine, liquid ammonia, and liquid hydrogen are widely used in modern industries and daily lives. Structural failure of an industrial superheated liquid tank or pipe usually results in flashing jets consisting of a mixture of massive droplets and vapor due to the violent phase transition. By the violent and drastic phase change, the consequent jet, which is normally called flashing jet, evaporates rapidly and is split into massive droplets. As the current measurement tools such as high-speed photography and laser diagnosis technology develop rapidly, the breakup of flashing jets has been proved to be the joint effort of thermodynamic and mechanical effects. However, they failed to demonstrate the relationship between the mentioned two effects. My PhD research especially priorities the breakup regimes and characteristics of the consequent flashing jet and focuses on the relationship between thermodynamic and mechanical effects. The research will be performed using the improved and self-designed experimental platform as well as some simple CFD methods. My primary aim is to reveal the form regimes of droplets and vapor in flashing jets, deepen the understanding of the vapor-liquid two-phase phenomenon and provide some basic knowledge for the prevention, control and response of such accidents.