Near-critical jet disintegration studies are performed in a specialised shock tube. Both the injection and test conditions can be varied systematically from subcritical to supercritical values (with respect to the injectant). Three different injection regimes have been identified. Their inception is basically determined by the initial fuel temperature and expansion ratio and has been predicted on basis of a thermodynamic analysis of the injection paths. All three disintegration modes are investigated by means of high-speed Schlieren and Mie imaging for determining the jet lateral spreading and internal structure. The main objective of the present work is to gain a better insight in the physical processes, occurring in the different disintegration regimes and to provide an experimental database for model validation.
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