Visualized experimental study on the process of high-pressure gas jet impacting on liquid-water column

To investigate the interaction laws governing the interaction between a gas jet and a liquid medium during the process of liquid-balanced launching, and to elucidate the influence of high-temperature gas on the characteristics of the gas–liquid multiphase flow field, a specialized visual experiment platform was designed and constructed for studying high-pressure gas jet impacts on a liquid-water column. Experiments were conducted involving both single-phase gas jet impacts and high-pressure gas jet impacts of varying temperatures on the liquid-water column. A dynamic data acquisition system and an image acquisition system were employed to document the pressure variation patterns within each chamber and the evolution of the jet flow field. The experimental findings revealed the following: The interaction between the high-pressure gas jet and the liquid medium induced pressure fluctuations within the gas chamber connected to the nozzle. Specifically, as the gas temperature increased, the amplitude of these pressure fluctuations also increased. On impact of the high-pressure gas jet, an arc-shaped head gas cavity formed within the liquid-water column. Higher gas temperatures led to a more rapid and unstable development of both the gas cavity and the gas–liquid multiphase flow field. Subsequently, the columnar liquid-water broke into numerous small droplets and dispersed into the atmospheric environment once the gas cavity exited the confinement of the tail tube. In addition, the vaporization of liquid-water due to high-temperature gas impact resulted in significant water vapor generation, contributing to irregularities in the evolution of the gas–liquid multiphase flow field. The displacement equation of the gas cavity adhered to a first-order exponential decay function, and the established mathematical model exhibited a goodness of fit exceeding 0.99. These findings provide a valuable reference for accurate interior ballistic modeling of the liquid-balanced launching of tubular weapons.