Fuel injection apparatus

A fuel injection apparatus comprising:

• a fuel injector having a cylindrical housing, a tubular body centrally disposed within the cylindrical housing and spaced apart therefrom so as to define a first annular air passage therebetween, fuel swirl means disposed within the tubular body for imparting a swirl to an inlet stream of fuel, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart struts disposed intermediate the tubular body and cylindrical housing;
• a primary shroud generally coaxially spaced downstream from the fuel injector defining a central core air passage therethrough;
• secondary air swirl means disposed intermediate the injector and primary shroud to impart a circumferential swirl component to the flow through the core wherein the secondary swirl component is in the same circumferential direction as the fuel swirl;
• tertiary air swirl means disposed downstream of the secondary swirl means to impart a circumferential swirl component in the direction opposing that of the secondary swirl means, such that fuel reaching the downstream end of the primary shroud is atomized by the shear stresses developed by the counter-rotating aerodynamic forces at the confluence of the secondary and tertiary swirls;
• and
• wherein the interior surface of the cylindrical housing downstream from the tubular body converges to a minimum diameter orifice and thereafter diverges outwardly, terminating in a transverse edge upstream of the primary shroud so as to generally define a venturi whereby fuel may be sheared from the transverse edge by the coaction of air flowing through the central core air passage and the vortical flow emanating from the secondary air swirl means into direct impingement on the interior surface of the primary shroud.