There are several methods to calculate the mean diameter of droplets,such as arithmetic mean

diameter and sauter mean diameter.They are distinguished according to the applications to which they
are applied.

SAUTER MEAN DIAMETER:

In fluid dynamics, Sauter mean diameter (SMD, d32 or D[3, 2]) is an of average particle size. It was
originally developed by German scientist J. Sauter in the late 1920s [1]. It is defined as the diameter of a
sphere that has the same volume/surface area ratio as a particle of interest.

The SMD can be defined as the diameter of a drop having the same volume/surface area ratio as
the entire spray.

fi is the scalar variable for the dispersed phase

di is the discrete bubble size
SMD is especially important in calculations where the active surface area is important. Such
areas include catalysis and applications in fuel combustion.

In spray nozzle field,sauter mean diameter is used in almost exclusively,and is expressed by the
following formula:-

Σ di3 .∋ ¿ ¿
2
Σ di .∋¿ ¿

(The ratio of the sum total of volume to that of surface area of the measured droplets.)

Therefore,the sauter mean diameter is called “vol-surface mean diameter” and commonly abbreviated
as “Ds3” or “SMD”.

In a high injection velocity,the sauter mean diameter increases with an increase in ambient pressure,but
it decreases when ambient pressure is increased at a low injection velocity.

According to the effect of injection velocity and ambient pressure an break-up length and the drop-size
of the spray formation mechanisms can be divided into two categories, the function of the injection
velocity and the physical properties of the liquid.