Entropy Production Analysis in Pressure-Swirl Nozzle Flow Fields with Implications for Data-Driven Fault Diagnosis

Pressure-swirl nozzles serve as critical components in complex industrial systems such as fuel injection and combustion devices, where their atomization performance directly determines system efficiency and operational reliability. This study resorts to numerical simulation integrated with entropy analysis theory, aiming to systematically dissect the distribution characteristics of hydraulic losses within the spray field of pressure swirl nozzles and the evolutionary pattern of entropy production as inlet pressures vary. The findings revealed that entropy production from turbulent dissipation serves as the predominant contributor to hydraulic loss, accounting for approximately 80% of the total loss, while wall dissipation entropy production contributes only about 0.02%, demonstrating a negligible impact. Through curve fitting, a quantitative mapping relationship between entropy production and pressure is further established. Notably, the swirl chamber, identified as the primary fault-sensitive zone, exhibits significantly higher entropy production than the external flow field, with its fully developed spray process contributing approximately 70% of the total entropy generation. This work provides a theoretical foundation for nozzle optimization and presents a novel data-driven framework for intelligent fluid component management in complex engineering systems and fault diagnosis.