Flash boiling atomization is a promising approach to enhance spray atomization with internal energy as the driving force as well. Past investigations primarily focused on the morphologies and macroscopic characteristics of flash boiling sprays. Recently, with the advances in experimental techniques and the need in developing cleaner and more efficient combustion systems, thorough and detailed analyses were carried out on flash boiling atomization. This review article will introduce and discuss recent flash boiling advances using experimental approaches. This work will first discuss the gas-liquid, two-phase features in the nozzle and the impacts on the primary breakup of flash boiling sprays. Then, the characteristics of the external flash boiling spray plumes will be discussed with a dense vapor and sparse droplet feature. Furthermore, practical issues in adopting flash boiling atomization such as injector tip-wetting and spray wall impingement effects are covered in the flash boiling regime. Finally, practical applications of flash boiling atomization in combustors such as reciprocating internal combustion engines are presented. It is aimed that this review can provide an up-to-date summary of the current state-of-the-art of flash boiling atomizations and shed light on the future development of active flashing atomization techniques.

闪蒸雾化是一种以内能为驱动力增强喷雾雾化的有前途的方法。过去的研究主要集中在闪蒸喷雾的形态和宏观特征。近年来，随着实验技术的进步和开发更清洁、更高效的燃烧系统的需要，对闪蒸雾化进行了彻底和详细的分析。这篇综述文章将介绍和讨论最近使用实验方法进行闪蒸的进展。这项工作将首先讨论喷嘴中的气液两相特征以及对闪蒸喷雾初级破碎的影响。然后，将讨论具有稠密蒸汽和稀疏液滴特征的外部闪蒸喷雾羽流的特征。此外，闪蒸方案涵盖了采用闪蒸雾化的实际问题，例如喷射器尖端润湿和喷雾壁冲击效应。最后，介绍了闪蒸雾化在往复式内燃机等燃烧室中的实际应用。本综述的目的是提供闪蒸雾化当前最先进技术的最新总结，并揭示主动闪蒸雾化技术的未来发展。