An experimental study of the evaporation characteristics of emulsified liquid droplets

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation, into the effect of water in diesel and kerosene emulsions, on the evaporation time of a single droplet, on hot surfaces (stainless-steel and aluminum). Experiments are performed at atmospheric pressure, and initial water volume concentrations of 10, 20, 30, and 40%. The wall temperatures ranging from 100–460 °C, to cover the entire spectrum of heat transfer characteristics from evaporation to film boiling. Results show that, qualitatively, the shapes of emulsion evaporation curves are very similar to that of pure liquids. Quantitavely, there are significant differences. The total evaporation time, for the emulsion droplets is lower than that for diesel and kerosene fuels, and decreased as water initial concentration increases, up to surface temperatures less than the critical temperature. The value of the critical surface temperature (maximum heat transfer rate), decreases as initial concentration of water increases. In the film-boiling region, the evaporation time for the emulsion droplets is higher than for diesel and kerosene droplets, at identical conditions.List of Symbols h_fg latent heat of vaporization, KJ/kg - m mass of the droplet, gm - T_b boiling temperature, °C - T_c critical temperature, °C - T_L Leidenfrost temperature, °C - T_s initial surface temperature of the hot surface, °C