Measurements of burning velocities of dimethyl ether and air premixed flames at elevated pressures

Laminar burning velocities of dimethyl ether (DME) and air premixed flames at elevated pressures up to 10 atm were measured by using a newly developed pressure-release type spherical bomb. The measurement system was validated using laminar burning velocities of methane–air flames. A comparison with the previous experimental data shows an excellent agreement and demonstrates the accuracy and reliability of the present experimental system. The measured flame speeds of DME–air flames were compared with the previous experimental data and the predictions using the full and reduced mechanisms. At atmospheric pressure, the measured laminar burning velocities of DME–air flames are in reasonable agreement with the previous data from spherical bomb method, but are much lower than both predictions and the experimental data of the PIV based counterflow flame measurements. The laminar burning velocities of DME–air flames at 2, 6, and 10 atm were also measured. It was found that flame speed decreases considerably with the increase of pressure. Moreover, the measured flame speeds are also lower than the predictions at high pressures. In addition, experiments showed that at high pressures the rich DME–air flames are strongly affected by the hydrodynamic and thermal-diffusive instabilities. Markstein lengths and the overall reaction order at different equivalence ratios were extracted from the flame speed data at elevated pressures. Sensitivity analysis showed that reactions involving methyl and formyl radicals play an important role in DME–air flame propagation and suggested that systematic modification of the reactions rates associated with methyl and formyl formations are necessary to reduce the discrepancies between predictions and measurements.     

Non-linearity parameter B/A of binary liquid mixtures at elevated pressures

When sound waves of high amplitude propagate, several non-linear effects occur. Ultrasonic studies in liquid mixtures provide valuable information about structure and interaction in such systems. The present investigation comprises of theoretical evaluation of the acoustic non-linearity parameter B/A of four binary liquid mixtures using Tong and Dong equation at high pressures and T=303.15 K. Thermodynamic method has also been used to calculate the non-linearity parameter after making certain approximations.     

液滴撞击加热壁面传热实验研究

本文采用高速摄像仪对水滴和乙醇液滴撞击加热壁面后的蒸发过程进行了实验观测, 分析了液滴撞击加热壁面后的蒸发特性参数. 实验中, 两种液体初始温度均为20 ℃, 不锈钢壁面初始温度范围为68-126℃. 水滴初始直径为2.07 mm, 撞击壁面时Weber 数为2-44; 乙醇液滴初始直径为1.64 mm, Weber数为3-88. 结果表明, 液滴受到重力、表面张力及流动性的影响, 在蒸发过程的大部分时间内, 水滴高度持续降低而接触直径几乎不变; 蒸发后期, 液滴发生回缩, 水滴的接触直径、高度和接触角出现振荡现象. 乙醇液滴的接触角随时间的增加呈现先减小随后保持不变的趋势, 而接触直径和高度则持续减小, 直到液滴完全蒸发. 液滴蒸发总时长与液体物性和壁面温度有关, 随壁面温度的升高而减小, 与液滴撞击壁面时的Weber 数无关. 同时, 随着壁面温度的升高, 液滴显热部分占总换热量的比重增大, 显热部分能量不可忽略, 本文实验条件下得到水滴的平均热流密度为0.014-0.110 W·mm^-2.     

Fermi surface and metallic properties of graphite at high pressures

A potential of superconductivity of pure graphite has been theoretically examined. At normal pressure, the carrier concentration is too low to exhibit superconductivity. On applying pressure, the band dispersion along the c-axis is significantly enhanced, resulting in an increase in the carrier concentration; 10²⁰ cm^-3 at p=30 GPa. This is favorable to observe superconductivity. Accurate Fermi surfaces are illustrated: a new Fermi surface appears around K point at p=25 GPa.     

A numerical study of quasi-steady burning characteristics of a condensed fuel: effect of angular orientation of fuel surface

A numerical study of laminar diffusion flames established over a condensed fuel surface, inclined at several angular orientations in the range of –90°?θ?+90° with respect to the vertical axis, under atmospheric pressure and normal gravity environment, is presented. Methanol is employed as the fuel. A numerical model, which solves transient gas-phase, two-dimensional governing conservation equations, with a single-step global reaction for methanol–air oxidation and an optically thin radiation sub-model, has been employed in the present investigation. Numerical results have been validated against the experimental data from the present study. Thereafter, the model is used to investigate the influence of angular orientation of fuel surface on its quasi-steady burning characteristics. Results in terms of fuel mass burning rate, flame stand-off distances, temperature field, velocity profiles and oxygen contours have been presented and discussed in detail. It is observed that orientation angles in the range of –45°?θ? –30° (fuel surface facing upwards), yield the maximum mass burning rates. The flame anchoring location near the leading edge of the fuel surface, normal gradient of fuel vapor mass fraction at the surface and oxygen contours have been used to explore this unique behavior. Based on the numerical results, a theoretical correlation to predict the mass burning rate as a function of fuel surface orientation is also proposed. Furthermore, a discussion on the differences in the structure of laminar diffusion flame established over fuel surface as a function of its angular orientation is included.     

A comparative study of droplet impact dynamics on a dual-scaled superhydrophobic surface and lotus leaf

The impact dynamics of water droplets on an artificial dual-scaled superhydrophobic surface was studied and compared with that of a lotus leaf with impact velocity V up to 3 m/s. The lower critical impact velocity for the bouncing of droplets was about 0.08 m/s on both surfaces. At relatively low impact velocities, regular rebound of droplets and air bubble trapping and flow jetting on both surfaces were observed as V was increased. For intermediate V, partial pinning and rebound of droplets were found on the artificial dual-scaled surface due to the penetration of the droplets into the micro- and nano-scale roughness. On the lotus leaf, however, the droplets bounced off with intensive vibrations instead of being partially pinned on the surface because of the irregular distribution of microbumps on the leaf. As the impact velocity was sufficiently high, droplet splashing occurred on both surfaces. The contact time and restitution coefficient of the impinging droplets were also measured and discussed.     

A high figure of merit localized surface plasmon sensor based on a gold nanograting on the top of a gold planar film

We investigate the sensitivity and figure of merit （FOM） of a localized surface plasmon （LSP） sensor with gold nanograting on the top of planar metallic film. The sensitivity of the localized surface plasmon sensor is 317 nm/RIU, and the FOM is predicted to be above 8, which is very high for a localized surface plasmon sensor. By employing the rigorous coupled-wave analysis （RCWA） method, we analyze the distribution of the magnetic field and find that the sensing property of our proposed system is attributed to the interactions between the localized surface plasmon around the gold nanostrips and the surface plasmon polarition on the surface of the gold planar metallic film. These findings are important for developing high FOM localized surface plasmon sensors.