Application of the planar laser-induced fluorescence method to determine the temperature field ofwater droplets under intensive heating

Presented are results of experimental investigations concerned with formation of a nonstationary and essentially nonuniform temperature field of a water droplet (initial radius of 1 mm to 2 mm) under intensive heating in a flow of heated air (from 50?C to 1000?C). The method used for this purpose was a noncontact optical planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) method. It is shown that temperature distribution in a water droplet is essentially inhomogeneous even under prolonged heating (to several tens of seconds). Reliability of the results of measurements by the noncontact PLIF method was analyzed by applying a group of fast miniature thermocouples. Restrictions of using the PLIF method for studying temperatures fields of evaporating droplets under high-temperature heating (over 800?C) were marked out. Characteristic times of droplet existence (complete evaporation) were determined. It was analyzed how the temperature difference in a water droplet affects this parameter during heating and intensive phase transitions. It was substantiated that it is expedient to consider essentially inhomogeneous and nonstationary temperature field of a water droplet inmathematical modeling of the heat andmass transfer processes in high-temperature gas–vapor-droplet systems (corresponding, e.g., to burning or heat cleaning of liquids, firefighting, production of composite and gaseous fuels, their combustion, etc.).     

Modeling the Water Droplet Evaporation Processes with Regard to Convection,Conduction and Thermal Radiation

A predictive model was developed for investigation of high-temperature heating and evaporation of water droplets. The model takes into account the basic interrelated processes of heat transfer and phase transitions. Typical velocity and temperature profiles were found in the high-temperature gas–water droplet system with external gas medium temperature varied from 100 to 800°C. Various formulations of the problem, significantly different in the type of considered processes and factors, are considered.We analyzed temperature conditions of heating and evaporation of water droplets, which allow the use of simplified models and which need consideration of all complex interrelated processes of heat and mass transfer (including convection, conduction and radiant heat transfer in droplets, and also in the surface vapor–gas layer).     

Laser-induced fluorescence imaging of acetone inside evaporating and burning fuel droplets

Laser-induced fluorescence was used to visualize acetone fields inside individual droplets of pure acetone as well as droplets composed of methanol or 1-propanol initially mixed with acetone. Droplets were supported on a horizontal wire and two vaporization conditions were investigated: (1) slow evaporation in room air and (2) droplet combustion, which leads to substantially faster droplet surface regression rates. Acetone was preferentially gasified, causing its concentration in droplets to drop in time with resultant decreases in acetone fluorescence intensities. Slowly vaporizing droplets did not exhibit large spatial variations of fluorescence within droplets, indicating that these droplets were relatively well mixed. Ignition of droplets led to significant variations in fluorescence intensities within droplets, indicating that these droplets were not well mixed. Ignited droplets composed of mixtures of 1-propanol and acetone showed large time-varying changes in shapes for higher acetone concentrations, suggesting that bubble formation was occurring in these droplets.     

Mechanism of heat transfer in heterogeneous droplets of water under intense radiant heating

Thermocouple measurements of temperature have been performed at three main points of heterogeneous water droplet–high-temperature gases system: on the surface and in the depth of a solid inclusion, as well as on the free surface of the water droplet. Investigations have been carried out for water droplets of an initial volume of 5–15 μl with single inclusions of cubic graphite particles of a typical size of 1 mm. The gas temperature varied from 700 K to 1200 K, which corresponds to the main practical applications: thermal purification of water from solid and liquid impurities, fire extinguishing, treatment of heat-loaded surfaces of power equipment, etc. A hypothesis about the dominant role of radiant heat transfer in vaporization within heterogeneous water droplets has been grounded. It has been shown that in a short period (a few seconds), the surface temperature of an opaque solid inclusion within a droplet can reach the boiling point of water. A significant change in the optical properties of water with increasing temperature has been revealed, i.e., water became partially transparent to the infrared radiation. Presence of an opaque heterogeneous inclusion enhances this effect due to intensification of the heating of the water film. The heat and mass transfer characteristics obtained in the experiments were used for designing a model that takes into account the radiative properties of water film and adequately reproduces the results of thermocouplemeasurements. Based on the findings of the investigations, a conclusion has been formulated that models of high-temperature evaporation of water droplets should be developed with due account of changes in the optical properties of water and formation of a vapor buffer layer around inclusions.     

Investigation of droplet combustion in strained counterflow diffusion flames using planar laser-induced fluorescence

Experimental investigation of an isolated droplet burning in a convective flow is reported. Acetone droplets were injected in a steady laminar diffusion counterflow flame operating with methane. Planar laser-induced fluorescence measurements applied to OH radical and acetone was used to measure the spatial distribution of fuel vapour and the structure of the flame front around the droplet. High-magnification optics was used in order to image flow areas with a ratio of 1:1.2. The different combustion regimes of an isolated droplet could be observed from the configuration of the envelope flame to that of the boundary-layer flame, and occurrence of these regimes was found to depend on the droplet Reynolds number. Experimental results were compared with 1D numerical simulations using detailed chemistry for the configuration of the envelope flame. Good agreement was obtained for the radial profile of both OH radical and fuel vapour. Influence of droplet dynamics on the counterflow flame front was also investigated. Results show that the flame front could be strongly distorted by the droplet crossing. In particular, droplets with high velocity led to local extinction of the flame front whereas droplets with low velocity could ignite within the flame front and burn on the oxidiser side. PACS 33.50.-j; 42.62.-b; 47.55.D-; 47.70.Pq; 47.80.Jk     

Appearance of cool flame in flame spread over fuel droplets in microgravity

This research conducted microgravity experiments to investigate phenomena appearing around a droplet existing outside the flame-spread limit. n-Decane droplets are tethered at intersections of SiC fibers. The flame spreads to two- or three-interactive droplets to heat a droplet placed outside the flame-spread limit of the interactive droplets. The cool-flame appearance during the flame spread over droplets was detected using different methods. The droplet diameter was measured with a back illumination to evaluate the vaporization-rate constant and to judge whether the cool flame appears or not. The temperature around the droplet was measured by the thin-filament pyrometry using a near-infrared camera to detect the temperature rise due to cool-flame appearance. The infrared radiation distribution from the combustion products was measured using a mid-wave infrared camera to judge the cool-flame appearance. The results show that a cool flame appears around the droplet existing outside the hot-flame-spread limit and the vaporization completes with the cool flame if the heat input from the hot flame is sufficiently large. This type of flame spread is called hot-to-cool flame spread. The definition of flame spread should be extended considering the cool flame.     

Experimental analysis of shape deformation of evaporating droplet using Legendre polynomials

Experiments involving heating of liquid droplets which are acoustically levitated, reveal specific modes of oscillations. For a given radiation flux, certain fluid droplets undergo distortion leading to catastrophic bag type breakup. The voltage of the acoustic levitator has been kept constant to operate at a nominal acoustic pressure intensity, throughout the experiments. Thus the droplet shape instabilities are primarily a consequence of droplet heating through vapor pressure, surface tension and viscosity. A novel approach is used by employing Legendre polynomials for the mode shape approximation to describe the thermally induced instabilities. The two dominant Legendre modes essentially reflect (a) the droplet size reduction due to evaporation, and (b) the deformation around the equilibrium shape. Dissipation and inter-coupling of modal energy lead to stable droplet shape while accumulation of the same ultimately results in droplet breakup.     

A study of ignition and combustion of liquid hydrocarbon droplets in premixed fuel/air mixtures in a rapid compression machine

The combustion of two fuels with disparate reactivity such as natural gas and diesel in internal combustion engines has been demonstrated as a means to increase efficiency, reduce fuel costs and reduce pollutant formation in comparison to traditional diesel or spark-ignited engines. However, dual fuel engines are constrained by the onset of uncontrolled fast combustion (i.e., engine knock) as well as incomplete combustion, which can result in high unburned hydrocarbon emissions. To study the fundamental combustion processes of ignition and flame propagation in dual fuel engines, a new method has been developed to inject single isolated liquid hydrocarbon droplets into premixed methane/air mixtures at elevated temperatures and pressures. An opposed-piston rapid compression machine was used in combination with a newly developed piezoelectric droplet injection system that is capable of injecting single liquid hydrocarbon droplets along the stagnation plane of the combustion chamber. A high-speed Schlieren optical system was used for imaging the combustion process in the chamber. Experiments were conducted by injecting diesel droplet of various diameters (50 µm < d_o < 400 µm), into methane/air mixtures with varying equivalence ratios (0 < ϕ < 1.2) over a range of compressed temperatures (700 K < T_c < 940 K). Multiple autoignition modes was observed in the vicinity of the liquid droplets, which were followed by transition to propagating premixed flames. A computational model was developed with CONVERGE™, which uses a 141 species dual-fuel chemical kinetic mechanism for the gas phase along with a transient, analytical droplet evaporation model to define the boundary conditions at the droplet surface. The simulations capture each of the different ignition modes in the vicinity of the injected spherical diesel droplet, along with bifurcation of the ignition event into a propagating, premixed methane/air flame and a stationary diesel/air diffusion flame.     

Temperature and fiber optic spectroscopy composition measurements of heated propanol–acetone droplets

Time-dependent temperatures and compositions within individual fiber-supported droplets initially from about 2–3 mm in diameter were investigated. In the experiments, droplets were composed of mixtures of 1-propanol and acetone. The droplets evaporated in room air, where the air was heated by placing an electrically heated coil underneath the droplets. The experiments employed thin optical fibers to carry light from a UV–vis light source into and out of a droplet. The time-dependent UV absorption spectrum of the liquid between the fiber ends was measured using a spectrometer coupled to one of the fibers. This spectrum yielded real-time information on the composition of the liquid. Droplet temperatures were simultaneously measured using a thermocouple that was immersed into the liquid. Results demonstrate that droplet evaporation follows a multi-stage process and that acetone is preferentially gasified from a droplet.     

Microgravity experiments on droplet motion during flame spreading along three-fuel-droplet array

Flame spreading along a fuel droplet array at microgravity has been studied as a simple model of spray combustion. A three droplet array with a pendulum suspender was employed to investigate interactions between flame spreading and droplet motion in the array direction. Initial droplet diameter was 0.8 mm and fuel was n-heptane. A silicon carbide pendulum suspender of 15 μm in diameter and 30 mm in length was used for the third droplet. The first fixed droplet was ignited by electric spark. Behavior of the flame and the third droplet was observed using a high-speed video camera. Dimensionless span, which is the averaged droplet span divided by the averaged initial diameter of the three droplets, was varied from 2.7 to 10. Large displacement of the movable droplet was observed after group flame grew around the movable droplet. As the initial dimensionless span increased, the averaged droplet speed after the occurrence of flame spreading to the movable droplet increased steeply, taking the maximum value around 5 in initial dimensionless span, and then decreased gradually. The movable droplet advanced toward the second droplet in small spans and moved away from the second droplet in large spans. The direction of the motion changed around 4.6 in initial dimensionless span. Flame spread induction time from the second to the third droplet increased exponentially as the initial dimensionless span was increased. The induction time of flame spreading to a movable droplet was longer than that of flame spreading to a fixed droplet. From calculations of flame spreading along a 20-droplet array, it was predicted that the droplet speed nearly converged after flame spread to the sixteenth droplet. The maximum speed of the nineteenth droplet appeared around 7.5 in the initial dimensionless span.     

Determination of temperature and concentration of a vapor–gas mixture in a wake of water droplets moving through combustion products

Characteristic temperatures and concentrations of a vapor–gas mixture in a wake of water droplets moving through combustion products (initial temperature 1170 K) were determined using the Ansys Fluent mathematical modeling package. We investigated two variants of motion: motion of two droplets (with sizes from 1 mm to 3 mm), consecutive and parallel, and motion of five staggered droplets. The influence of the relative position of droplets and also of distances between them (varied from 0.01 mm to 5 mm) on temperatures and concentrations of water vapor was established. The distances determine the relation between the evaporation areas and the total volume occupied by a droplet aggregate in the gas medium. The results of modeling for conditions that take into account vaporization on the droplet surface at average constant values of evaporation rate and also with consideration of the change in the latter, depending on the droplet temperature field, are compared. We determined conditions under which the modeling results are comparable for the assumption of a constant vaporization rate and with regard to the dependence of the latter on temperature. The earlier hypothesis on formation of a buffer vapor layer (“thermal protection”) around a droplet, which decreases the thermal flow from the external gas medium, was validated.     

Visualization of aggregation process of dispersed water droplets and the effect of aggregation on secondary atomization of emulsified fuel droplets

The effect of aggregation of dispersed water droplets on secondary atomization of emulsified fuel droplets in a heating process was investigated. Secondary atomization was observed using a single droplet experiment in which a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsified fuel droplet prepared using colored water was heated by a halogen heater. The initial diameter of dispersed water droplets before heating was controlled, and the change in the diameter of dispersed water droplets was measured by image analysis. As a result, the aggregation process of dispersed water droplets in the heating process was successfully visualized. The dispersed water droplet diameter increased with an increase in W/O emulsified fuel droplet temperature. The occurrence probability of micro-explosion increased with an increase in the dispersed water droplet diameter in emulsified fuel droplets. It is suggested that the occurrence probability of micro-explosion can be increased by accelerating the aggregation and coalescence of dispersed water droplets below 430 K, which is the average temperature of the starting point of puffing.     

Peculiarities of aluminum particle combustion in steam

This work experimentally addresses aluminum combustion in steam, pure or mixed with diluents, for aluminum particles in size range 40∼80 µm, using an electrodynamic levitator. High-speed videos unveil an unreported and complex mechanism in steam, not observed in other oxidizers. The detached flame is quite faint and very close to the surface. Alumina smoke around the droplet rapidly condenses and coalesces into a large, single orbiting alumina satellite. It eventually collides the main aluminum droplet while generating secondary alumina droplets. A unique feature is the presence of several distinct oxide lobes on the droplet, which merge only at the end of burning and encapsulate the remaining aluminum, possibly promoting an incomplete combustion. The measured burning times in pure water vapor are longer than expected and the efficiency of steam is found to be 30% that of oxygen, lower than the usually accepted value of 60%. A general correlation on burning time, including the major oxidizers, is proposed. Direct numerical simulations are conducted and are in line with experiments, in terms of burning rate or flame stand off ratio. Combustion in steam seems mostly supported by surface reactions, giving a faint flame with low gas temperatures and high hydrogen content. It is speculated that those two specific features could help explain the peculiarity of steam.     

Collisions of Two-Phase Liquid Droplets in a Heated Gas Medium

The paper presents the experimental research findings for the integral characteristics of processes developing when two-phase liquid droplets collide in a heated gas medium. The experiments were conducted in a closed heat exchange chamber space filled with air. The gas medium was heated to 400–500 °C by an induction system. In the experiments, the size of initial droplets, their velocities and impact angles were varied in the ranges typical of industrial applications. The main varied parameter was the percentage of vapor (volume of bubbles) in the droplet (up to 90% of the liquid volume). The droplet collision regimes (coalescence, bounce, breakup, disruption), size and number of secondary fragments, as well as the relative volume fraction of vapor bubbles in them were recorded. Differences in the collision regimes and in the distribution of secondary fragments by size were identified. The areas of liquid surface before and after the initial droplet breakup were determined. Conditions were outlined in which vapor bubbles had a significant and, on the contrary, fairly weak effect on the interaction regimes of two-phase droplets.     

Observation of droplet motion during flame spread on three-fuel-droplet array with a pendulum suspender

Flame spread on a fuel droplet array has been studied as a simple model of spray combustion. A three-fuel-droplet array with a pendulum suspender was employed to investigate interactions between flame spread and droplet motion in the axial direction. Initial droplet diameter was 0.8 mm, and fuel was n-heptane. A silicon carbide pendulum suspender of 15 μm in diameter and 30 mm in length was used for the third droplet. The first fixed droplet was ignited by electric spark. Behavior of the flame and the third droplet was observed using a high-speed video camera with an image intensifier. Particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) measurements were performed to explain the behavior of the third movable droplet. The dimensionless droplet span, which is the average of droplet-to-droplet distances divided by the average initial diameter of the three droplets, was varied from 2.5 to 8 for observing flame spread, and fixed at 5.5 for PTV measurements. It was observed that the third droplet moved away from the second droplet before the flame spread to the third droplet. The displacement of the third droplet is remarkable when the dimensionless droplet span is close to the limit of flame spread. This implies that the movement of the droplet decreases the dimensionless span of the flame spread limit and the flame spread speed near the flame spread limit. Results of PTV measurements suggest that the heat expansion wave, caused by ignition of the premixture which was accumulated around the second droplet, and the burned gas flow from the second droplet pushed away the third droplet; then natural convection, induced by the flames of the first and second droplets, drew the third droplet to the second droplet. The heat expansion wave and the burned gas flow of the second droplet reached nearly 12 in dimensionless span.     

Comparison of techniques for non-intrusive fuel drop size measurements in a subscale gas turbine combustor

In aviation gas turbine combustors, many factors, such as the degree and extent of fuel/air mixing, and fuel vaporization achieved prior to combustion, influence the formation of pollutants. To assist in analyzing the extent of fuel/air mixing, flow visualization techniques have been used to interrogate the fuel distributions during subcomponent tests of lean-burning fuel injectors. Combustor pressures (up to 14 bar) and air inlet temperatures (up to 680K) were typical of actual gas turbine engine operating conditions. Discrimination between liquid and vapor phases of the fuel was accomplished by comparing planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) images, elastically-scattered light images, and phase/Doppler interferometer measurements. Estimates of Sauter mean diameters are made by ratioing PLIF and Mie scattered intensities for various sprays, and factors affecting the accuracy of these estimates are discussed. Mie calculations of absorption coefficients indicate that the droplet fluorescence intensities are proportional to their surface areas, instead of their volumes, due to the high absorbance of the liquid fuel for the selected excitation wavelengths.     

Growth of tin oxide nanotubes by aerial carbothermal evaporation

One-dimensional nanostructures of tin oxide nanotubes were fabricated by carbothermal evaporation at 900°C in air. The synthesized film was grown on Au-coated (100) Si substrate. Heterogeneous catalysis by Au/Sn droplets assisted the formation of the tin oxide nanotubes of less than 40 nm diameter at Sn vapor pressures around 1.4×10⁻⁷ Pa. In order to reduce the nanotube diameter further, an increase in the Sn vapor pressure by changing the source materials’ ratio seemed viable.     

Expansion,injection and micro-explosion phenomena during the full combustion cycle of mixed fuel droplets of ethyl alcohol and biodiesel

In this study, mixed fuel droplets of ethyl alcohol and biodiesel with different volumes or ratios were prepared and the related expansion, injection and micro-explosion phenomena were investigated. During the tests, a mixed-fuel droplet was hung on a high-temperature-resistant Cr-Ni wire, which was transported to the preheating piston for heating and then was ignited automatically. Micro-needles and an infusion set also were employed to prepare mixed droplets with identical ratios but different volumes. Using a single-lens-reflex (SLR) camera, colour videos that captured the combustion process of the mixed droplets were taken and were processed into colour images using Adobe Premiere Pro CC. The colour image series were analysed to determine the ignition delay time, the burnout time and the flame characteristics during combustion of mixed droplets with different ratios. Instantaneous grey images were obtained by means of high-speed photography during combustion of the mixed droplets with different volumes and different ratios, and of droplets of E40 (in which the volume ratio of ethyl alcohol was 40%). Using Image pro plus and Origin software, the variation of normalised mean droplet diameter with time over the whole combustion cycle was calculated and the underlying reasons for various combustion phenomena were analysed.     

Appearances of internal micro bubbling, multiple micro explosions, multiple micro jets and micro diffusion flames around an abruptly heated micro plastic-resin particle

Heating, gasifying and burning processes of a micro plastic-resin particle, which has a diameter of about 200 μm and is suddenly exposed to a hot oxidizing atmosphere, are observed and optically processed by combining a micro schlieren system with a high-speed CCD video camera. The following three devised approaches are introduced: the use of an oxidizing combustion gas downstream of a spark-ignited propane–air lean premixed flame as a sudden heat source, the use of a spherically reformed micro particle on a fine tungsten wire of 5 μm diameter, and the use of a simultaneous direct and schlieren optical system. The first technique realizes slow heating and enables a micro resin particle to undergo the same circumstances as those experienced by plastic-resin particles in the plastic-resin powder combustion. The second approach improves the accuracy and reproducibility of image processing, whereas the third optical system gives simultaneous pictures of the transparent visible image and the schlieren image around a micro resin particle of one heating process. The results show that there exists intense multiple internal bubbling, multiple micro explosions, multiple micro jets and micro diffusion flames, and that their existence exerts strong influences on gasification characteristics of a micro resin particle and results in a high burning rate constant.