Enhancing Instruction in Fuels and Combustion Laboratory via a Developed Computer-assisted Program for Establishing Efficient Coal-Diesel Oil Mixture (CDOM) Fuel Proportions

摘要

This paper discusses the relevance of digital computation in Fuels and Combustion Laboratory Experiments used by the senior students of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, De La Salle University-Manila, Philippines. One of the students' experiments involved the determination of the most efficient CDOM fuel proportion as alternative fuel to diesel oil for steam generators and other industrial applications. Theoretical calculations show that it requires tedious and repetitive computations. A computer-assisted program was developed to lessen the time-consuming activities. The formulation of algorithms were based on the system of equations of the heal interaction between the CDOM fuel, combustion air and products of combustion and by applying the principles of mass and energy equations (or the First Law of Thermodynamics) for reacting systems were utilized. The developed computer-assisted program output verified alternative fuel selected through actual experimentation.