Droplet transport in alcohol-based spray flames using phase /Doppler interferometry

摘要

Studies with alternative fuels (i.e., methanol and ethanol) are of particular interest because of the current initiative to gradually replace the limited supply of conventional fossil fuels (i.e., gasoline, heating oils, etc.) Alcohol-based fuels are attractive, since they burn much more cleanly and represent a potential to reduce the environmental impact of combustion processes. Investigation of the effect of the alcohol fuels on spray and flame characteristics (i.e., droplet size and velocity) is important since chemical and physical properties of the fuel have a significant influence upon droplet atomization, vaporization, transport, combustion, and pollutant and particulate formation processes. This paper examines the effects of physical and chemical properties of two alcohol fuels on droplet transport processes of swirling spray flames. Experiments were carried out with methanol and miscible mixture of methanol/1-dodecanol. The mixture fuel was selected to investigate the possibility of microexplosions in spray flames. Droplet size and velocity distributions were obtained using a phase/Doppler system. Laser sheet beam photography was also used to observe the internal features of pressure-atomized spray flames.