Ethanol Droplet Combustion at Elevated Pressures and Enhanced Oxygen Concentrations

摘要

In an effort to gain a better understanding of ethanol combustion, isolated droplet experiments were performed by varying initial droplet diameter, oxygen concentration, and ambient pressure. Experiments were performed at the NASA Glenn 2.2 sec. drop tower and the JAMIC 10 sec. dropshaft. These experiments revealed that while ethanol droplets burned in 1 atmosphere air without soot formation, luminous radiation from soot particles at higher pressures, with increased sooting at higher oxygen indices were observed. The measurement of the burning rate, soot standoff ratio and soot volume fraction are described. These experiments provide the first measurements of the soot volume fraction for ethanol droplets burning under microgravity conditions.Ethanol is a fuel that is regaining its popularity for use in practical applications.