Structure of a burning n-heptane spray generated from a pressure-jet atomizer

Conference · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:10153189

Avedisian, C T ^[1]; Presser, C; Semerjian, H G ^[2]; Gupta, A K ^[3]

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1. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
2. National Inst. of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (United States). Center for Chemical Technology
3. Maryland Univ., College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

The combustion of liquid sprays is the central component of the operation of most energy conversion devices which used liquid fuels. In addition, an understanding of liquid spray combustion is becoming increasingly important for the disposal of liquid hazardous wastes within spray fired and rotary kiln incinerators. Central to our ability to efficiently and cleanly incinerate such wastes is an understanding of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the internal structure of sprays. The present work was undertaken to study the structure of an n-heptane flame. The intent was to observe both the exterior and interior features of the burning spray over a range of swirl conditions. Previous investigations performed with kerosene flames revealed the presence of an intense luminous yellow zone which extended over nearly the entire length of the flame. By contrast, the use of a single-component fuel -- heptane in particular-- allowed the internal structure of a burning spray to be observed directly, because of a region of relatively low luminosity which extends over the upstream portion of the spray flame. The study of heptane may provide data for validation of fundamental models of spray combustion, because of the availability of the physical properties of heptane. The importance of observing the internal structure of a burning spray resides in the information which can be obtained about such parametric effects as swirl and nozzle type on the size and spatial distributions of the droplets, droplet trajectories, and vapor flow field. This information can be used as guidelines for more quantitative studies of spray structure via such nonintrusive, techniques as laser velocimetry and light scattering methods obtained. The advantage of studying burning sprays is to observe the spray characteristics under realistic conditions. 5 refs.

• Research Organization: National Inst. of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (United States). Center for Chemical Technology
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AI01-86CE90213
• OSTI ID: 10153189
• Report Number(s): CONF-881215--7; ON: DE92015581
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
025000
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400800
ATOMIZATION
COMBUSTION
COMBUSTION KINETICS
COMBUSTION, PYROLYSIS, AND HIGH-TEMPERATURE CHEMISTRY
DROPLETS
FLAME PROPAGATION
FLAMES
HEPTANE
KEROSENE
LIQUID FUELS
SPRAYS