A numerical study of evaporation characteristics of spherical n-dodecane droplets in high pressure nitrogen environment

Abstract

Evaporation of stagnant (zero relative velocity) as well as moving spherical droplets of n-dodecane in a zero-gravity and high pressure nitrogen environment is modeled. The non-ideal effects, solubility of ambient gas into the liquid-phase, variable thermo-physical properties, and gas- and liquid-phase transients are included in the model. The model is quantitatively validated using published experimental data. Numerical predictions show that, for stagnant droplets at sub-critical ambient temperatures, the droplet lifetime continuously increases with pressure, while at critical temperature, the lifetime initially increases and thereafter remains almost constant. At super-critical temperatures, the lifetime decreases continuously with increasing ambient pressure and the average evaporation constant shows a local maximum at a particular ambient pressure. In the case of moving droplets, at super-critical ambient temperature, the rate of increase of average evaporation constant with ambient pressure becomes significant as the initial droplet relative velocity increases. For low initial velocities (<1 m/s), the average evaporation constant gradually increases with ambient pressure and subsequently levels-off with further increase in ambient pressure. The droplet lifetime decreases with increase in ambient pressure or initial velocity. Penetration distance of the moving droplets decreases with ambient pressure and increases with initial droplet relative velocity. The mechanisms influencing the differences in evaporation under varying conditions of pressure and temperature are discussed.