Burning of fuel layers on a turbulent water surface with an immersed conductive object

Abstract

This study experimentally investigates the burning dynamics of dodecane and heptane with a vertical-immersed copper rod on a turbulent water surface. The water surface turbulence is isotropic across the pool area created by an upward-directed axisymmetric submerged jet, with turbulence intensity ranging from 0.017 to 0.033 m/s. The copper rod (dr= 10 and 20 mm) is placed at the burning zone where the bottom section is immersed in both the fuel and water sublayer. The experiments reveal a strong dependence on burning behavior with the fuel type (heptane and dodecane are used) and the presence of turbulence. In quiescent conditions, the copper rod causes the burning rate to decrease by 28% for dodecane and increase by 13% for heptane because of the differences in nucleate boiling behaviors observed on the immersed section of the copper rod. With turbulence in the water sublayer, the nucleate boiling reduces, and the burning rate for both fuel types decreases because of the heat losses caused by the portion of the rod immersed in water. A mathematical model for the mass burning rate, including the effects of the immersed rod and turbulent water sublayer, is developed and validated using the experimental results. A parametric study using the model shows the influence of multiple immersed rods and the corresponding implications to a practical application of oil spill clean-up by burning.