Experimental studies on combustion and atomization characteristics of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons droplets

Abstract

This study focused on how the properties of alcohols (ethanol, methanol, n-butanol), ketones (acetone), alkanes (hexane), esters (ethyl acetate), methyl benzenes (toluene), and ethers (diethyl ether) shape individual combustion and atomization behaviors. The experimentation conducted at the droplet scale involved suspending fuel droplets on a ceramic wire and subsequently igniting them for analysis. Experiments were recorded with a high-speed camera and a thermal camera with a spectral range of 7.5–14 μm. The results showed that the flame of the oxygenated fuel droplets, unlike non-oxygenated fuels, has a high non-luminous region seen throughout the combustion process. The diameter reduction of the fuel droplets during combustion tended to obey the D2-law. Single and multicomponent fuel droplets are hemispherical for preheating (Stage I) and hemispherical in droplet disruption mode for combustion and droplet diameter decrease (Stage II). Hexane, diethyl ether, and ethyl acetate were the fuels that were extinguished in the shortest time among the fuels studied here with extinction times of 1.021 s, 0.925 s, and 0.885 s, respectively. Hexane, diethyl ether, acetone, and diesel droplets had the minimum ignition delay times according to the experimental conditions in this study. In terms of maximum flame temperature, ethyl acetate exhibited the highest value among oxygenated fuel droplets, reaching 155 °C, while toluene demonstrated the highest maximum flame temperature of 244 °C among all fuel types, including non-oxygenated fuels.