Microgravity experiments of single droplet combustion in oscillatory flow at elevated pressure

Abstract

An experimental study for 1-butanol single droplet flames in constant and oscillatory flow fields was conducted under microgravity conditions at elevated pressure. In the constant flow experiments, flow velocities from 0 to 40 cm/s were tested. Using obtained data of d 2, the burning rate constants were evaluated. The burning rate constant in the quiescent condition was also calculated successfully at high pressure by the extrapolation method based on the Frössling relation. In the oscillatory flow experiments, the flow velocities were varied from 0 to 40 cm/s at the frequencies of 2–40 Hz. Results showed that the burning rate constant during the droplet lifetime varied following the quasi-steady relation at 0.1 MPa; however, in the conditions with higher frequencies at 0.4 MPa, the average burning velocity became larger than that for the constant flow case with the velocity equivalent to the maximum velocity in the oscillatory flow. Under the condition where the burning rate constant increased, it was observed that the flame did not sufficiently move back upstream, leading to enhancement of the heat transfer from the flame to the droplet surface. Therefore, the instantaneous burning rate constant increased. To investigate the mechanism of such flame behavior, the ratio of two characteristic times, τ f / τ D ( τ f : flow oscillation characteristic time, τ D : diffusion characteristic time), were compared. As the flow oscillatory frequency increased, τ f / τ D becomes smaller. τ f / τ D also became smaller at high pressure. If τ f / τ D is small due to the small mass diffusion rate, the droplet flame could not move back to the appropriate position for the minimum velocity in steady flow, leading to an increase of the burning rate constant, especially in the case of higher frequency at high pressure.