Multicomponent droplet combustion with rapid internal mixing

Abstract

Two models are proposed to describe the gas-phase diffusion-controlled, unsteady combustion of a multicomponent droplet in a stagnant, unbounded atmosphere. The first, termed the Ideal-Mixture Model, assumes that the mixture behaves as an ideal mixture in its phase change characteristics, and that the composition and temperature within the droplet are spatially uniform but temporally varying. Expressions are obtained for the droplet vaporization rate and other quantities of interest. Sample solutions indicate that the components vaporize approximately sequentially in the order of their relative volatilities, and that the vaporization rate is insensitive to the mixture composition during combustion as well as during pure vaporization in hot environments. Available experimental evidence supports the theoretical model. The second model, termed the Shell Model, assumes a shelled distribution of the components such that quasi-steady, single-component vaporization prevails for each shell. Simplified solutions are derived and are shown to closely approximate the bulk vaporization behavior described by the more detailed Ideal-Mixture Model, particularly for the prediction of the total vaporization time.