Planar liquid volume fraction and SMD distribution of Jatropha vegetable oil spray: effect of ethanol blending and GLR

Abstract

This research paper presents the planar distribution of Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) and liquid volume fraction in airblast sprays of Jatropha vegetable oil. The effect of ethanol blending at different gas to liquid mass ratios (GLRs) is presented. The planar SMD distributions are obtained using Structured Laser Illumination and Planar Imaging-Laser Sheet Drop sizing (SLIPI-LSD) and Particle/droplet Imaging Analysis (PDIA) techniques. The straight vegetable oil (SVO) spray showed poor atomization at GLR 1, which rose with increasing GLR. The blending of ethanol significantly improved the atomization of SVO even at GLR 1 condition. The liquid volume fraction distribution increased with higher GLR and with the increase in the percentage of ethanol in the blend. The impact of the increase in ethanol on drop size is small at GLR of 5. The E30 blend showed uniformly distributed liquid in the spray plane with uniform SMD distribution in the range of 50 \(\upmu \)m at GLR 5.