Transient convective burning of interactive fuel droplets in single-layer arrays

Abstract

The transient convective burning of n-octane droplets interacting within single-layer arrays in a hot gas flow perpendicular to the layer is studied numerically, with considerations of droplet surface regression, deceleration due to the drag of the droplets, internal liquid motion, variable properties, non-uniform liquid temperature and surface tension. Infinite periodic arrays, semi-infinite periodic arrays with one row of droplets (linear array) or two rows of droplets, and finite arrays with nine droplets with centers in a plane are investigated. All arrays are aligned orthogonal to the free stream direction. This paper compares the behavior of semi-infinite periodic arrays and finite arrays with the behavior of previously studied infinite periodic arrays. Furthermore, it identifies the critical values of the initial Damköhler number for bifurcations in flame behavior at various initial droplet spacing for all these arrays. The initial flame shape is either an envelope flame or a wake flame as determined by the initial Damköhler number, the array configuration and the initial droplet spacing. The critical initial Damköhler number separating initial wake flames from initial envelope flames decreases with increasing interaction amongst droplets at intermediate droplet spacing (when the number of rows in the array increases or the initial droplet spacing decreases for a specific number of rows in the array). In the transient process, an initial wake flame has a tendency to develop from a wake flame to an envelope flame, with the moment of wake-to-envelope transition advanced for the increasing interaction amongst droplets at intermediate droplet spacing. For the array with nine droplets with centers in a plane, the droplets at different types of positions have different critical initial Damköhler number and different wake-to-envelope transition time for initial wake flame.