Square Of Droplet Diameter Research Articles

Numerical Simulation of Decontamination of Airborne Fission Products during In-Vessel Release Phase by Containment Spray

The containment spray system (CSS) has a significant role in limiting the risk of radioactive exposure to the environment. In this work, the optimal droplet size and pH value of spray water to prevent the fission product release have been evaluated to improve the performance of the spray system during in-vessel release phase. A semikinetic model has been developed and implemented in MATLAB. The sensitivity and removal rate of airborne isotopes with the spray system have been simulated versus the spray activation and failure time, droplet size, and pH value. The alkaline (Na2S2O3) spray solution and spray water with pH 9.5 have similar scrubbing properties for iodine. However, the removal rate from the CSS has been found to be an approximately inverse square of droplet diameter (1/d2) for Na2S2O3 and higher pH of spray water. The numerical results showed that 450 μm–850 μm droplet with 9.5 pH and higher or the alkaline (Na2S2O3) solution with 0.2 m3/s–0.35 m3/s flow rate is optimal for effective scrubbing of in-containment fission products. The proposed model has been validated with TOSQAN experimental data.

Heat and mass transfer of a fuel droplet evaporating in oscillatory flow

A numerical study of the heat and mass transfer from an evaporating fuel droplet in oscillatory flow was performed. The flow was assumed to be laminar and axisymmetric, and the droplet was assumed to maintain its spherical shape during its lifetime. Based on these assumptions, the conservation equations in a general curvilinear coordinate were solved numerically. The behaviors of droplet evaporation in the oscillatory flow were investigated by analyzing the effects of flow oscillation on the evaporation process of a n-heptane fuel droplet at high pressure. The response of the time history of the square of droplet diameter and space-averaged Nusselt numbers to the main flow oscillation were investigated in frequency band of 1–75 Hz with various oscillation amplitudes. Results showed that, depending on the frequency and amplitude of the oscillation, there are different modes of response of the evaporation process to the flow oscillation. One response mode is synchronous with the main flow oscillation, and thus the quasi-steady condition is attained. Another mode is asynchronous with the flow oscillation and is highly unsteady. As for the evaporation rate, however, in all conditions is more greatly enhanced in oscillatory flow than in quiescent air. To quantify the conditions of the transition from quasi-steady to unsteady, the response of the boundary layer around the droplet surface to the flow oscillation was investigated. The results led to including the oscillation Strouhal number as a criteria for the transition. The numerical results showed that at a low Strouhal number, a quasi-steady boundary layer is formed in response to the flow oscillation, whereas by increasing the oscillation Strouhal number, the phenomena become unsteady.

The Combustion of a Liquid Fuel Droplet during Forced Convection

A new experimental technique was used to investigate single fuel droplet combustion during forced convection: the burning droplet was freely suspended in the controlled air stream, without any additional support. Based on the photo-records of the burning process, the characteristics of the change of square of droplet diameter with time were made and the actual values of burning constants were determined for four hydrocarbon fuels: ben zene, n-heptane, iso-octane and toluene. The experiments were also carried out under micro-gravity and free convection conditions for the same set of fuels. The investigations have allowed the comparison of the burning mechanism of a single droplet for the three different external conditions and have compared quantitatively the burning constants. On the basis of the color pictures of the droplet burning under forced convection conditions and the temperature and gas concentration measurements within the flame, the mechanism of combus tion of fuel droplet was explained. The physical and mathematical models of the process have been proposed which included the aerodynamics of the droplet located in the high Reynolds number air stream, the energy balance of the evaporating droplet and the chemical reaction in the flow. The models have made it possible to determine the quantitative dependence of the burning con stant of different kinds of fuels on Reynolds number, the flow field parameters and the physical and chemical parameters of the liquid and its close surround ings. The calculated values of the parameters describing the burning pro cess have been compared to the experimental data and to the results reported by other investigators. The model has revealed the importance of the feed back mechanism between physical processes involved during droplet combus tion.