Atomization and Sprays, Vol.4, No.5, 565-582, 1994
EFFECTS OF INITIAL MULTISIZE DROPLET DISTRIBUTIONS ON POLYDISPERSE SPRAY JET FAR-FIELD DIFFUSION FLAMES
In the present study, we examine the effects of initial droplet size distributions of multisize (polydisperse) fuel sprays on the spatial distributions of droplets, fuel vapor, and temperature in spray-jet far-field diffusion flames. A comparison of five kinds of initial droplet size distributions is carried out. These are: (A) a spray of ''small'' droplets of diameters initially within the range of 20 to 25.2 mu m; (B) a ''bimodal'' size distribution with spray droplets initially in two size groups, ''small,'' 20-25.2 mu m, and ''large,'' 80-100.8 mu m; (C) a spray in which all droplets are initially of a ''medium size, '' between 40 and 50.4 mu m; (D) a spray in which all droplets are initially ''large'' and are within the limits of the size group of 80-100.8 mu m; (E) a spray in which all droplets are of the size of the Sauter mean diameter of the bimodal spray, or 31.8-40 mu m. All other parameters, such as the flow field, the total amount of injected fuel, the evaporation model, and the chemical reaction model, are kept the same for each of the five cases. Solutions are presented here for the spatial evolution in local droplet size distributions. The latter determine the amounts of fuel vapors that are released locally via the evaporation process. Thus, the present study encompasses the mutual relations among local droplet size distributions, local fuel vapor concentrations, and the spatial temperature field distribution resulting from the combustion process. The spatial variations of these physical properties are explained in the article, emphasizing the differences among the five kinds of initial droplet size distributions. Significant differences are found in the concentration of droplets and fuel vapors in the far field and in relatively cold areas in the jet's outer envelope. These differences depend strongly on the initial size distribution and may also be important in future studies of emission of pollutants. Two other important conclusions of the present study are, first, that a spray of an initial ''bimodal'' size distribution cannot be replaced by an initial average size distribution; and second, that the presence of small droplets in the initial bimodal size distribution significantly affects the behavior of the large droplets in the spray flame.