Results in Engineering (Mar 2024)
Distribution function and atomization parameters of petroleum fuels sprays: An experimental and numerical study
Abstract
Heavy fuels are difficult to spray. To investigate the burning of this fuel and create an appropriate combustion chamber, one must first understand the atomization process and spray properties of petroleum fuels. The Diesel spray behavior compared to Mazut fuel spray gives us an understanding of the atomization phenomenon of fuels. The most crucial fuel atomization characteristics include droplet diameter, spray angle, breakdown length, and droplet distribution. The shadowgraphy technique is used to capture images of fuel spray, which are then processed using image analysis software. The size and speed of the fuel spray droplets are predicted using the maximum entropy method. From a pressure difference of 15 bar onwards, the rate of mass flow remains almost constant. The fuels spray cone angle initially increases, and after the flow approaches full atomization, it reaches approximately a constant value. The breakup length and droplets diameter decrease with increasing fuel temperature and pressure, and with the full development of the flow, they tend to almost zero. By raising the fluid's viscosity, the diameter size distribution of the droplets becomes more uniform and smooth (unlike velocity distribution). In this research, an attempt has been made to develop experimental and numerical methods to measure the powdering parameters of a heavy non-Newtonian oil fuel called Mazut and a light petroleum fuel called diesel, as well as to investigate the spray behavior of these fuels.
