Influences of support fibers on vaporizing fuel droplets.

Abstract: Detailed computational modeling is performed to study influences of support fibers on vaporizing fuel droplets. Droplets are supported on thin fibers and vaporize in high-temperature and high-pressure environments with cross flows that are perpendicular to the fiber. Droplet Reynolds numbers, based on initial droplet diameters are 0.1, 4, and 30. The temperature distribution inside a support fiber is almost one-dimensional with significant gradients being formed only along the fiber axis, leading to heat transfer along the fiber into a droplet. Strong capillary flows can be generated on the surface of a droplet because of heating from the support fiber. The capillary flows can influence droplet size histories by causing faster mixing within droplets, leading to reduced vaporization rates at early times. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]