Accurate treatment of size distribution effects in polydisperse spray diffusion flames: multi-fluid modelling, computations and experiments

An Eulerian multi-fluid model is validated by comparison with experimental measurements in the test case of laminar spray counterflow diffusion flames. Special attention is devoted, both from the modelling and experimental point of view, to the treatment of the droplet distribution tail, characterized by the rare occurrence of relatively large droplets carrying a non-negligible amount of mass. The Eulerian multi-fluid approach is shown to capture the dynamics, evaporation and heating of the droplets with a limited number of sections and, thus, at a modest cost. This simplification will be essential for the use of multi-fluid methods in multi-dimensional problems.