Reduced Gravity Studies of Soret Transport Effects in Liquid Fuel Combustion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaw, Benjamin D.

2004-01-01

Soret transport, which is mass transport driven by thermal gradients, can be important in practical flames as well as laboratory flames by influencing transport of low molecular weight species (e.g., monatomic and diatomic hydrogen). In addition, gas-phase Soret transport of high molecular weight fuel species that are present in practical liquid fuels (e.g., octane or methanol) can be significant in practical flames (Rosner et al., 2000; Dakhlia et al., 2002) and in high pressure droplet evaporation (Curtis and Farrell, 1992), and it has also been shown that Soret transport effects can be important in determining oxygen diffusion rates in certain classes of microgravity droplet combustion experiments (Aharon and Shaw, 1998). It is thus useful to obtain information on flames under conditions where Soret effects can be clearly observed. This research is concerned with investigating effects of Soret transport on combustion of liquid fuels, in particular liquid fuel droplets. Reduced-gravity is employed to provide an ideal (spherically-symmetrical) experimental model with which to investigate effects of Soret transport on combustion. The research will involve performing reduced-gravity experiments on combustion of liquid fuel droplets in environments where Soret effects significantly influence transport of fuel and oxygen to flame zones. Experiments will also be performed where Soret effects are not expected to be important. Droplets initially in the 0.5 to 1 mm size range will be burned. Data will be obtained on influences of Soret transport on combustion characteristics (e.g., droplet burning rates, droplet lifetimes, gas-phase extinction, and transient flame behaviors) under simplified geometrical conditions that are most amenable to theoretical modeling (i.e., spherical symmetry). The experiments will be compared with existing theoretical models as well as new models that will be developed. Normal gravity experiments will also be performed.

Liquid droplet radiator performance studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattick, A. T.; Hertzberg, A.

By making use of droplets rather than solid surfaces to radiate waste heat in space, the liquid droplet radiator (LDR) achieves a radiating area/mass much larger than that of conventional radiators which use fins or heat pipes. The lightweight potential of the LDR is shown to be limited primarily by the radiative properties of the droplets. The requirement that the LDR heat transfer fluid have a very low vapor pressure limits the choice of fluids to relatively few—several liquid metals and Dow 705 silicone fluid are the only suitable candidates so far identified. An experimental determination of the emittance of submillimeter droplets of Dow 705 fluid indicates than an LDR using this fluid at temperatures of 275-335 K would be ⋍ 10 times lighter than the lightest solid surface radiators. Although several liquid metals appear to offer excellent performance in LDR applications at temperatures between 200 K and 975 K, experimental determination of liquid metal emissivities is needed for a conclusive assessment.

Liquid droplet radiator performance studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattick, A. T.; Hertzberg, A.

1984-01-01

By making use of droplets rather than solid surfaces to radiate waste heat in space, the liquid-droplet radiator (LDR) achieves a radiating area/mass much larger than that of conventional radiators which use fins or heat pipes. The light-weight potential of the LDR is shown to be limited primarily by the radiative properties of the droplets. The requirement that the LDR heat-transfer fluid have a very low vapor pressure limits the choice of fluids to relatively few several liquid metals and a silicone fluid are the only suitable candidates so far identified. An experimental determination of the emittance of submillimeter droplets of the silicon fluid indicates that an LDR using this fluid at temperatures of 275-335 K would be about 10 times lighter than the lightest solid-surface radiators. Although several liquid metals appear to offer excellent performance in LDR applications at temperatures between 200 and 975 K, experimental determination of liquid-metal emissivities is needed for a conclusive assessment.

Liquid droplet radiator performance studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattick, A. T.; Hertzberg, A.

1984-10-01

By making use of droplets rather than solid surfaces to radiate waste heat in space, the liquid-droplet radiator (LDR) achieves a radiating area/mass much larger than that of conventional radiators which use fins or heat pipes. The light-weight potential of the LDR is shown to be limited primarily by the radiative properties of the droplets. The requirement that the LDR heat-transfer fluid have a very low vapor pressure limits the choice of fluids to relatively few several liquid metals and a silicone fluid are the only suitable candidates so far identified. An experimental determination of the emittance of submillimeter droplets of the silicon fluid indicates that an LDR using this fluid at temperatures of 275-335 K would be about 10 times lighter than the lightest solid-surface radiators. Although several liquid metals appear to offer excellent performance in LDR applications at temperatures between 200 and 975 K, experimental determination of liquid-metal emissivities is needed for a conclusive assessment.

Droplet-turbulence interactions in subcritical and supercritical evaporating sprays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Santavicca, Domenic A.; Coy, Edward; Greenfield, Stuart; Song, Young-Hoon

1991-01-01

The objective of this research is to obtain an improved understanding of droplet turbulence interactions in vaporizing liquid sprays under conditions typical of those encountered in liquid fueled rocket engines. The interaction between liquid droplets and the surrounding turbulent gas flow affects droplet dispersion, droplet collisions, droplet vaporization and gas-phase, fuel-oxidant mixing, and therefore has a significant effect on the engine's combustion characteristics. An example of this is the role which droplet-turbulence interactions are believed to play in combustion instabilities. Despite their importance, droplet-turbulence interactions and their effect on liquid fueled rocket engine performance are not well understood. This is particularly true under supercritical conditions, where many conventional concepts, such as surface tension, no longer apply. Our limited understanding of droplet-turbulence interactions, under both subcritical conditions, represents a major limitation in our ability to design improved liquid previously unavailable information and valuable new insights which will directly impact the design of future liquid fueled rocket engines, as well as, allow for the development of significantly improved spray combustion models, making such models useful design tools.

Fiber-Supported Droplet Combustion Experiment-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colantonio, Renato O.

1998-01-01

A major portion of the energy produced in the world today comes from the burning of liquid hydrocarbon fuels in the form of droplets. Understanding the fundamental physical processes involved in droplet combustion is not only important in energy production but also in propulsion, in the mitigation of combustion-generated pollution, and in the control of the fire hazards associated with handling liquid combustibles. Microgravity makes spherically symmetric combustion possible, allowing investigators to easily validate their droplet models without the complicating effects of gravity. The Fiber-Supported Droplet Combustion (FSDC-2) investigation was conducted in the Microgravity Glovebox facility of the shuttles' Spacelab during the reflight of the Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL- 1R) on STS-94 in July 1997. FSDC-2 studied fundamental phenomena related to liquid fuel droplet combustion in air. Pure fuels and mixtures of fuels were burned as isolated single and duo droplets with and without forced air convection. FSDC-2 is sponsored by the NASA Lewis Research Center, whose researchers are working in cooperation with several investigators from industry and academia. The rate at which a droplet burns is important in many commercial applications. The classical theory of droplet burning assumes that, for an isolated, spherically symmetric, single-fuel droplet, the gas-phase combustion processes are much faster than the droplet surface regression rate and that the liquid phase is at a uniform temperature equal to the boiling point. Recent, more advanced models predict that both the liquid and gas phases are unsteady during a substantial portion of the droplet's burning history, thus affecting the instantaneous and average burning rates, and that flame radiation is a dominant mechanism that can extinguish flames in a microgravity environment. FSDC-2 has provided well-defined, symmetric droplet burning data including radiative emissions to validate these theoretical

High pressure combustion of liquid fuels. [alcohol and n-paraffin fuels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Canada, G. S.

1974-01-01

Measurements were made of the burning rates and liquid surface temperatures for a number of alcohol and n-paraffin fuels under natural and forced convection conditions. Porous spheres ranging in size from 0.64-1.9 cm O.D. were emloyed to simulate the fuel droplets. The natural convection cold gas tests considered the combustion in air of methanol, ethanol, propanol-1, n-pentane, n-heptane, and n-decane droplets at pressures up to 78 atmospheres. The pressure levels of the natural convection tests were high enough so that near critical combustion was observed for methanol and ethanol vaporization rates and liquid surface temperature measurements were made of droplets burning in a simulated combustion chamber environment. Ambient oxygen molar concentrations included 13%, 9.5% and pure evaporation. Fuels used in the forced convection atmospheric tests included those listed above for the natural convection tests. The ambient gas temperature ranged from 600 to 1500 K and the Reynolds number varied from 30 to 300. The high pressure forced convection tests employed ethanol and n-heptane as fuels over a pressure range of one to 40 atmospheres. The ambient gas temperature was 1145 K for the two combustion cases and 1255 K for the evaporation case.

Thermocapillary Convection in Liquid Droplets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

The purpose of this video is to understand the effects of surface tension on fluid convection. The fluid system chosen is the liquid sessile droplet to show the importance in single crystal growth, the spray drying and cooling of metal, and the advance droplet radiators of the space stations radiators. A cross sectional representation of a hemispherical liquid droplet under ideal conditions is used to show internal fluid motion. A direct simulation of buoyancy-dominant convection and surface tension-dominant convection is graphically displayed. The clear differences between two mechanisms of fluid transport, thermocapillary convection, and bouncy dominant convection is illustrated.

Mechano-regulated surface for manipulating liquid droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Xin; Zhu, Pingan; Tian, Ye; Zhou, Xuechang; Kong, Tiantian; Wang, Liqiu

2017-04-01

The effective transfer of tiny liquid droplets is vital for a number of processes such as chemical and biological microassays. Inspired by the tarsi of meniscus-climbing insects, which can climb menisci by deforming the water/air interface, we developed a mechano-regulated surface consisting of a background mesh and a movable microfibre array with contrastive wettability. The adhesion of this mechano-regulated surface to liquid droplets can be reversibly switched through mechanical reconfiguration of the microfibre array. The adhesive force can be tuned by varying the number and surface chemistry of the microfibres. The in situ adhesion of the mechano-regulated surface can be used to manoeuvre micro-/nanolitre liquid droplets in a nearly loss-free manner. The mechano-regulated surface can be scaled up to handle multiple droplets in parallel. Our approach offers a miniaturized mechano-device with switchable adhesion for handling micro-/nanolitre droplets, either in air or in a fluid that is immiscible with the droplets.

Novel optical switch with a reconfigurable dielectric liquid droplet.

PubMed

Ren, Hongwen; Xu, Su; Ren, Daqiu; Wu, Shin-Tson

2011-01-31

We demonstrated a novel optical switch with a reconfigurable dielectric liquid droplet. The device consists of a clear liquid droplet (glycerol) surrounded by a black liquid (dye-doped liquid crystal). In the voltage-off state, the incident light passing through the clear liquid droplet is absorbed by the black liquid, resulting in a dark state. In the voltage-on state, the dome of the clear liquid droplet is uplifted by the dielectric force to form a light pipe which in turn transmits the incident light. Upon removing the voltage, the droplet recovers to its original shape and the switch is closed. We also demonstrated a red color light switch with ~10:1 contrast ratio and ~300 ms response time. Devices based on such an operation mechanism will find attractive applications in light shutter, tunable iris, variable optical attenuators, and displays.

Heat transfer studies on the liquid droplet radiator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattick, A. T.; Nelson, M.

1987-01-01

This paper examines radiation transfer in the droplet sheet of a liquid droplet radiator including non-isotropic scattering by the droplets. Non-isotropic scattering becomes significant for small droplets (diameter less than 0.1 mm) and for low emissivity liquids. For droplets with an emittance of 0.1 and for a droplet sheet optical depth or 5, the radiated power varies by about 12 percent, depending on whether scattering is predominantly forward or backward. An experimental measurement of the power emitted by a cylindrical cloud of heated droplets of silicone fluid is also reported. The measured cloud emissivity correlates, within experimental error, with the analytical model.

Burning Fuel Droplet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

Fuel ignites and burns in the Droplet Combustion Experiment (DCE) on STS-94 on July 4 1997, MET:2/05:40 (approximate). The DCE was designed to investigate the fundamental combustion aspects of single, isolated droplets under different pressures and ambient oxygen concentrations for a range of droplet sizes varying between 2 and 5 mm. DCE used various fuels -- in drops ranging from 1 mm (0.04 inches) to 5 mm (0.2 inches) -- and mixtures of oxidizers and inert gases to learn more about the physics of combustion in the simplest burning configuration, a sphere. The experiment elapsed time is shown at the bottom of the composite image. The DCE principal investigator was Forman Williams, University of California, San Diego. The experiment was part of the space research investigations conducted during the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1R mission (STS-94, July 1-17 1997). Advanced combustion experiments will be a part of investigations plarned for the International Space Station. (121KB JPEG, 654 x 977 pixels; downlinked video, higher quality not available) The MPG from which this composite was made is available at http://mix.msfc.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/MSFC-0300169.html.

Gold metal liquid-like droplets.

PubMed

Smirnov, Evgeny; Scanlon, Micheál D; Momotenko, Dmitry; Vrubel, Heron; Méndez, Manuel A; Brevet, Pierre-Francois; Girault, Hubert H

2014-09-23

Simple methods to self-assemble coatings and films encompassing nanoparticles are highly desirable in many practical scenarios, yet scarcely any examples of simple, robust approaches to coat macroscopic droplets with continuous, thick (multilayer), reflective and stable liquid nanoparticle films exist. Here, we introduce a facile and rapid one-step route to form films of reflective liquid-like gold that encase macroscopic droplets, and we denote these as gold metal liquid-like droplets (MeLLDs). The present approach takes advantage of the inherent self-assembly of gold nanoparticles at liquid-liquid interfaces and the increase in rates of nanoparticle aggregate trapping at the interface during emulsification. The ease of displacement of the stabilizing citrate ligands by appropriate redox active molecules that act as a lubricating molecular glue is key. Specifically, the heterogeneous interaction of citrate stabilized aqueous gold nanoparticles with the lipophilic electron donor tetrathiafulvalene under emulsified conditions produces gold MeLLDs. This methodology relies exclusively on electrochemical reactions, i.e., the oxidation of tetrathiafulvalene to its radical cation by the gold nanoparticle, and electrostatic interactions between the radical cation and nanoparticles. The gold MeLLDs are reversibly deformable upon compression and decompression and kinetically stable for extended periods of time in excess of a year.

Superhydrophobic-like tunable droplet bouncing on slippery liquid interfaces

PubMed Central

Hao, Chonglei; Li, Jing; Liu, Yuan; Zhou, Xiaofeng; Liu, Yahua; Liu, Rong; Che, Lufeng; Zhou, Wenzhong; Sun, Dong; Li, Lawrence; Xu, Lei; Wang, Zuankai

2015-01-01

Droplet impacting on solid or liquid interfaces is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nature. Although complete rebound of droplets is widely observed on superhydrophobic surfaces, the bouncing of droplets on liquid is usually vulnerable due to easy collapse of entrapped air pocket underneath the impinging droplet. Here, we report a superhydrophobic-like bouncing regime on thin liquid film, characterized by the contact time, the spreading dynamics, and the restitution coefficient independent of underlying liquid film. Through experimental exploration and theoretical analysis, we demonstrate that the manifestation of such a superhydrophobic-like bouncing necessitates an intricate interplay between the Weber number, the thickness and viscosity of liquid film. Such insights allow us to tune the droplet behaviours in a well-controlled fashion. We anticipate that the combination of superhydrophobic-like bouncing with inherent advantages of emerging slippery liquid interfaces will find a wide range of applications. PMID:26250403

Nano Liquid Crystal Droplet Impact on Solid Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Rui; de Pablo, Juan; dePablo Team

2015-03-01

Liquid droplet impaction on solid surfaces is an important problem with a wide range of applications in everyday life. Liquid crystals (LCs) are anisotropic liquids whose internal structure gives rise to rich optical and morphological phenomena. In this work we study the liquid crystal droplet impaction on solid surfaces by molecular dynamics simulations. We employ a widely used Gay-Berne model to describe the elongated liquid crystal molecules and their interactions. Our work shows that, in contrast to isotropic liquids, drop deformation is symmetric unless an instability kicks in, in which case a nano scale liquid crystal droplet exhibits distinct anisotropic spreading modes that do not occur in simple liquids. The drop prefers spreading along the low viscosity direction, but inertia can in some cases overcome that bias. The effects of the director field of the droplet, preferred anchoring direction and the anchoring strength of the wall are investigated. Large scale (0.1 micron) simulations are performed to connect our nano scale results to the experiments. Our studies indicate that LCs could provide an interesting alternative for development of next-generation printing inks.

Fuel Droplet Burning During Droplet Combustion Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

Fuel ignites and burns in the Droplet Combustion Experiment (DCE) on STS-94 on July 4 1997, MET:2/05:40 (approximate). The DCE was designed to investigate the fundamental combustion aspects of single, isolated droplets under different pressures and ambient oxygen concentrations for a range of droplet sizes varying between 2 and 5 mm. DCE used various fuels -- in drops ranging from 1 mm (0.04 inches) to 5 mm (0.2 inches) -- and mixtures of oxidizers and inert gases to learn more about the physics of combustion in the simplest burning configuration, a sphere. The experiment elapsed time is shown at the bottom of the composite image. The DCE principal investigator was Forman Williams, University of California, San Diego. The experiment was part of the space research investigations conducted during the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1R mission (STS-94, July 1-17 1997). Advanced combustion experiments will be a part of investigations plarned for the International Space Station. (1.4MB, 13-second MPEG, screen 320 x 240 pixels; downlinked video, higher quality not available)A still JPG composite of this movie is available at http://mix.msfc.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/MSFC-0300168.html.

Performance of droplet generator and droplet collector in liquid droplet radiator under microgravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Totani, T.; Itami, M.; Nagata, H.; Kudo, I.; Iwasaki, A.; Hosokawa, S.

2002-06-01

The Liquid Droplet Radiator (LDR) has an advantage over comparable conventional radiators in terms of the rejected heat power-weight ratio. Therefore, the LDR has attracted attention as an advanced radiator for high-power space systems that will be prerequisite for large space structures. The performance of the LDR under microgravity condition has been studied from the viewpoint of operational space use of the LDR in the future. In this study, the performances of a droplet generator and a droplet collector in the LDR are investigated using drop shafts in Japan: MGLAB and JAMIC. As a result, it is considered that (1) the droplet generator can produce uniform droplet streams in the droplet diameter range from 200 to 280 [µm] and the spacing range from 400 to 950 [µm] under microgravity condition, (2) the droplet collector with the incidence angle of 35 degrees can prevent a uniform droplet stream, in which droplet diameter is 250 [µm] and the velocity is 16 [m/s], from splashing under microgravity condition, whereas splashes may occur at the surface of the droplet collector in the event that a nonuniform droplet stream collides against it.

Janus droplets: liquid marbles coated with dielectric/semiconductor particles.

PubMed

Bormashenko, Edward; Bormashenko, Yelena; Pogreb, Roman; Gendelman, Oleg

2011-01-04

The manufacturing of water droplets wrapped with two different powders, carbon black (semiconductor) and polytetrafluoroethylene (dielectric), is presented. Droplets composed of two hemispheres (Janus droplets) characterized by various physical and chemical properties are reported first. Watermelon-like striped liquid marbles are reported. Janus droplets remained stable on solid and liquid supports and could be activated with an electric field.

Experimental test of liquid droplet radiator performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattick, A. T.; Simon, M. A.

The liquid droplet radiator (LDR) is a heat rejection system for space power systems wherein an array of heated liquid droplets radiates energy directly to space. The use of submillimeter droplets provides large radiating area-to-mass ratio, resulting in radiator systems which are several times lighter than conventional solid surface radiators. An experiment is described in which the power radiated by an array of 2300 streams of silicone oil droplets is measured to test a previously developed theory of the LDR radiation process. This system would be capable of rejecting several kW of heat in space. Furthermore, it would be suitable as a modular unit of an LDR designed for 100-kW power levels. The experiment provided confirmation of the theoretical dependence of droplet array emissivity on optical depth. It also demonstrated the ability to create an array of more than 1000 droplet streams having a divergence less than 1 degree.

Experimental test of liquid droplet radiator performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattick, A. T.; Simon, M. A.

1987-01-01

The liquid droplet radiator (LDR) is a heat rejection system for space power systems wherein an array of heated liquid droplets radiates energy directly to space. The use of submillimeter droplets provides large radiating area-to-mass ratio, resulting in radiator systems which are several times lighter than conventional solid surface radiators. An experiment is described in which the power radiated by an array of 2300 streams of silicone oil droplets is measured to test a previously developed theory of the LDR radiation process. This system would be capable of rejecting several kW of heat in space. Furthermore, it would be suitable as a modular unit of an LDR designed for 100-kW power levels. The experiment provided confirmation of the theoretical dependence of droplet array emissivity on optical depth. It also demonstrated the ability to create an array of more than 1000 droplet streams having a divergence less than 1 degree.

Oscillatory bursting of gel fuel droplets in a reacting environment.

PubMed

Miglani, Ankur; Nandagopalan, Purushothaman; John, Jerin; Baek, Seung Wook

2017-06-12

Understanding the combustion behavior of gel fuel droplets is pivotal for enhancing burn rates, lowering ignition delay and improving the operational performance of next-generation propulsion systems. Vapor jetting in burning gel fuel droplets is a crucial process that enables an effective transport (convectively) of unreacted fuel from the droplet domain to the flame zone and accelerates the gas-phase mixing process. Here, first we show that the combusting ethanol gel droplets (organic gellant laden) exhibit a new oscillatory jetting mode due to aperiodic bursting of the droplet shell. Second, we show how the initial gellant loading rate (GLR) leads to a distinct shell formation which self-tunes temporally to burst the droplet at different frequencies. Particularly, a weak-flexible shell is formed at low GLR that undergoes successive rupture cascades occurring in same region of the droplet. This region weakens due to repeated ruptures and causes droplet bursting at progressively higher frequencies. Contrarily, high GLRs facilitate a strong-rigid shell formation where consecutive cascades occur at scattered locations across the droplet surface. This leads to droplet bursting at random frequencies. This method of modulating jetting frequency would enable an effective control of droplet trajectory and local fuel-oxidizer ratio in any gel-spray based energy formulation.

Pulsating gliding transition in the dynamics of levitating liquid nitrogen droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snezhko, Alexey; Ben Jacob, Eshel; Aranson, Igor S.

2008-04-01

Hot surfaces can cause levitation of small liquid droplets if the temperature is kept above the Leidenfrost point (220 °C for water) due to the pressure formed because of rapid evaporation. Here, we demonstrate a new class of pulsating-gliding dynamic transitions in a special setting of the Leidenfrost effect at room temperatures and above a viscous fluid for droplets of liquid nitrogen. A whole range of highly dynamic patterns unfolds when droplets of liquid nitrogen are poured on the surface of another, more viscous liquid at room temperature. We also discovered that the levitating droplets induce vortex motion in the supporting viscous liquid. Depending on the viscosity of the supporting liquid, the nitrogen droplets either adopt an oscillating (pulsating) star-like shape with different azimuthal symmetries (from 2-9 petals) or glide on the surface with random trajectories. Thus, by varying the viscosity of the supporting liquid, we achieve controlled morphology and dynamics of Leidenfrost droplets.

Liquid film on a circular plate formed by a droplet train impingement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanada, Toshiyuki; Yamamoto, Shoya

2017-11-01

Droplet impingement phenomena are found in the wide variety of industrial processes, however the detail of liquid film structure formed by the continuous impact of droplets is not clarified. In this study, we experimentally investigated behavior of liquid film which was formed by a droplet train impact. Especially, we focus on the diameter of hydraulic jump formed on a circular plate. The effects of nozzle diameter, liquid surface tension and liquid flow rate on the jump diameter were investigated. In addition, we compared the liquid film by the droplet train impact with that by a liquid column impact. As a result, the hydraulic jump was observed under the smaller water flow rate condition compare to the liquid column impact. And the jump diameters for the case of droplet train impact were greater than that of liquid column impact. However, the jump diameters for the small surface tension liquid for the case of droplet train impact were smaller than that of liquid column impact. We consider that this phenomenon is related to both high speed lateral flow after droplet impact and splash formation. In addition, the liquid film heights after hydraulic jump on a small circular plate were sensitive to either the droplet train impact or liquid column impact.

Heat and mass transfer correlations for liquid droplet of a pure fuel in combustion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dgheim, J.; Chesneau, X.; Pietri, L.; Zeghmati, B.

The authors report a numerical analysis of heat and mass transfers, which govern the combustion of a fuel droplet assimilated to a sphere. The results are presented in the form of temperature, mass-fraction, Nusselt and Sherwood number profiles. The following heat and mass transfers correlations are developed: ; , which account for the effects of natural convection and the physical properties of the gas phase. These correlations agree with the results of detailed numerical analysis as well as the experimental data involving a single droplet.

Simulation of water vapor condensation on LOX droplet surface using liquid nitrogen

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, Eugene A.

1988-01-01

The formation of ice or water layers on liquid oxygen (LOX) droplets in the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) environment was investigated. Formulation of such ice/water layers is indicated by phase-equilibrium considerations under conditions of high partial pressure of water vapor (steam) and low LOX droplet temperature prevailing in the SSME preburner or main chamber. An experimental investigation was begun using liquid nitrogen as a LOX simulant. A monodisperse liquid nitrogen droplet generator was developed which uses an acoustic driver to force the stream of liquid emerging from a capillary tube to break up into a stream of regularly space uniformly sized spherical droplets. The atmospheric pressure liquid nitrogen in the droplet generator reservoir was cooled below its boiling point to prevent two phase flow from occurring in the capillary tube. An existing steam chamber was modified for injection of liquid nitrogen droplets into atmospheric pressure superheated steam. The droplets were imaged using a stroboscopic video system and a laser shadowgraphy system. Several tests were conducted in which liquid nitrogen droplets were injected into the steam chamber. Under conditions of periodic droplet formation, images of 600 micron diameter liquid nitrogen droplets were obtained with the stroboscopic video systems.

Direct current dielectrophoretic manipulation of the ionic liquid droplets in water.

PubMed

Zhao, Kai; Li, Dongqing

2018-07-13

The ionic liquids (ILs) as the environmentally benign solvents show great potentials in microemulsion carrier systems and have been widely used in the biochemical and pharmaceutical fields. In the work, the ionic liquid-in-water microemulsions were fabricated by using two kinds of hydrophobic ionic liquid, 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [Bmim][PF 6 ] and 1-Hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [Hmim][PF 6 ] with Tween 20. The ionic liquid droplets in water experience the dielectrophoretic (DEP) forces induced by applying electrical field via a nano-orifice and a micron orifice on the opposite channel walls of a microchannel. The dielectrophoretic behaviors of the ionic liquid-in-water emulsion droplets were investigated under direct current (DC) electric field. The positive and negative DEP behaviors of the ionic liquid-in-water droplets varying with the electrical conductivity of the suspending medium were investigated and two kinds of the ionic liquid droplets of similar sizes were separated by their different DEP behaviors. In addition, the separation of the ionic liquid-in-water droplets by size was conducted. This paper, for the first time to our knowledge, presents the DC-DEP manipulation of the ionic liquid-in-water emulsion droplets by size and by type. This method provides a platform to manipulate the ionic liquid droplets individually. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bouncing and coalescence of droplets on falling liquid films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Che, Zhizhao; Deygas, Amandine; Matar, Omar

2014-11-01

When a droplet impacts on a falling liquid film, the outcome depends on the fluid properties of the droplet, its speed, and angle of incidence, as well as on the film flow rate and associated flow regimes. In this study, the oblique impact of droplets on a falling liquid film is investigated experimentally. The falling film is created on an inclined substrate and the Reynolds number is varied. Droplets with different sizes and different speeds are used to study the impact process for different Weber and Ohnesorge numbers. Different phenomena of droplet impact are identified and analysed, such as bouncing, partial coalescence, total coalescence, and splashing. An impact regime map is generated, and the effects of droplet impact speed and size, and the film flow rates are studied. The propagation of waves on the liquid film post-impact is analysed. The results show that the flowing film can significantly affect the impact process of droplets, and the latter can alter the propagation of waves on the falling film. EPSRC Programme Grant, MEMPHIS, EP/K0039761/1.

Droplet turbulence interactions under subcritical and supercritical conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coy, E. B.; Greenfield, S. C.; Ondas, M. S.; Song, Y.-H.; Spegar, T. D.; Santavicca, D. A.

1993-01-01

The goal of this research is to experimentally characterize the behavior of droplets in vaporizing liquid sprays under conditions typical of those encountered in high pressure combustion systems such as liquid fueled rocket engines. Of particular interest are measurements of droplet drag, droplet heating, droplet vaporization, droplet distortion, and secondary droplet breakup, under both subcritical and supercritical conditions. The paper presents a brief description of the specific accomplishments which have been made over the past year.

Experimental and computation study of liquid droplets impinging on an afterburner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavergne, G.; Hebrard, P.; Donnadille, Ph.

The actual development of three-dimensional computation codes of internal reactive flows in combustion chambers needs, for the liquid phase, accurate boundary conditions. A series of experiments was undertaken to identify and then to analyze physical phenomena occurring during spray transport and spray boundary interaction. The purpose of this paper is to investigate drop wall interaction, drop impingement, the liquid film, and the liquid flow rate captured by a flameholder. The experimental approach is divided in two parts: a parametric study on the captured fuel flow rate by a flameholder in an isothermal two-dimensional square facility, and a fundamental study of monosized droplet impingement on a hot plate to determine rebound criteria.

The internal caustic structure of illuminated liquid droplets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lock, James A.; Hovenac, Edward A.

1991-01-01

The internal electric field of an illuminated liquid droplet is studied in detail using both wave theory and ray theory. The internal field obtains its maximum values on the caustics within the droplet. Ray theory is used to determine the equations of these caustics and the density of rays on them. The Debye series expansion of the interior field Mie amplitudes is used to calculate the wave theory version of these caustics. The physical interpretation of the sources of stimulated Raman scattering and fluorescence emission within a liquid droplet is then given.

Liquid Droplet Dynamics in Gravity Compensating High Magnetic Field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bojarevics, V.; Easter, S.; Pericleous, K.

2012-01-01

Numerical models are used to investigate behavior of liquid droplets suspended in high DC magnetic fields of various configurations providing microgravity-like conditions. Using a DC field it is possible to create conditions with laminar viscosity and heat transfer to measure viscosity, surface tension, electrical and thermal conductivities, and heat capacity of a liquid sample. The oscillations in a high DC magnetic field are quite different for an electrically conducting droplet, like liquid silicon or metal. The droplet behavior in a high magnetic field is the subject of investigation in this paper. At the high values of magnetic field some oscillation modes are damped quickly, while others are modified with a considerable shift of the oscillating droplet frequencies and the damping constants from the non-magnetic case.

Semi-empirical analysis of liquid fuel distribution downstream of a plain orifice injector under cross-stream air flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, M.-H.; Jiang, H.-K.; Chin, J.-S.

1982-04-01

An improved flat-fan spray model is used for the semi-empirical analysis of liquid fuel distribution downstream of a plain orifice injector under cross-stream air flow. The model assumes that, due to the aerodynamic force of the high-velocity cross air flow, the injected fuel immediately forms a flat-fan liquid sheet perpendicular to the cross flow. Once the droplets have been formed, the trajectories of individual droplets determine fuel distribution downstream. Comparison with test data shows that the proposed model accurately predicts liquid fuel distribution at any point downstream of a plain orifice injector under high-velocity, low-temperature uniform cross-stream air flow over a wide range of conditions.

Fabrication of hemispherical liquid encapsulated structures based on droplet molding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishizuka, Hiroki; Miki, Norihisa

2015-12-01

We have developed and demonstrated a method for forming spherical structures of a thin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane encapsulating a liquid. Liquid encapsulation can enhance the performance of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices by providing deformability and improved dielectric properties. Parylene deposition and wafer bonding are applied to encapsulate liquid into a MEMS device. In parylene deposition, a parylene membrane is directly formed onto a liquid droplet. However, since the parylene membrane is stiff, the membrane is fragile. Although wafer bonding can encapsulate liquid between two substrates, the surface of the fabricated structure is normally flat. We propose a new liquid encapsulation method by dispensing liquid droplets. At first, a 20 μl PDMS droplet is dispensed on ethylene glycol. A 70 μl glycerin droplet is dispensed into a PDMS casting solution layer. The droplet forms a layer on heated ethylene glycol. Glycerin and ethylene glycol are chosen for their high boiling points. Additionally, a glycerin droplet is dispensed on the layer and surrounded by a thin PDMS casting solution film. The film is baked for 1 h at 75 °C. As the result, a structure encapsulating a liquid in a flexible PDMS membrane is obtained. We investigate the effects of the volume, surface tension, and guide thickness on the shape of the formed structures. We also evaluated the effect of the structure diameter on miniaturization. The structure can be adapted for various functions by changing the encapsulated liquid. We fabricated a stiffness-tunable structure by dispensing a magnetorheoligical fluid droplet with a stiffness that can be changed by an external magnetic field. We also confirmed that the proposed structure can produce stiffness differences that are distinguishable by humans.

Multiuser Droplet Combustion Apparatus Developed to Conduct Combustion Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myhre, Craig A.

2001-01-01

A major portion of the energy produced in the world today comes from the combustion or burning of liquid hydrocarbon fuels in the form of droplets. However, despite vigorous scientific examinations for over a century, researchers still lack a full understanding of many fundamental combustion processes of liquid fuels. Understanding how these fuel droplets ignite, spread, and extinguish themselves will help us develop more efficient ways of energy production and propulsion, as well as help us deal better with the problems of combustion-generated pollution and fire hazards associated with liquid combustibles. The ability to conduct more controlled experiments in space, without the complication of gravity, provides scientists with an opportunity to examine these complicated processes closely. The Multiuser Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) supports this continued research under microgravity conditions. The objectives are to improve understanding of fundamental droplet phenomena affected by gravity, to use research results to advance droplet combustion science and technology on Earth, and to address issues of fire hazards associated with liquid combustibles on Earth and in space. MDCA is a multiuser facility designed to accommodate different combustion science experiments. The modular approach permits the on-orbit replacement of droplet combustion principal investigator experiments such as different fuels, droplet-dispensing needles, and droplet-tethering mechanisms. Large components such as the avionics, diagnostics, and base-plate remain on the International Space Station to reduce the launch mass of new experiments. MDCA is also designed to operate in concert with ground systems on Earth to minimize the involvement of the crew during orbit.

Aerosol feed direct methanol fuel cell

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kindler, Andrew (Inventor); Narayanan, Sekharipuram R. (Inventor); Valdez, Thomas I. (Inventor)

2002-01-01

Improvements to fuel cells include introduction of the fuel as an aerosol of liquid fuel droplets suspended in a gas. The particle size of the liquid fuel droplets may be controlled for optimal fuel cell performance by selection of different aerosol generators or by separating droplets based upon size using a particle size conditioner.

Fuel Injector With Shear Atomizer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beal, George W.; Mills, Virgil L.; Smith, Durward B., II; Beacom, William F.

1995-01-01

Atomizer for injecting liquid fuel into combustion chamber uses impact and swirl to break incoming stream of fuel into small, more combustible droplets. Slanted holes direct flow of liquid fuel to stepped cylindrical wall. Impact on wall atomizes liquid. Air flowing past vanes entrains droplets of liquid in swirling flow. Fuel injected at pressure lower than customarily needed.

Kinetics of diffusional droplet growth in a liquid/liquid two-phase system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glickman, M. E.; Fradkov, V. E.

1995-01-01

A new powerful experimental technique based on holographic observations, developed at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, now permits observation of small liquid droplets coarsening. This technique was developed and used for mixed-dimensional coarsening studies. Experiments were conducted on an isopycnic two-phase alloy of succinonitrile and water, annealed isothermally over a four-month period. The succinonitrile-rich droplets precipitate from a water-rich liquid matrix having a density very close to that of the droplets. The matrix and droplets, however, have different optical indices. The results of these experiments, along with the results of computer simulation based on the quasi-static diffusion approximation developed at Rensselaer are reported. These results were published recently. Copies of these papers are attached to this report.

Liquid droplet radiator development status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, K. Alan, III

1987-01-01

Development of the Liquid Droplet Radiator (LDR) is described. Significant published results of previous investigators are presented, and work currently in progress is discussed. Several proposed LDR configurations are described, and the rectangular and triangular configurations currently of most interest are examined. Development of the droplet generator, collector, and auxiliary components are discussed. Radiative performance of a droplet sheet is considered, and experimental results are seen to be in very good agreement with analytical predictions. The collision of droplets in the droplet sheet, the charging of droplets by the space plasma, and the effect of atmospheric drag on the droplet sheet are shown to be of little consequence, or can be minimized by proper design. The LDR is seen to be less susceptible than conventional technology to the effects of micrometeoroids or hostile threats. The identification of working fluids which are stable in the orbital environments of interest is also made. Methods for reducing spacecraft contamination from an LDR to an acceptable level are discussed. Preliminary results of microgravity testing of the droplet generator are presented. Possible future NASA and Air Force missions enhanced or enabled by a LDR are also discussed. System studies indicate that the LDR is potentially less massive than heat pipe radiators. Planned microgravity testing aboard the Shuttle or space station is seen to be a logical next step in LDR development.

Investigation of water droplet dynamics in PEM fuel cell gas channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopalan, Preethi

Water management in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) has remained one of the most important issues that need to be addressed before its commercialization in automotive applications. Accumulation of water on the gas diffusion layer (GDL) surface in a PEMFC introduces a barrier for transport of reactant gases through the GDL to the catalyst layer. Despite the fact that the channel geometry is one of the key design parameters of a fluidic system, very limited research is available to study the effect of microchannel geometry on the two-phase flow structure. In this study, the droplet-wall dynamics and two-phase pressure drop across the water droplet present in a typical PEMFC channel, were examined in auto-competitive gas channel designs (0.4 x 0.7 mm channel cross section). The liquid water flow pattern inside the gas channel was analyzed for different air velocities. Experimental data was analyzed using the Concus-Finn condition to determine the wettability characteristics in the corner region. It was confirmed that the channel angle along with the air velocity and the channel material influences the water distribution and holdup within the channel. Dynamic contact angle emerged as an important parameter in controlling the droplet-wall interaction. Experiments were also performed to understand how the inlet location of the liquid droplet on the GDL surface affects the droplet dynamic behavior in the system. It was found that droplets emerging near the channel wall or under the land lead to corner filling of the channel. Improvements in the channel design has been proposed based on the artificial channel roughness created to act as capillary grooves to transport the liquid water away from the land area. For droplets emerging near the center of the channel, beside the filling and no-filling behavior reported in the literature, a new droplet jumping behavior was observed. As droplets grew and touched the sidewalls, they jumped off to the sidewall leaving the

Dynamic behaviors of liquid droplets on a gas diffusion layer surface: Hybrid lattice Boltzmann investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jie; Huang, Jun-Jie

2015-07-01

Water management is one of the key issues in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Fundamentally, it is related to dynamic behaviors of droplets on a gas diffusion layer (GDL) surface, and consequently they are investigated in this work. A two-dimensional hybrid method is employed to implement numerical simulations, in which the flow field is solved by using the lattice Boltzmann method and the interface between droplet and gas is captured by solving the Cahn-Hilliard equation directly. One or two liquid droplets are initially placed on the GDL surface of a gas channel, which is driven by the fully developed Poiseuille flow. At a fixed channel size, the effects of viscosity ratio of droplet to gas ( μ ∗ ), Capillary number (Ca, ratio of gas viscosity to surface tension), and droplet interaction on the dynamic behaviors of droplets are systematically studied. By decreasing viscosity ratio or increasing Capillary number, the single droplet can detach from the GDL surface easily. On the other hand, when two identical droplets stay close to each other or a larger droplet is placed in front of a smaller droplet, the removal of two droplets is promoted.

Combustion of liquid fuels in a flowing combustion gas environment at high pressures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Canada, G. S.; Faeth, G. M.

1975-01-01

The combustion of fuel droplets in gases which simulate combustion chamber conditions was considered both experimentally and theoretically. The fuel droplets were simulated by porous spheres and allowed to gasify in combustion gases produced by a burner. Tests were conducted for pressures of 1-40 atm, temperatures of 600-1500 K, oxygen concentrations of 0-13% (molar) and approach Reynolds numbers of 40-680. The fuels considered in the tests included methanol, ethanol, propanol-1, n-pentane, n-heptane and n-decane. Measurements were made of both the rate of gasification of the droplet and the liquid surface temperature. Measurements were compared with theory, involving various models of gas phase transport properties with a multiplicative correction for the effect of forced convection.

Investigation of Sooting in Microgravity Droplet Combustion: Fuel-Dependent Effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manzello, Samuel L.; Hua, Ming; Choi, Mun Young

1999-01-01

Kumagai and coworkers first performed microgravity droplet combustion experiments [Kumagai, 1957]. The primary goal of these early experiments were to validate simple 'd(sup 2)-law models [Spalding, 1954, Godsave, 1954] Inherent in the 'd(sup 2) -law' formulation and in the scope of the experimental observation is the neglect of sooting behavior. In fact, the influence of sooting has not received much attention until more recent works [Choi et al., 1990; Jackson et al., 1991; Jackson and Avedisian, 1994; Choi and Lee, 1996; Jackson and Avedisian, 1996; Lee et al., 1998]:. Choi and Lee measured soot volume fraction for microgravity droplet flames using full-field light extinction and subsequent tomographic inversion [Choi and Lee, 1996]. In this investigation, soot concentrations were measured for heptane droplets and it was reported that soot concentrations were considerably higher in microgravity compared to the normal gravity flame. It was reasoned that the absence of buoyancy and the effects of thermophoresis resulted in the higher soot concentrations. Lee et al. [1998] performed soot measurement experiments by varying the initial droplet diameter and found marked influence of sooting on the droplet burning behavior. There is growing sentiment that sooting in droplet combustion must no longer be neglected and that "perhaps one of the most important outstanding contributions of (micro)g droplet combustion is the observation that in the absence of asymmetrical forced and natural convection, a soot shell is formed between the droplet surface and the flame, exerting an influence on the droplet combustion response far greater than previously recognized." [Law and Faeth, 1994]. One of the methods that we are exploring to control the degree of sooting in microgravity is to use different fuels. The effect of fuel structure on sooting propensity has been investigated for over-ventilated concentric coflowing buoyant diffusion flames. (Glassman, 1996]. In these

Self-bound droplets of a dilute magnetic quantum liquid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmitt, Matthias; Wenzel, Matthias; Böttcher, Fabian; Ferrier-Barbut, Igor; Pfau, Tilman

2016-11-01

Self-bound many-body systems are formed through a balance of attractive and repulsive forces and occur in many physical scenarios. Liquid droplets are an example of a self-bound system, formed by a balance of the mutual attractive and repulsive forces that derive from different components of the inter-particle potential. It has been suggested that self-bound ensembles of ultracold atoms should exist for atom number densities that are 108 times lower than in a helium droplet, which is formed from a dense quantum liquid. However, such ensembles have been elusive up to now because they require forces other than the usual zero-range contact interaction, which is either attractive or repulsive but never both. On the basis of the recent finding that an unstable bosonic dipolar gas can be stabilized by a repulsive many-body term, it was predicted that three-dimensional self-bound quantum droplets of magnetic atoms should exist. Here we report the observation of such droplets in a trap-free levitation field. We find that this dilute magnetic quantum liquid requires a minimum, critical number of atoms, below which the liquid evaporates into an expanding gas as a result of the quantum pressure of the individual constituents. Consequently, around this critical atom number we observe an interaction-driven phase transition between a gas and a self-bound liquid in the quantum degenerate regime with ultracold atoms. These droplets are the dilute counterpart of strongly correlated self-bound systems such as atomic nuclei and helium droplets.

Self-bound droplets of a dilute magnetic quantum liquid.

PubMed

Schmitt, Matthias; Wenzel, Matthias; Böttcher, Fabian; Ferrier-Barbut, Igor; Pfau, Tilman

2016-11-10

Self-bound many-body systems are formed through a balance of attractive and repulsive forces and occur in many physical scenarios. Liquid droplets are an example of a self-bound system, formed by a balance of the mutual attractive and repulsive forces that derive from different components of the inter-particle potential. It has been suggested that self-bound ensembles of ultracold atoms should exist for atom number densities that are 10 8 times lower than in a helium droplet, which is formed from a dense quantum liquid. However, such ensembles have been elusive up to now because they require forces other than the usual zero-range contact interaction, which is either attractive or repulsive but never both. On the basis of the recent finding that an unstable bosonic dipolar gas can be stabilized by a repulsive many-body term, it was predicted that three-dimensional self-bound quantum droplets of magnetic atoms should exist. Here we report the observation of such droplets in a trap-free levitation field. We find that this dilute magnetic quantum liquid requires a minimum, critical number of atoms, below which the liquid evaporates into an expanding gas as a result of the quantum pressure of the individual constituents. Consequently, around this critical atom number we observe an interaction-driven phase transition between a gas and a self-bound liquid in the quantum degenerate regime with ultracold atoms. These droplets are the dilute counterpart of strongly correlated self-bound systems such as atomic nuclei and helium droplets.

High-Energy Laser Interaction with Gases, Droplets, and Bulk Liquids.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarzembski, Maurice Anthony

Breakdown threshold intensities (I_ {rm TH}) were measured as functions of wavelengths and pressure for air, He, Ar, and Xe using a Nd:YAG pulsed laser. Multiphoton absorption dominates in the UV and cascade collision ionization dominates in the IR; however, both can be affected by other electron gain and loss processes. Presence of droplets lowers breakdown of gases due to field enhancements. Breakdown is initiated either in the droplet material or in the gas. At lambda = 0.532mum for a 50 μm dia. water droplet in He, Ar, and air for p < 800 Torr, breakdown occurs inside the droplet and is independent of gas pressure. For droplet -in-Xe, at p < 140 Torr breakdown occurs inside the droplet and is independent of gas pressure. For droplet-in-Xe, at p < 140 Torr breakdown occurs inside the droplet but at p > 140 Torr, breakdown occurs outside the droplet and is dependent on gas pressure. Pressure dependence of breakdown was observed for 120mum dia. water droplets in Ar at p > 400 Torr. The required intensity for breakdown of droplet depends on I_{ rm TH} of bulk liquid and the effective field enhancement created by the droplet. The I _{rm TH} of droplet-in-air provides an upper limit to the propagation of a high energy laser beam in the atmosphere containing particles. By geometrical optics approach, a significant field enhancement located at the critical ring region, encircling the axis of the sphere in the forward direction at angle theta_{c}, was discovered where nonlinear processes can occur. This was confirmed experimentally and by Mie theory. Field enhancements calculated at the critical ring for water droplets of different sizes agree well with measurements. For a droplet of given size and real refractive index, the effective field enhancement and the volume over which it occurs are two important factors governing the occurrence of breakdown in droplets for both off resonance and on resonance conditions. Measurements of wavelength dependence of breakdown

Method and system for low-NO.sub.x dual-fuel combustion of liquid and/or gaseous fuels

DOEpatents

Gard, Vincent; Chojnacki, Dennis A; Rabovitser, Ioseph K

2014-12-02

A method and apparatus for combustion in which a pressurized preheated liquid fuel is atomized and a portion thereof flash vaporized, creating a mixture of fuel vapor and liquid droplets. The mixture is mixed with primary combustion oxidant, producing a fuel/primary oxidant mixture which is then injected into a primary combustion chamber in which the fuel/primary oxidant mixture is partially combusted, producing a secondary gaseous fuel containing hydrogen and carbon oxides. The secondary gaseous fuel is mixed with a secondary combustion oxidant and injected into the second combustion chamber wherein complete combustion of the secondary gaseous fuel is carried out. The resulting second stage flue gas containing very low amounts of NO.sub.x is then vented from the second combustion chamber.

Physics of puffing and microexplosion of emulsion fuel droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shinjo, J.; Xia, J.; Ganippa, L. C.; Megaritis, A.

2014-10-01

The physics of water-in-oil emulsion droplet microexplosion/puffing has been investigated using high-fidelity interface-capturing simulation. Varying the dispersed-phase (water) sub-droplet size/location and the initiation location of explosive boiling (bubble formation), the droplet breakup processes have been well revealed. The bubble growth leads to local and partial breakup of the parent oil droplet, i.e., puffing. The water sub-droplet size and location determine the after-puffing dynamics. The boiling surface of the water sub-droplet is unstable and evolves further. Finally, the sub-droplet is wrapped by boiled water vapor and detaches itself from the parent oil droplet. When the water sub-droplet is small, the detachment is quick, and the oil droplet breakup is limited. When it is large and initially located toward the parent droplet center, the droplet breakup is more extensive. For microexplosion triggered by the simultaneous growth of multiple separate bubbles, each explosion is local and independent initially, but their mutual interactions occur at a later stage. The degree of breakup can be larger due to interactions among multiple explosions. These findings suggest that controlling microexplosion/puffing is possible in a fuel spray, if the emulsion-fuel blend and the ambient flow conditions such as heating are properly designed. The current study also gives us an insight into modeling the puffing and microexplosion of emulsion droplets and sprays.

Controlling the Localization of Liquid Droplets in Polymer Matrices by Evaporative Lithography.

PubMed

Zhao, Huaixia; Xu, Jiajia; Jing, Guangyin; Prieto-López, Lizbeth Ofelia; Deng, Xu; Cui, Jiaxi

2016-08-26

Localized inclusions of liquids provide solid materials with many functions, such as self-healing, secretion, and tunable mechanical properties, in a spatially controlled mode. However, a strategy to control the distribution of liquid droplets in solid matrices directly obtained from a homogeneous solution has not been reported thus far. Herein, we describe an approach to selectively localize liquid droplets in a supramolecular gel directly obtained from its solution by using evaporative lithography. In this process, the formation of droplet-embedded domains occurs in regions of free evaporation where the non-volatile liquid is concentrated and undergoes a phase separation to create liquid droplets prior to gelation, while a homogeneous gel matrix is formed in the regions of hindered evaporation. The different regions of a coating with droplet embedment patterns display different secretion abilities, enabling the control of the directional movement of water droplets. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Nontoxic Ionic Liquid Fuels for Exploration Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coil, Millicent

2015-01-01

The toxicity of propellants used in conventional propulsion systems increases not only safety risks to personnel but also costs, due to special handling required during the entire lifetime of the propellants. Orbital Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC) has developed and tested novel nontoxic ionic liquid fuels for propulsion applications. In Phase I of the project, the company demonstrated the feasibility of several ionic liquid formulations that equaled the performance of conventional rocket propellant monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and also provided low volatility and low toxicity. In Phase II, ORBITEC refined the formulations, conducted material property tests, and investigated combustion behavior in droplet and microreactor experiments. The company also explored the effect of injector design on performance and demonstrated the fuels in a small-scale thruster. The ultimate goal is to replace propellants such as MMH with fuels that are simultaneously high-performance and nontoxic. The fuels will have uses in NASA's propulsion applications and also in a range of military and commercial functions.

Focusing of light by polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal films with nanosized droplets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Loiko, V. A., E-mail: loiko@dragon.bas-net.by; Konkolovich, A. V.

2006-12-15

An analysis is presented of polarization-independent electrically tunable light focusing by polymerdispersed liquid-crystal films with nanosized liquid-crystal droplets. Polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal films with axially symmetric distributions of liquid-crystal droplet concentration and layers with axially symmetric thickness profiles are considered. The paraxial, Rayleigh, and Rayleigh-Gans approximations, as well as the Foldy-Twersky equation, are used to examine the dependence of focal length on lens geometry, droplet size, concentration of nematic liquid-crystal droplets, and applied field. The tunable focusing ranges are evaluated for both lens types considered in the study. Dependence of the transmittance of polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal film on its characteristics is analyzed. Themore » results obtained are compared with those available from the literature.« less

Liquid crystal droplet formation and anchoring dynamics in a microfluidic device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steinhaus, Ben; Shen, Amy; Feng, James; Link, Darren

2004-11-01

Liquid crystal drops dispersed in a continuous phase of silicon oil are generated with a narrow distribution in droplet size in microfluidic devices both above and below the nematic to isotropic transition temperature. For these two cases, we observe not only the different LC droplet generation and coalescence dynamics, but also distinct droplet morphology. Our experiments show that the nematic liquid crystalline order is important for the LC droplet formation and anchoring dynamics.

Optical biosensor based on liquid crystal droplets for detection of cholic acid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Xiaofang; Luo, Dan; Chen, Rui; Wang, Fei; Sun, Xiaowei; Dai, Haitao

2016-12-01

A highly sensitive cholic acid biosensor based on 4-cyano-4‧-penthlbiphenyl (5CB) Liquid crystal droplets in phosphate buffer saline solution was reported. A radial-to-bipolar transition of 5CB droplet would be triggered during competitive reaction of CA at the sodium dodecyl sulfate surfactant-laden 5CB droplet surface. Our liquid crystal droplet sensor is a low-cost, simple and fast method for CA detection. The detection limit (5 μM) of our method is 2.4 times lower than previously report by using liquid crystal film to detection of CA.

The evolution of droplet impacting on thin liquid film at superhydrophilic surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yun; Zheng, Yi; Lan, Zhong; Xu, Wei; Ma, Xuehu

2017-12-01

Thin films are ubiquitous in nature, and the evolution of a liquid film after droplet impact is critical in many industrial processes. In this paper, a series of experiments and numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the distribution and evolution features of local temperature as the droplet impacts a thin film on the superhydrophilic surface by the thermal tracing method. A cold area is formed in the center after droplet impacts on heated solid surfaces. For the droplet impact on thin heated liquid film, a ring-shaped low temperature zone is observed in this experiment. Meanwhile, numerical simulation is adopted to analyze the mechanism and the interaction between the droplet and the liquid film. It is found that due to the vortex velocity distribution formed inside the liquid film after the impact, a large part of the droplet has congested. The heating process is not obvious in the congested area, which leads to the formation of a low-temperature area in the results.

A Planar-Fluorescence Imaging Technique for Studying Droplet-Turbulence Interactions in Vaporizing Sprays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Santavicca, Dom A.; Coy, E.

1990-01-01

Droplet turbulence interactions directly affect the vaporization and dispersion of droplets in liquid sprays and therefore play a major role in fuel oxidizer mixing in liquid fueled combustion systems. Proper characterization of droplet turbulence interactions in vaporizing sprays require measurement of droplet size velocity and size temperature correlations. A planar, fluorescence imaging technique is described which is being developed for simultaneously measuring the size, velocity, and temperature of individual droplets in vaporizing sprays. Preliminary droplet size velocity correlation measurements made with this technique are presented. These measurements are also compared to and show very good agreement with measurements made in the same spray using a phase Doppler particle analyzer.

Surfactant induced stabilization of nano liquid crystalline (dodecane-phytantriol) droplet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbas, S.; Saha, Debasish; Kumar, Sugam; Aswal, V. K.; Kohlbrecher, J.

2018-04-01

The study of formation and stabilization of dodecane-phytantriol (DPT) microemulsions using ionic and nonionic surfactants are investigated. Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) techniques have been employed to study the resulting structures of the micro emulsion droplets. We show the formation of stable microemulsion droplets with absence of lyotropic liquid crystalline phase on addition of nonionic surfactant C12E10. The oil to surfactant ratio plays the crucial role in formation of stable droplet and its size. The dense presence of C12E10 molecules between microemulsion droplets protect them from coalescence while less number of C12E10 between the surface of droplets easily triggers the coalescence process. The interaction with both anionic (SDS) as well as cationic (DTAB) surfactants with DPT phase leads to formation of microemulsion droplets with lyotropic liquid crystalline phase.

Spectroscopic Investigation of the Primary Reaction Intermediates in the Oxidation of Levitated Droplets of Energetic Ionic Liquids.

PubMed

Brotton, Stephen J; Lucas, Michael; Chambreau, Steven D; Vaghjiani, Ghanshyam L; Yu, Jiang; Anderson, Scott L; Kaiser, Ralf I

2017-12-21

The production of the next generation of hypergolic, ionic-liquid-based fuels requires an understanding of the reaction mechanisms between the ionic liquid and oxidizer. We probed reactions between a levitated droplet of 1-methyl-4-amino-1,2,4-triazolium dicyanamide ([MAT][DCA]), with and without hydrogen-capped boron nanoparticles, and the nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) oxidizer. The apparatus exploits an ultrasonic levitator enclosed within a pressure-compatible process chamber equipped with complementary Raman, ultraviolet-visible, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic probes. Vibrational modes were first assigned to the FTIR and Raman spectra of droplets levitated in argon. Spectra were subsequently collected for pure and boron-doped [MAT][DCA] exposed to nitrogen dioxide. By comparison with electronic structure calculations, some of the newly formed modes suggest that the N atom of the NO 2 molecule bonds to a terminal N on the dicyanamide anion yielding [O 2 N-NCNCN] - . This represents the first spectroscopic evidence of a key reaction intermediate in the oxidation of levitated ionic liquid droplets.

Oscillating Droplets and Incompressible Liquids: Slow-Motion Visualization of Experiments with Fluids

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vollmer, Michael; Mollmann, Klaus-Peter

2012-01-01

We present fascinating simple demonstration experiments recorded with high-speed cameras in the field of fluid dynamics. Examples include oscillations of falling droplets, effects happening upon impact of a liquid droplet into a liquid, the disintegration of extremely large droplets in free fall and the consequences of incompressibility. (Contains…

Assembly of silver nanowire ring induced by liquid droplet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seong, Baekhoon; Park, Hyun Sung; Chae, Ilkyeong; Lee, Hyungdong; Wang, Xiaofeng; Jang, Hyung-Seok; Jung, Jaehyuck; Lee, Changgu; Lin, Liwei; Byun, Doyoung

2017-11-01

Several forces in the liquid droplet drive the nanomaterials to naturally form an assembled structure. During evaporation of a liquid droplet, nanomaterials can move to the rim of the droplet by convective flow and capillary flow, due to the difference in temperature between the top and contact line of the droplet. Here, we demonstrate a new, simple and scalable technology for the fabrication of ring-shaped Ag NWs by a spraying method. We experimentally identify the compressive force of the droplet driven by surface tension as the key mechanism for the self-assembly of ring structures. We investigated the progress of ring shape formation of Ag NWs according to the droplet size with theoretically calculated optimal conditions. As such, this self-assembly technique of making ring-shaped structures from Ag NWs could be applied to other nanomaterials. This work was supported by the New & Renewable Energy R&D program of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) Grant funded by the Korea government Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. (No. 20163010071630).

Numerical simulation of liquid droplet breakup in supersonic flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Nan; Wang, Zhenguo; Sun, Mingbo; Wang, Hongbo; Wang, Bing

2018-04-01

A five-equation model based on finite-difference frame was utilized to simulate liquid droplet breakup in supersonic flows. To enhance the interface-capturing quality, an anti-diffusion method was introduced as a correction of volume-fraction after each step of calculation to sharpen the interface. The robustness was guaranteed by the hybrid variable reconstruction in which the second-order and high-order method were respectively employed in discontinuous and continuous flow fields. According to the recent classification of droplet breakup regimes, the simulations lay in the shear induced entrainment regime. Comparing to the momentum of the high-speed air flows, surface tension and viscid force were negligible in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional simulations. The inflow conditions were set as Mach 1.2, 1.5 and 1.8 to reach different dynamic pressure with the liquid to gas density ratio being 1000 initially. According to the results of simulations, the breakup process was divided into three stages which were analyzed in details with the consideration of interactions between gas and liquid. The shear between the high-speed gas flow and the liquid droplet was found to be the sources of surface instabilities on windward, while the instabilities on the leeward side were originated by vortices. Movement of the liquid mass center was studied, and the unsteady acceleration was observed. In addition, the characteristic breakup time was around 1.0 based on the criterion of either droplet thickness or liquid volume fraction.

Motion of fine-spray liquid droplets in hot gas flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsov, G. V.; Kuibin, P. A.; Strizhak, P. A.

2014-12-01

Experimental study was performed on motion of fine-spray liquid (water) droplets in a high-temperature (above 1000 K) gases. The study distinguishes three modes of droplet motion through gas medium under condition of intensive evaporation. Experiments defined the ranges of gas velocity, droplets sizes, and velocities that correspond to the droplet motion modes.

Fuel droplet burning rates at high pressures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Canada, G. S.; Faeth, G. M.

1972-01-01

Combustion of methanol, ethanol, propanol -1, n - pentane, n - heptane and n - decane was observed in air under natural convection conditions at pressures up to 100 atm. The droplets were simulated by porous spheres with diameters in the range 0.63 - 1.90 cm. The pressure levels of the tests were high enough so that near critical combustion was observed for methanol and ethanol. Measurements were made of the burning rate and liquid surface temperatures of the fuels. The data were compared with variable property analysis of the combustion process, including a correction for natural convection. The burning rate predictions of the various theories were similar and in fair agreement with the data. The high pressure theory gave the best prediction for the liquid surface temperatures of ethanol and propanol -1 at high pressure. The experiments indicated the approach of critical burning conditions for methanol and ethanol at pressures on the order of 80 - 100 atm, which was in good agreement with the predictions of both the low and high pressure analysis.

COMBUSTION OF HEAVY LIQUID FUELS

DTIC Science & Technology

characteristics of individual fuel droplets, as functions of the external conditions and fuel properties, the droplet combustion process in a flame ... length and the quality of atomization are examined. In addition, atomization quality is covered, and nozzle systems and the construction of nozzles are

Active suppression of vortex-driven combustion instability using controlled liquid-fuel injection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pang, Bin

Combustion instabilities remain one of the most challenging problems encountered in developing propulsion and power systems. Large amplitude pressure oscillations, driven by unsteady heat release, can produce numerous detrimental effects. Most previous active control studies utilized gaseous fuels to suppress combustion instabilities. However, using liquid fuel to suppress combustion instabilities is more realistic for propulsion applications. Active instability suppression in vortex-driven combustors using a direct liquid fuel injection strategy was theoretically established and experimentally demonstrated in this dissertation work. Droplet size measurements revealed that with pulsed fuel injection management, fuel droplet size could be modulated periodically. Consequently, desired heat release fluctuation could be created. If this oscillatory heat release is coupled with the natural pressure oscillation in an out of phase manner, combustion instabilities can be suppressed. To identify proper locations of supplying additional liquid fuel for the purpose of achieving control, the natural heat release pattern in a vortex-driven combustor was characterized in this study. It was found that at high Damkohler number oscillatory heat release pattern closely followed the evolving vortex front. However, when Damkohler number became close to unity, heat release fluctuation wave no longer coincided with the coherent structures. A heat release deficit area was found near the dump plane when combustor was operated in lean premixed conditions. Active combustion instability suppression experiments were performed in a dump combustor using a controlled liquid fuel injection strategy. High-speed Schlieren results illustrated that vortex shedding plays an important role in maintaining self-sustained combustion instabilities. Complete combustion instability control requires total suppression of these large-scale coherent structures. The sound pressure level at the excited dominant

Vortex Flows in the Liquid Layer and Droplets on a Vibrating Flexible Plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleksandrov, Vladimir; Kopysov, Sergey; Tonkov, Leonid

2018-02-01

In certain conditions, in the layers and droplets of a liquid on a vibrating rectangular flexible plate, vortex flows are formed simultaneously with the excitation of capillary oscillations on the free surface of the liquid layers and droplets. Capillary oscillations in the form of two-dimensional standing waves form Faraday ripples on the free surface of the liquid layer. On the surface of the vibrating droplets, at the excitation of capillary oscillations a light spot reflected from a spotlight source moves along a trajectory in the form of a Lissajous figure observed with a microscope. When vortex flows visualized with graphite microparticles appear in the layer and droplets of a transparent liquid, the trajectory of the light spot on the layer and droplet surface is a two-dimensional trajectory in the form of an ellipse or a saddle. This indicates that the generation of the vortex flows in a liquid at vibrations is due to capillary oscillations in the orthogonally related directions. In the liquid layer and droplets on the surface of the flexible plate, the vibrations of which are generated by bending vibrations, the vortex flows appear due to the plate vibrations and the capillary oscillations of the surface of a layer or a droplet of the liquid. On the free surface of the liquid, the capillary waves, which are parametrically excited by the plate bending vibrations, are additionally modulated by the same bending vibrations in the transverse direction.

On the application of the PFEM to droplet dynamics modeling in fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryzhakov, Pavel B.; Jarauta, Alex; Secanell, Marc; Pons-Prats, Jordi

2017-07-01

The Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) is used to develop a model to study two-phase flow in fuel cell gas channels. First, the PFEM is used to develop the model of free and sessile droplets. The droplet model is then coupled to an Eulerian, fixed-grid, model for the airflow. The resulting coupled PFEM-Eulerian algorithm is used to study droplet oscillations in an air flow and droplet growth in a low-temperature fuel cell gas channel. Numerical results show good agreement with predicted frequencies of oscillation, contact angle, and deformation of injected droplets in gas channels. The PFEM-based approach provides a novel strategy to study droplet dynamics in fuel cells.

Liquid crystal emulsion micro-droplet WGM resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ježek, Jan; Pilát, Zdeněk.; Brzobohatý, Oto; Jonáš, Alexandr; Aas, Mehdi; Kiraz, Alper; Zemánek, Pavel

2014-12-01

We introduce tunable optofluidic microlasers based on optically stretched or thermally modified, dye-doped emulsion droplets of liquid crystals (LC) confined in a dual-beam optical trap. Droplets were created in microfluidic chips or by shaking. Optically trapped microdroplets emulsified in water and stained with fluorescent dye act as an active ultrahigh-Q optical resonant cavity hosting whispering gallery modes (WGMs). Tuning of the laser emission wavelength was achieved by a controlled deformation of the droplet shape using light-induced forces generated by dual-beam optical trap and by thermal changing of the order in the LC.

The interfacial structure of water droplets in a hydrophobic liquid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolentsev, Nikolay; Smit, Wilbert J.; Bakker, Huib J.; Roke, Sylvie

2017-05-01

Nanoscopic and microscopic water droplets and ice crystals embedded in liquid hydrophobic surroundings are key components of aerosols, rocks, oil fields and the human body. The chemical properties of such droplets critically depend on the interfacial structure of the water droplet. Here we report the surface structure of 200 nm-sized water droplets in mixtures of hydrophobic oils and surfactants as obtained from vibrational sum frequency scattering measurements. The interface of a water droplet shows significantly stronger hydrogen bonds than the air/water or hexane/water interface and previously reported planar liquid hydrophobic/water interfaces at room temperature. The observed spectral difference is similar to that of a planar air/water surface at a temperature that is ~50 K lower. Supercooling the droplets to 263 K does not change the surface structure. Below the homogeneous ice nucleation temperature, a single vibrational mode is present with a similar mean hydrogen-bond strength as for a planar ice/air interface.

Evaporation of Liquid Droplet in Nano and Micro Scales from Statistical Rate Theory.

PubMed

Duan, Fei; He, Bin; Wei, Tao

2015-04-01

The statistical rate theory (SRT) is applied to predict the average evaporation flux of liquid droplet after the approach is validated in the sessile droplet experiments of the water and heavy water. The steady-state experiments show a temperature discontinuity at the evaporating interface. The average evaporation flux is evaluated by individually changing the measurement at a liquid-vapor interface, including the interfacial liquid temperature, the interfacial vapor temperature, the vapor-phase pressure, and the droplet size. The parameter study shows that a higher temperature jump would reduce the average evaporation flux. The average evaporation flux can significantly be influenced by the interfacial liquid temperature and the vapor-phase pressure. The variation can switch the evaporation into condensation. The evaporation flux is found to remain relative constant if the droplet is larger than a micro scale, while the smaller diameters in nano scale can produce a much higher evaporation flux. In addition, a smaller diameter of droplets with the same liquid volume has a larger surface area. It is suggested that the evaporation rate increases dramatically as the droplet shrinks into nano size.

Direct droplet production from a liquid film: a new gas-assisted atomization mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snyder, Herman E.; Reitz, Rolf D.

1998-11-01

X-ray lithography and micro-machining have been used to study gas-assisted liquid atomization in which a liquid film was impinged by a large number of sonic micro-gas jets. Three distinct breakup regimes were demonstrated. Two of these regimes share characteristics with previously observed atomization processes: a bubble bursting at a free surface (Newitt et al. 1954; Boulton-Stone & Blake 1993) and liquid sheet disintegration in a high gas/liquid relative velocity environment (Dombrowski & Johns 1963). The present work shows that suitable control of the gas/liquid interface creates a third regime, a new primary atomization mechanism, in which single liquid droplets are ejected directly from the liquid film without experiencing an intermediate ligament formation stage. The interaction produces a stretched liquid sheet directly above each gas orifice. This effectively pre-films the liquid prior to its breakup. Following this, surface tension contracts the stretched film of liquid into a sphere which subsequently detaches from the liquid sheet and is entrained by the gas jet that momentarily pierces the film. After droplet ejection, the stretched liquid film collapses, covering the gas orifice, and the process repeats. This new mechanism is capable of the efficient creation of finely atomized sprays at low droplet ejection velocities (e.g. 20 [mu]m Sauter mean diameter methanol sprays using air at 239 kPa, with air-to-liquid mass ratios below 1.0, and droplet velocities lower than 2.0 m s[minus sign]1). Independent control of the gas and the liquid flows allows the droplet creation process to be effectively de-coupled from the initial droplet momentum, a characteristic not observed with standard gas-assisted atomization mechanisms.

Two Droplets on Wire Approaching Ignition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

The Fiber-Supported Droplet Combustion (FSDC) uses two droplets positioned on the fiber wire, instead of the usual one. Two droplets more closely simulates the environment in engines, which ignite many fuel droplets at once. The behavior of the burning was also unexpected -- the droplets moved together after ignition, generating quite a bit of data for understanding the interaction of fuel droplets while they burn. This MPEG movie (1.3 MB) shows a time-lapse of this burn (3x speed). Because FSDC is backlit (the bright glow behind the drops), you carnot see the glow of the droplets while they burn -- instead, you see them shrink! The small blobs left on the wire after the burn are the beads used to center the fuel droplet on the wire. This image was taken on STS-94, July 12, 1997, MET:10/19:13 (approximate). FSDC-2 studied fundamental phenomena related to liquid fuel droplet combustion in air. Pure fuels and mixtures of fuels were burned as isolated single and dual droplets with and without forced air convection. The FSDC guest investigator was Forman Williams, University of California, San Diego. The experiment was part of the space research investigations conducted during the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1R mission (STS-94, July 1-17 1997). Advanced combustion experiments will be a part of investigations planned for the International Space Station. (1.3MB, 12-second MPEG, screen 320 x 240 pixels; downlinked video, higher quality not available) A still JPG composite of this movie is available at http://mix.msfc.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/MSFC-0300178.html.

Liquid-in-gas droplet microfluidics; experimental characterization of droplet morphology, generation frequency, and monodispersity in a flow-focusing microfluidic device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tirandazi, Pooyan; Hidrovo, Carlos H.

2017-07-01

Microfluidic techniques for production of uniform droplets usually rely on the use of two immiscible liquids (e.g. water-in-oil emulsions). It has been shown recently that a continuous gas flow instead of a second liquid carrier can be used as an alternative approach in droplet microfluidics. In this work we experimentally investigate the generation of liquid water droplets within air in flow-focusing configurations. Over a wide range of flow conditions we identify six distinct flow regimes inside the microchannel: Co-flowing, Threading, Plugging, Dripping, Multi-Satellite Formation, and Jetting. Flow regimes and their transitions are plotted and characterized based on the Weber number (We) of the system. We further investigate the impact of liquid microchannel size on the flow maps. Generation frequency, morphology, and monodispersity of the droplets are characterized in more detail in the Dripping regime. Generation frequency can be related to the product of the liquid and gas flow rates. However, droplet morphology (length and width) is more dependent on the gas flow rate. We demonstrate the production of monodisperse droplets (d < 100 µm and σ/d < 5 %) up to kHz formation rates in liquid-gas microfluidic systems for the first time. The results of this work provide practical and useful guidelines for precise, oil-free delivery of ultra-small volumes of fluid which can be integrated in lab-on-a-chip systems for a variety of applications in biochemical research and material synthesis.

Quantum liquid droplets in a mixture of Bose-Einstein condensates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabrera, C. R.; Tanzi, L.; Sanz, J.; Naylor, B.; Thomas, P.; Cheiney, P.; Tarruell, L.

2018-01-01

Quantum droplets are small clusters of atoms self-bound by the balance of attractive and repulsive forces. Here, we report on the observation of droplets solely stabilized by contact interactions in a mixture of two Bose-Einstein condensates. We demonstrate that they are several orders of magnitude more dilute than liquid helium by directly measuring their size and density via in situ imaging. We show that the droplets are stablized against collapse by quantum fluctuations and that they require a minimum atom number to be stable. Below that number, quantum pressure drives a liquid-to-gas transition that we map out as a function of interaction strength. These ultradilute isotropic liquids remain weakly interacting and constitute an ideal platform to benchmark quantum many-body theories.

Measurement Sensitivity Of Liquid Droplet Parameters Using Optical Fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Alok K.; Mandal, Anup K.

1990-02-01

A new clad probing technique is used to measure the size, number, refractive index and viscosity of liquid droplets sprayed from a pressure nozzle on an uncoated core-clad fiber. The probe monitors the clad mode power loss within the leaky ray zone represented as a three region fiber. Liquid droplets measured are Glycerine, commercial grade Turpentine, Linseed oil and some oil mixtures. The measurement sensitivity depends on probing conditions and clad diameter which is observed experimentally and verified analytically. A maximum sensitivity is obtained for the tapered probe-fiber diameter made equal to the clad thickness. A slowly tapered probe-fiber and a small end angle as well as separation of the sensor-fiber and the probe-fiber further improve the sensitivity. Under the best probing condition for 90-percent Glycerine droplets of - 50 micron diameter and a 50/125 micron sensor fiber with clad refractive index of 1.465 and 0.2 NA, the measured sensitivity per drop is 0.015 and 0.006 dB, respectively, for (10-20) and (100-200) droplets. Sensitivities for different systems are shown. The sensitivity is optimized by choosing proper fiber for known liquids.

Light-directing omnidirectional circularly polarized reflection from liquid-crystal droplets.

PubMed

Fan, Jing; Li, Yannian; Bisoyi, Hari Krishna; Zola, Rafael S; Yang, Deng-Ke; Bunning, Timothy J; Weitz, David A; Li, Quan

2015-02-09

Constructing and tuning self-organized three-dimensional (3D) superstructures with tailored functionality is crucial in the nanofabrication of smart molecular devices. Herein we fabricate a self-organized, phototunable 3D photonic superstructure from monodisperse droplets of one-dimensional cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) containing a photosensitive chiral molecular switch with high helical twisting power. The droplets are obtained by a glass capillary microfluidic technique by dispersing into PVA solution that facilitates planar anchoring of the liquid-crystal molecules at the droplet surface, as confirmed by the observation of normal incidence selective circular polarized reflection in all directions from the core of individual droplet. Photoirradiation of the droplets furnishes dynamic reflection colors without thermal relaxation, whose wavelength can be tuned reversibly by variation of the irradiation time. The results provided clear evidence on the phototunable reflection in all directions. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Liquid droplets of cross-linked actin filaments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weirich, Kimberly; Banerjee, Shiladitya; Dasbiswas, Kinjal; Vaikuntanathan, Suriyanarayan; Gardel, Margaret

Soft materials constructed from biomolecules self-assemble into a myriad of structures that work in concert to support cell physiology. One critical soft material is the actin cytoskeleton, a viscoelastic gel composed of cross-linked actin filaments. Although actin networks are primarily known for their elastic properties, which are crucial to regulating cell mechanics, the viscous behavior has been theorized to enable shape changes and flows. We experimentally demonstrate a fluid phase of cross-linked actin, where cross-linker condenses dilute short actin filaments into spindle-shaped droplets, or tactoids. Tactoids have shape dynamics consistent with a continuum model of liquid crystal droplets. The cross-linker, which acts as a long range attractive interaction, analogous to molecular cohesion, controls the tactoid shape and dynamics, which reports on the liquid's interfacial tension and viscosity. We investigate how the cross-linker properties and filament length influence the liquid properties. These results demonstrate a novel mechanism to control organization of the actin cytoskeleton and provide insight into design principles for complex, macromolecular liquid phases.

Simple and robust resistive dual-axis accelerometer using a liquid metal droplet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huh, Myoung; Won, Dong-Joon; Kim, Joong Gil; Kim, Joonwon

2017-12-01

This paper presents a novel dual-axis accelerometer that consists of a liquid metal droplet in a cone-shaped channel and an electrode layer with four Nichrome electrodes. The sensor uses the advantages of the liquid metal droplet (i.e., high surface tension, electrical conductivity, high density, and deformability). The cone-shaped channel imposes a restoring force on the liquid metal droplet. We conducted simulation tests to determine the appropriate design specifications of the cone-shaped channel. Surface modifications to the channel enhanced the nonwetting performance of the liquid metal droplet. The performances of the sensor were analyzed by a tilting test. When the acceleration was applied along the axial direction, the device showed 6 kΩ/g of sensitivity and negligible crosstalk between the X- and Y-axes. In a diagonal direction test, the device showed 4 kΩ/g of sensitivity.

Series of Two Droplets on Fiber Approaching Ignition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

The Fiber-Supported Droplet Combustion (FSDC) uses two droplets positioned on the fiber wire, instead of the usual one. Two droplets more closely simulates the environment in engines, which ignite many fuel droplets at once. The behavior of the burning was also unexpected -- the droplets moved together after ignition, generating quite a bit of data for understanding the interaction of fuel droplets while they burn. Because FSDC is backlit (the bright glow behind the drops), you carnot see the glow of the droplets while they burn -- instead, you see them shrink! The small blobs left on the wire after the burn are the beads used to center the fuel droplet on the wire. This image was taken on STS-94, July 12, 1997, MET:10/19:13 (approximate). FSDC-2 studied fundamental phenomena related to liquid fuel droplet combustion in air. Pure fuels and mixtures of fuels were burned as isolated single and dual droplets with and without forced air convection. The FSDC guest investigator was Forman Williams, University of California, San Diego. The experiment was part of the space research investigations conducted during the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1R mission (STS-94, July 1-17 1997). Advanced combustion experiments will be a part of investigations planned for the International Space Station. (251KB JPEG, 1350 x 1523 pixels; downlinked video, higher quality not available) The MPG from which this composite was made is available at http://mix.msfc.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/MSFC-0300179.html

Liquid crystal Janus emulsion droplets: preparation, tumbling, and swimming.

PubMed

Jeong, Joonwoo; Gross, Adam; Wei, Wei-Shao; Tu, Fuquan; Lee, Daeyeon; Collings, Peter J; Yodh, A G

2015-09-14

This study introduces liquid crystal (LC) Janus droplets. We describe a process for the preparation of these droplets, which consist of nematic LC and polymer compartments. The process employs solvent-induced phase separation in emulsion droplets generated by microfluidics. The droplet morphology was systematically investigated and demonstrated to be sensitive to the surfactant concentration in the background phase, the compartment volume ratio, and the possible coalescence of multiple Janus droplets. Interestingly, the combination of a polymer and an anisotropic LC introduces new functionalities into Janus droplets, and these properties lead to unusual dynamical behaviors. The different densities and solubilities of the two compartments produce gravity-induced alignment, tumbling, and directional self-propelled motion of Janus droplets. LC Janus droplets with remarkable optical properties and dynamical behaviors thus offer new avenues for applications of Janus colloids and active soft matter.

Validated Numerical Models for the Convective Extinction of Fuel Droplets (CEFD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gogos, George; Bowen, Brent; Nickerson, Jocelyn S.

2002-01-01

The NASA Nebraska Space Grant (NSGC) & EPSCoR programs have continued their effort to support outstanding research endeavors by funding the Numerical Simulation of the Combustion of Fuel Droplets study at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL). This team of researchers has developed a transient numerical model to study the combustion of suspended and moving droplets. The engines that propel missiles, jets, and many other devices are dependent upon combustion. Therefore, data concerning the combustion of fuel droplets is of immediate relevance to aviation and aeronautical personnel, especially those involved in flight operations. The experiments being conducted by Dr. Gogos and Dr. Nayagam s research teams, allow investigators to gather data for comparison with theoretical predictions of burning rates, flame structures, and extinction conditions. The consequent improved fundamental understanding of droplet combustion may contribute to the clean and safe utilization of fossil fuels (Williams, Dryer, Haggard & Nayagam, 1997, f 2). The present state of knowledge on convective extinction of fuel droplets derives from experiments conducted under normal gravity conditions. However, any data obtained with suspended droplets under normal gravity are grossly affected by gravity. The need to obtain experimental data under microgravity conditions is therefore well justified and addresses one of the goals of NASA's Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) microgravity combustion experiment.

High-resolution liquid patterns via three-dimensional droplet shape control.

PubMed

Raj, Rishi; Adera, Solomon; Enright, Ryan; Wang, Evelyn N

2014-09-25

Understanding liquid dynamics on surfaces can provide insight into nature's design and enable fine manipulation capability in biological, manufacturing, microfluidic and thermal management applications. Of particular interest is the ability to control the shape of the droplet contact area on the surface, which is typically circular on a smooth homogeneous surface. Here, we show the ability to tailor various droplet contact area shapes ranging from squares, rectangles, hexagons, octagons, to dodecagons via the design of the structure or chemical heterogeneity on the surface. We simultaneously obtain the necessary physical insights to develop a universal model for the three-dimensional droplet shape by characterizing the droplet side and top profiles. Furthermore, arrays of droplets with controlled shapes and high spatial resolution can be achieved using this approach. This liquid-based patterning strategy promises low-cost fabrication of integrated circuits, conductive patterns and bio-microarrays for high-density information storage and miniaturized biochips and biosensors, among others.

Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer of Liquid Precursor Droplets Injected into High-Temperature Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basu, Saptarshi; Jordan, Eric H.; Cetegen, Baki M.

2008-03-01

Thermo-physical processes in liquid ceramic precursor droplets in plasma were modeled. Models include aerodynamic droplet break-up, droplet transport, as well as heat and mass transfer within individual droplets. Droplet size, solute concentration, and plasma temperature effects are studied. Results are discussed with the perspective of selecting processing conditions and injection parameters to obtain certain types of coating microstructures. Small droplets (<5 microns) are found to undergo volumetric precipitation and coating deposition with small unpyrolized material. Droplets can be made to undergo shear break-up by reducing surface tension and small droplets promote volumetric precipitation. Small particles reach substrate as molten splats resulting in denser coatings. Model predicts that larger droplets (>5 microns) tend to surface precipitate-forming shells with liquid core. They may be subjected to internal pressurization leading to shattering of shells and secondary atomization of liquid within. They arrive at the substrate as broken shells and unpyrolized material.

Skylab near-infrared observations of clouds indicating supercooled liquid water droplets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curran, R. J.; Wu, M.-L. C.

1982-01-01

Orographically-induced lee-wave clouds were observed over New Mexico by a multichannel scanning radiometer on Skylab during December 1973. Channels centered at 0.83, 1.61 and 2.125 microns were used to determine the cloud optical thickness, thermodynamic phase and effective particle size. An additional channel centered at 11.4 microns was used to determine cloud-top temperature, which was corroborated through comparison with the stereographically determined cloud top altitudes and conventional temperature soundings. Analysis of the measured near-infrared reflection functions at 1.61 and 2.125 microns are most easily interpreted as indicating the presence of liquid-phase water droplets. This interpretation is not conclusive even after considerable effort to understand possible sources for misinterpretation. However, if accepted the resulting phase determination is considered anomalous due to the inferred cloud-top temperatures being in the -32 to -47 C range. Theory for the homogeneous nucleation of pure supercooled liquid water droplets predicts very short lifetimes for the liquid phase at these cold temperatures. A possible explanation for the observations is that the wave-clouds are composed of solution droplets. Impurities in the cloud droplets could decrease the homogeneous freezing rate for these droplets, permitting them to exist for a longer time in the liquid phase, at the cold temperatures found.

Movement of liquid droplets containing polymers on substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Guohui; Wang, Heng

2016-11-01

It is of both fundamental and practical interests to study the flow physics in the manipulation of droplets. As a microreactor, the macromolecules or particles inside the droplets might have significant influences on their movement. In the present study, the many-body dissipative particle dynamics (MDPD) is utilized to investigate the translocation of droplets containing polymer on a substrate driven by the wettability gradient, where the polymer is modelled as worm-like chain (WLC). The internal flows of the droplets are analyzed, as well as the comparison to the polymer-free moving droplets. The effects of physical parameters, such as the interaction potential between liquid particle and polymer beads, the mass of the beads, on the translocation speed are also addressed in the present study. These results might be helpful to the optimization in design of the microfluidic systems.

Secondary atomization of single coal-water fuel droplets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hassel, G.R.; Scaroni, A.W.

1989-03-01

The evaporative behavior of single, well characterized droplets of a lignite coal-water slurry fuel (CWSF) and a carbon black in water slurry was studied as a function of heating rate and droplet composition. Induced droplet heating rates were varied from 0 to 10{sup 5} K/s. Droplets studied were between 97 and 170 {mu}m in diameter, with compositions ranging from 25 to 60% solids by weight. The effect of a commercially available surfactant additive package on droplet evaporation rate, explosive boiling energy requirements, and agglomerate formation was assessed. Surfactant concentrations were varied from none to 2 and 4% by weight solutionmore » (1.7 and 3.6% by weight of active species on a dry coal basis). The experimental system incorporated an electrodynamic balance to hold single, free droplets, a counterpropagating pulsed laser heating arrangement, and both video and high speed cinematographic recording systems. Data were obtained for ambient droplet evaporation by monitoring the temporal size, weight, and solids concentration changes. 49 refs., 31 figs.« less

Surface oscillation of levitated liquid droplets under microgravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Masahito; Hibiya, Taketoshi; Ozawa, Shumpei; Mizuno, Akitoshi

2012-07-01

Microgravity conditions have advantages of measurement of surface tension and viscosity of metallic liquids by the oscillating drop method with an electromagnetic levitation (EML) device. Thus, we are now planning the thermophysical properties, the surface tension, viscosity, density and etc., measurements of liquid alloys using the electromagnetic levitator named MSL-EML (Materials Science Laboratory Electromagnetic Levitator), which ahs been developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), installed in the International Space Station (ISS). The surface tension and the viscosity of liquid samples by the oscillating drop method are obtained from the surface oscillation frequency and damping time of surface oscillation respectively. However, analysis of oscillating drop method in EML must be improved even in the microgravity conditions, because on the EML conditions the electromagnetic force (EMF) cannot generate the surface oscillation with discretely oscillation mode. Since under microgravity the levitated droplet shape is completely spherical, the surface oscillation frequency with different oscillation modes degenerates into the single frequency. Therefore, surface tension will be not affected the EML condition under microgravity, but viscosity will be affected on the different oscillation mode of surface oscillations. Because dumping time of surface oscillation of liquid droplets depends on the oscillation modes, the case of surface oscillation including multi oscillation modes the viscosity values obtained from dumping time will be modified from the correct viscosity. Therefore, we investigate the dumping time of surface oscillation of levitated droplets with different oscillation modes and also with including multi oscillation modes using the electrostatic levitation (ESL) on ground and EML under microgravity conditions by the parabolic flight of airplane. The ESL can discretely generate the surface oscillation with different oscillation modes by the change of

Nonspherical liquid droplet falling in air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahu, Kirti; Agrawal, Meenu; A. R, Premlala; Tripathi, Manoj; Karri, Badarinath; Kirti Sahu Collaboration

2017-11-01

The dynamics of an initially nonspherical liquid droplet falling in air under the action of gravity is investigated via three-dimensional numerical simulations of the Navier-Stokes and continuity equations in the inertial regime. The surface tension is considered to be high enough so that a droplet does not undergo break-up. Vertically symmetric oscillations which decay with time are observed for low inertia. The amplitude of these oscillations increases for high Gallilei numbers and the shape asymmetry in the vertical direction becomes prominent. The reason for this asymmetry has been attributed to the higher aerodynamic inertia. Moreover, even for large inertia, no path deviations/oscillations are observed.

Nonspherical liquid droplet falling in air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agrawal, Meenu; Premlata, A. R.; Tripathi, Manoj Kumar; Karri, Badarinath; Sahu, Kirti Chandra

2017-03-01

The dynamics of an initially nonspherical liquid droplet falling in air under the action of gravity is investigated via three-dimensional numerical simulations of the Navier-Stokes and continuity equations in the inertial regime. The surface tension is considered to be high enough so that a droplet does not undergo breakup. Vertically symmetric oscillations which decay with time are observed for low inertia. The amplitude of these oscillations increases for high Gallilei numbers and the shape asymmetry in the vertical direction becomes prominent. The reason for this asymmetry has been attributed to the higher aerodynamic inertia. Moreover, even for large inertia, no path deviations or oscillations are observed.

Non-thermal equilibrium plasma-liquid interactions with femtolitre droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maguire, Paul; Mahony, Charles; Bingham, Andrew; Patel, Jenish; Rutherford, David; McDowell, David; Mariotti, Davide; Bennet, Euan; Potts, Hugh; Diver, Declan

2014-10-01

Plasma-induced non-equilibrium liquid chemistry is little understood. It depends on a complex interplay of interface and near surface processes, many involving energy-dependent electron-induced reactions and the transport of transient species such as hydrated electrons. Femtolitre liquid droplets, with an ultra-high ratio of surface area to volume, were transported through a low-temperature atmospheric pressure RF microplasma with transit times of 1--10 ms. Under a range of plasma operating conditions, we observe a number of non-equilibrium chemical processes that are dominated by energetic electron bombardment. Gas temperature and plasma parameters (ne ~ 1013 cm-3, Te < 4 eV) were determined while size and droplet velocity profiles were obtained using a microscope coupled to a fast ICCD camera under low light conditions. Laminar mixed-phase droplet flow is achieved and the plasma is seen to significantly deplete only the slower, smaller droplet component due possibly to the interplay between evaporation, Rayleigh instabilities and charge emission. Funding from EPSRC acknowledged (Grants EP/K006088/1 and EP/K006142/1).

Enhanced fluorescence detection using liquid-liquid extraction in a microfluidic droplet system.

PubMed

Chen, Yan-Yu; Chen, Zhao-Ming; Wang, Hsiang-Yu

2012-11-07

Reducing the fluorescence background in microfluidic assays is important in obtaining accurate outcomes and enhancing the quality of detections. This study demonstrates an integrated process including cell labelling, fluorescence background reduction, and biomolecule detection using liquid-liquid extraction in a microfluidic droplet system. The cellular lipids in Chlorella vulgaris and NIH/3T3 cells were labelled with a hydrophobic dye, Nile red, to investigate the performance of the proposed method. The fluorescence background of the lipid detection can be reduced by 85% and the removal efficiency increased with the volume of continuous phase surrounding a droplet. The removal rate of the fluorescence background increased as the surface area to volume ratio of a droplet increased. Before Nile red was removed from the droplet, the signal to noise ratio was as low as 1.30 and it was difficult to distinguish cells from the background. Removing Nile red increased the signal to noise ratio to 22 and 34 for Chlorella vulgaris and NIH/3T3, respectively, and these were 17 fold and 10 fold of the values before extraction. The proposed method successfully demonstrates the enhancement of fluorescence detection of cellular lipids and has great potential in improving other fluorescence-based detections in microfluidic systems.

Effects of Energetic and Inert Nano Particles on Burning Liquid Ethanol Droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plascencia, Miguel; Sim, Hyung Sub; Vargas, Andres; Smith, Owen; Karagozian, Ann

2017-11-01

This study explores the effects of nano particulate additives on ethanol fuel droplet combustion in a quiescent environment. Two different types of droplet combustion experiments were performed: one involving the classic single droplet suspended from a quartz fiber and the other involving a burning droplet that has continual fuel delivery via a quartz capillary. Two alternative nano particles were explored here to demonstrate the effect of energetic additives: reactive nano aluminum (nAl) and inert nano silicon dioxide (nSiO2), each with average diameter 80 nm. Simultaneous high speed visible and OH* chemiluminescence images were taken to determine burning rate constants (K) and to study flame and droplet characteristics with varying particulate concentrations. Particle/vapor ejections were seen in continuously fed droplet experiments, while rod-suspended burning droplets showed limited particle ejection. The nSiO2 -laden, rod-suspended droplets formed a porous, shell-like structure resembling the shape of a droplet at higher nSiO2 concentrations, in contrast to smaller residue structures for nAl-laden droplets. Changes in K depended on concentrations of nAl and nSiO2 as well as the method of droplet formation, and TEM images of particle residue revealed additional insights. Supported by AFOSR Grant FA9550-15-1-0339.

Particle agglomeration and fuel decomposition in burning slurry droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choudhury, P. Roy; Gerstein, Melvin

In a burning slurry droplet the particles tend to agglomerate and produce large clusters which are difficult to burn. As a consequence, the combustion efficiency is drastically reduced. For such a droplet the nonlinear D2- t behavior associated with the formation of hard to burn agglomerates can be explained if the fuel decomposes on the surface of the particles. This paper deals with analysis and experiments with JP-10 and Diesel #2 slurries prepared with inert SiC and Al 2O 3 particles. It provides direct evidence of decomposed fuel residue on the surface of the particles heated by flame radiation. These decomposed fuel residues act as bonding agents and appear to be responsible for the observed agglomeration of particles in a slurry. Chemical analysis, scanning electron microscope photographs and finally micro-analysis by electron scattering clearly show the presence of decomposed fuel residue on the surface of the particles. Diesel #2 is decomposed relatively easily and therefore leaves a thicker deposit on SiC and forms larger agglomerates than the more stable JP-10. A surface reaction model with particles heated by flame radiation is able to describe the observed trend of the diameter history of the slurry fuel. Additional experiments with particles of lower emissivity (Al 2O 3) and radiation absorbing dye validate the theoretical model of the role of flame radiation in fuel decomposition and the formation of agglomerates in burning slurry droplets.

Experimental Investigation of Droplet Evaporation of Water with Ground Admixtures while Motion in a Flame of Liquid Fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dmitriyenko, Margarita A.; Nyashina, Galina S.; Zhdanova, Alena O.; Vysokomornaya, Olga V.

2016-02-01

The evaporation features for the atomized flow of suspension on the base of water with ground admixtures in an area of high-temperature combustion products of liquid flammable substance (acetone) were investigated experimentally by the optical methods of gas flow diagnostic and the high-speed video recording. The scales of influence of clay and silt concentration in droplets of atomized flow on the intensity of its evaporation were determined. The approximation dependences describing a decrease in typical size of suspension droplets at various values of ground admixtures were obtained.

Response of two-phase droplets to intense electromagnetic radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spann, James F.; Maloney, Daniel J.; Lawson, William F.; Casleton, Kent H.

1993-01-01

The behavior of two-phase droplets subjected to high intensity radiation pulses is studied. Droplets are highly absorbing solids in weakly absorbing liquid medium. The objective of the study was to define heating thresholds required for causing explosive boiling and secondary atomization of the fuel droplet. The results point to mechanisms for energy storage and transport in two-phase systems.

Experimental Study of Unsupported Nonane fuel Droplet Combustion in Microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callahan, B. J.; Avedisian, C. T.; Hertzog, D. E.; Berkery, J. W.

1999-01-01

Soot formation in droplet flames is the basic component of the particulate emission process that occurs in spray combustion. The complexity of soot formation motivates a one-dimensional transport condition which has obvious advantages in modeling. Recent models of spherically symmetric droplet combustion have made this assumption when incorporating such aspects as detailed chemistry and radiation. Interestingly, spherical symmetry does not necessarily restrict the results because it has been observed that the properties of carbon formed in flames are not strongly affected by the nature of the fuel or flaming configuration. What is affected, however, are the forces acting on the soot aggregates and where they are trapped by a balance of drag and thermophoretic forces. The distribution of these forces depends on the transport conditions of the flame. Prior studies of spherical droplet flames have examined the droplet burning history of alkanes, alcohols and aromatics. Data are typically the evolution of droplet, flame, extinction, and soot shell diameters. These data are only now just beginning to find their way into comprehensive numerical models of droplet combustion to test proposed oxidation schemes for fuels such as methanol and heptane. In the present study, we report new measurements on the burning history of unsupported nonane droplets in a convection-free environment to promote spherical symmetry. The far-field gas is atmospheric pressure air at room temperature. The evolution of droplet diameter was measured using high speed cine photography of a spark-ignited, droplet within a confined volume in a drop tower. The initial droplet diameters varied between 0.5 mm and 0.6 mm. The challenge of unsupported droplets is to form, deploy and ignite them with minimal disturbance, and then to keep them in the camera field of view. Because of the difficulty of this undertaking, more sophisticated diagnostics for studying soot than photographic were not used. Supporting

Investigation of critical burning of fuel droplets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faeth, G. M.

1979-01-01

The general problem of spray combustion was investigated. The combustion of bipropellent droplets; combustion of hydrozine fuels; and combustion of sprays were studied. A model was developed to predict mean velocities and temperatures in a combusting gas jet.

Modeling texture transitions in cholesteric liquid crystal droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selinger, Robin; Gimenez-Pinto, Vianney; Lu, Shin-Ying; Selinger, Jonathan; Konya, Andrew

2012-02-01

Cholesteric liquid crystals can be switched reversibly between planar and focal-conic textures, a property enabling their application in bistable displays, liquid crystal writing tablets, e-books, and color switching ``e-skins.'' To explore voltage-pulse induced switching in cholesteric droplets, we perform simulation studies of director dynamics in three dimensions. Electrostatics calculations are solved at each time step using an iterative relaxation method. We demonstrate that as expected, a low amplitude pulse drives the transition from planar to focal conic, while a high amplitude pulse drives the transition from focal conic back to the planar state. We use the model to explore the effects of droplet shape, aspect ratio, and anchoring conditions, with the goal of minimizing both response time and energy consumption.

Atomization of liquids in a Pease-Anthony Venturi scrubber. Part II. Droplet dispersion.

PubMed

Gonçalves, J A S; Costa, M A M; Aguiar, M L; Coury, J R

2004-12-10

Droplet distribution is of fundamental importance to the performance of a Venturi scrubber. Ensuring good liquid distribution can increase performance at minimal liquid usage. In this study, droplet dispersion in a rectangular Pease-Anthony Venturi scrubber, operating horizontally, was examined both theoretically and experimentally. The Venturi throat cross-section was 24 mm x 35 mm, and the throat length varied from 63 to 140 mm. Liquid was injected through a single orifice (1.0 mm diameter) on the throat wall. This arrangement allowed the study of the influence of jet penetration on droplet distribution. Gas velocity at the throat was 58.3 and 74.6 m/s, and the liquid flow rate was 286, 559 and 853 ml/min. A probe with a 2.7 mm internal diameter was used to isokinetically remove liquid from several positions inside the equipment. It was possible to study liquid distribution close to the injection point. A new model for droplet dispersion, which incorporates the new description of the jet atomization process developed by the present authors in the first article of this series, is proposed and evaluated. The model predicted well the experimental data.

Droplet impact on deep liquid pools: Rayleigh jet to formation of secondary droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castillo-Orozco, Eduardo; Davanlou, Ashkan; Choudhury, Pretam K.; Kumar, Ranganathan

2015-11-01

The impact of droplets on a deep pool has applications in cleaning up oil spills, spray cooling, painting, inkjet printing, and forensic analysis, relying on the changes in properties such as viscosity, interfacial tension, and density. Despite the exhaustive research on different aspects of droplet impact, it is not clear how liquid properties can affect the instabilities leading to Rayleigh jet breakup and number of daughter drops formed after its pinch-off. In this article, through systematic experiments we investigate the droplet impact phenomena by varying viscosity and surface tension of liquids as well as impact speeds. Further, using numerical simulations, we show that Rayleigh-Plateau instability is influenced by these parameters, and capillary time scale is the appropriate scale to normalize the breakup time. Based on Ohnesorge number (Oh) and impact Weber number (We), a regime map for no breakup, Rayleigh jet breakup, and crown splash is suggested. Interestingly, crown splash is observed to occur at all Ohnesorge numbers; however, at high Oh, a large portion of kinetic energy is dissipated, and thus the Rayleigh jet is suppressed regardless of high impact velocity. The normalized required time for the Rayleigh jet to reach its peak varies linearly with the critical height of the jet.

Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces and Droplet Transportation by Surface Acoustic Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, J. T.; Geraldi, N. R.; Guan, J. H.; McHale, G.; Wells, G. G.; Fu, Y. Q.

2017-01-01

On a solid surface, a droplet of liquid will stick due to the capillary adhesion, and this causes low droplet mobility. To reduce contact line pinning, surface chemistry can be coupled to micro- and/or nanostructures to create superhydrophobic surfaces on which a droplet balls up into an almost spherical shape, thus, minimizing the contact area. Recent progress in soft matter has now led to alternative lubricant-impregnated surfaces capable of almost zero contact line pinning and high droplet mobility without causing droplets to ball up and minimize the contact area. Here we report an approach to surface-acoustic-wave- (SAW) actuated droplet transportation enabled using such a surface. These surfaces maintain the contact area required for efficient energy and momentum transfer of the wave energy into the droplet while achieving high droplet mobility and a large footprint, therefore, reducing the threshold power required to induce droplet motion. In our approach, we use a slippery layer of lubricating oil infused into a self-assembled porous hydrophobic layer, which is significantly thinner than the SAW wavelength, and avoid damping of the wave. We find a significant reduction (up to 85%) in the threshold power for droplet transportation compared to that using a conventional surface-treatment method. Moreover, unlike droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces, where interaction with the SAW induces a transition from a Cassie-Baxter state to a Wenzel state, the droplets on our liquid-impregnated surfaces remain in a mobile state after interaction with the SAW.

Droplet Combustion and Soot Formation in Microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Avedisian, C. Thomas

1994-01-01

One of the most complex processes involved in the combustion ot liquid fuels is the formation of soot. A well characterized flow field and simplified flame structure can improve considerably the understanding of soot formation processes. The simplest flame shape to analyze for a droplet is spherical with its associated one-dimensional flow field. It is a fundamental limit and the oldest and most often analyzed configuration of droplet combustion. Spherical symmetry in the droplet burning process will arise when there is no relative motion between the droplet and ambience or uneven heating around the droplet periphery, and buoyancy effects are negligible. The flame and droplet are then concentric with each other and there is no liquid circulation within the droplet. An understanding of the effect of soot on droplet combustion should therefore benefit from this simplified configuration. Soot formed during spherically symmetric droplet combustion, however, has only recently drawn attention and it appears to be one of the few aspects associated with droplet combustion which have not yet been thoroughly investigated. For this review, the broad subject of droplet combustion is narrowed considerably by restricting attention specifically to soot combined with spherically symmetric droplet burning processes that are promoted.

Uranium droplet core nuclear rocket

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anghaie, Samim

1991-01-01

Uranium droplet nuclear rocket is conceptually designed to utilize the broad temperature range ofthe liquid phase of metallic uranium in droplet configuration which maximizes the energy transfer area per unit fuel volume. In a baseline system dissociated hydrogen at 100 bar is heated to 6000 K, providing 2000 second of Isp. Fission fragments and intense radian field enhance the dissociation of molecular hydrogen beyond the equilibrium thermodynamic level. Uranium droplets in the core are confined and separated by an axisymmetric vortex flow generated by high velocity tangential injection of hydrogen in the mid-core regions. Droplet uranium flow to the core is controlled and adjusted by a twin flow nozzle injection system.

Generation of Monodisperse Liquid Droplets in a Microfluidic Chip Using a High-Speed Gaseous Microflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tirandazi, Pooyan; Hidrovo, Carlos

2015-11-01

Over the last few years, microfluidic systems known as Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) and micro total analysis systems (μTAS) have been increasingly developed as essential components for numerous biochemical applications. Droplet microfluidics, however, provides a distinctive attribute for delivering and processing discrete as well as ultrasmall volumes of fluid, which make droplet-based systems more beneficial over their continuous-phase counterparts. Droplet generation in its conventional scheme usually incorporates the injection of a liquid (water) into a continuous immiscible liquid (oil) medium. In this study we demonstrate a novel scheme for controlled generation of monodisperse droplets in confined gas-liquid microflows. We experimentally investigate the manipulation of water droplets in flow-focusing configurations using a high inertial air stream. Different flow regimes are observed by varying the gas and liquid flow rates, among which, the ``dripping regime'' where monodisperse droplets are generated is of great importance. The controlled size and generation rate of droplets in this region provide the capability for precise and contaminant-free delivery of microliter to nanoliter volumes of fluid. Furthermore, the high speed droplets generated in this method represent the basis for a new approach based on droplet pair collisions for fast efficient micromixing which provides a significant development in modern LOC and μTAS devices. This project is currently being supported by an NSF CAREER Award grant CBET-1151091.

Conceptual design of liquid droplet radiator shuttle-attached experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pfeiffer, Shlomo L.

1989-01-01

The conceptual design of a shuttle-attached liquid droplet radiator (LDR) experiment is discussed. The LDR is an advanced, lightweight heat rejection concept that can be used to reject heat from future high-powered space platforms. In the LDR concept, submillimeter-sized droplets are generated, pass through space, radiate heat before they are collected, and recirculated back to the heat source. The LDR experiment is designed to be attached to the shuttle longeron and integrated into the shuttle bay using standard shuttle/experiment interfaces. Overall power, weight, and data requirements of the experiment are detailed. The conceptual designs of the droplet radiator, droplet collector, and the optical diagnostic system are discussed in detail. Shuttle integration and safety design issues are also discussed.

Numerical study of liquid film rupture after droplet spreading on a superhydrophilic surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Yisen; Lian, Yongsheng

2017-11-01

When a droplet impacts onto a solid surface, different outcomes can be observed, such as rebound, spreading and splashing. We present numerical simulation results on liquid film rupture after spreading of a droplet impact on a smooth superhydrophilic surface. The Navier-Stokes equations are solved using the variable density pressure projection method and the moment-of-fluid method is used to track the droplet interface. A superhydrophilic or superwetting surface has strong affinity to liquid and we assume the contact angle between solid and liquid is almost zero degree. The droplet spreading and film rupture process occurs in two stages: the droplet first spreads onto the surface and flattens into a thin film as it reaches the maximum diameter, then the film rim becomes unstable and the film rupture initiates from the rim toward the center gradually until the entire film breaks up into secondary droplets. The duration of the film rupture stage is much shorter than the spreading stage. The simulation result is compared with experiment and good agreement is achieved. We investigate the film thickness evolution during spreading and the effect of surface wettability on film rupture.

Microfluidic droplet trapping array as nanoliter reactors for gas-liquid chemical reaction.

PubMed

Zhang, Qingquan; Zeng, Shaojiang; Qin, Jianhua; Lin, Bingcheng

2009-09-01

This article presents a simple method for trapping arrays of droplets relying on the designed microstructures of the microfluidic device, and this has been successfully used for parallel gas-liquid chemical reaction. In this approach, the trapping structure is composed of main channel, lateral channel and trapping region. Under a negative pressure, array droplets can be generated and trapped in the microstructure simultaneously, without the use of surfactant and the precise control of the flow velocity. By using a multi-layer microdevice containing the microstructures, single (pH gradient) and multiple gas-liquid reactions (metal ion-NH3 complex reaction) can be performed in array droplets through the transmembrane diffusion of the gas. The droplets with quantitative concentration gradient can be formed by only replacing the specific membrane. The established method is simple, robust and easy to operate, demonstrating the potential of this device for droplet-based high-throughput screening.

Droplet Suspended on a Wire Begins Ignition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

The Fiber Supported Droplet Combustion Experiment completing a number of successful burns on STS-94, July 11, 1997, MET:9/17:40 (approximate). The photo shows a droplet of 95% heptane and 5% hexadecane, suspended and positioned by the fiber wire, just as it is being ignited by the glowing coil beneath. Study of the physical properties of burning fuel from this experiment is expected to contribute to more efficient use of fossil fuels and reduction of combustion by-products on Earth. The sequence is from a time-lapse movie (34 seconds condensed to 12 seconds), and clearly shows particles emanating from the droplet during the burn. The droplet shrank to nothing as it was consumed. FSDC-2 studied fundamental phenomena related to liquid fuel droplet combustion in air. Pure fuels and mixtures of fuels were burned as isolated single and dual droplets with and without forced air convection. The FSDC guest investigator was Forman Williams, University of California, San Diego. The experiment was part of the space research investigations conducted during the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1R mission (STS-94, July 1-17 1997). Advanced combustion experiments will be a part of investigations plarned for the International Space Station. (1.2 MB, 11-second MPEG, screen 320 x 240 pixels; downlinked video, higher quality not available) A still JPG composite of this movie is available at http://mix.msfc.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/MSFC-0300180.html.

Ignition of Droplet Suspended on a Wire

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

The Fiber Supported Droplet Combustion Experiment completing a number of successful burns on STS-94, July 11, 1997, MET:9/17:40 (approximate). The photo shows a droplet of 95% heptane and 5% hexadecane, suspended and positioned by the fiber wire, just as it is being ignited by the glowing coil beneath. Study of the physical properties of burning fuel from this experiment is expected to contribute to more efficient use of fossil fuels and reduction of combustion by-products on Earth. The sequence is from a time-lapse movie (34 seconds condensed to 12 seconds), and clearly shows particles emanating from the droplet during the burn. The droplet shrank to nothing as it was consumed. FSDC-2 studied fundamental phenomena related to liquid fuel droplet combustion in air. Pure fuels and mixtures of fuels were burned as isolated single and dual droplets with and without forced air convection. The FSDC guest investigator was Forman Williams, University of California, San Diego. The experiment was part of the space research investigations conducted during the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1R mission (STS-94, July 1-17 1997). Advanced combustion experiments will be a part of investigations plarned for the International Space Station. (133KB JPEG, 656 x 741 pixels; downlinked video, higher quality not available) The MPG from which this composite was made is available at http://mix.msfc.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/MSFC-0300181.html.

Ignition of an organic water-coal fuel droplet floating in a heated-air flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valiullin, T. R.; Strizhak, P. A.; Shevyrev, S. A.; Bogomolov, A. R.

2017-01-01

Ignition of an organic water-coal fuel (CWSP) droplet floating in a heated-air flow has been studied experimentally. Rank B2 brown-coal particles with a size of 100 μm, used crankcase Total oil, water, and a plasticizer were used as the main CWSP components. A dedicated quartz-glass chamber has been designed with inlet and outlet elements made as truncated cones connected via a cylindrical ring. The cones were used to shape an oxidizer flow with a temperature of 500-830 K and a flow velocity of 0.5-5.0 m/s. A technique that uses a coordinate-positioning gear, a nichrome thread, and a cutter element has been developed for discharging CWSP droplets into the working zone of the chamber. Droplets with an initial size of 0.4 to 2.0 mm were used. Conditions have been determined for a droplet to float in the oxidizer flow long enough for the sustainable droplet burning to be initiated. Typical stages and integral ignition characteristics have been established. The integral parameters (ignition-delay times) of the examined processes have been compared to the results of experiments with CWSP droplets suspended on the junction of a quick-response thermocouple. It has been shown that floating fuel droplets ignite much quicker than the ones that sit still on the thermocouple due to rotation of an CWSP droplet in the oxidizer flow, more uniform heating of the droplet, and lack of heat drainage towards the droplet center. High-speed video recording of the peculiarities of floatation of a burning fuel droplet makes it possible to complement the existing models of water-coal fuel burning. The results can be used for a more substantiated modeling of furnace CWSP burning with the ANSYS, Fluent, and Sigma-Flow software packages.

Stimulated Raman diagnostics in diesel droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golombok, Michael

1991-09-01

Stimulated Raman spectroscopy (SRS) can simultaneously measure droplet sizes and the associated component concentrations in a fuel injection. As spray evaporation is crucial in determining the performance parameters of a diesel engine, such as cold start and particulate emission formation, the new application of the method for spatially and temporally resolved measurements is a useful new diagnostic, extending our understanding of spray processes. Droplet sizes can be obtained from single shot SRS spectra by measuring the separation between morphology-dependent resonances (MDR) that correspond to standing wave modes confined near the droplet circumference. Power spectrum analysis allows the measurement of more than one droplet from a spectrum using a pumped laser sheet in the fuel spray. The MDRs are responsible for the simultaneous stimulation of multiple Raman spectral lines over and above those seen in bulk liquids. The SRS method for concentration measurement is effectively self-calibrating in that the relative intensity of two adjacent lines is used to measure concentration. Any particular fuel has a unique ratio of SRS antisymmetric to symmetric C-H stretch intensity. If individual components in a fuel blend are characterized beforehand, one can monitor the evolution of the spray during injection by measuring signal intensity ratios which yield the volume fraction of the component of interest. The SRS technique is being used to examine a number of spray dynamics phenomena such as fuel atomization, droplet evolution and front-end volatility effects, which are of current interest in diesel development studies.

Holographic studies of the vapor explosion of vaporizing water-in-fuel emulsion droplets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sheffield, S. A.; Hess, C. F.; Trolinger, J. D.

1982-01-01

Holographic studies were performed which examined the fragmentation process during vapor explosion of a water-in-fuel (hexadecane/water) emulsion droplet. Holograms were taken at 700 to 1000 microseconds after the vapor explosion. Photographs of the reconstructed holograms reveal a wide range of fragment droplet sizes created during the explosion process. Fragment droplet diameters range from below 10 microns to over 100 microns. It is estimated that between ten thousand and a million fragment droplets can result from this extremely violent vapor explosion process. This enhanced atomization is thus expected to have a pronounced effect on vaporization processes which are present during combustion of emulsified fuels.

Flame Spread and Group-Combustion Excitation in Randomly Distributed Droplet Clouds with Low-Volatility Fuel near the Excitation Limit: a Percolation Approach Based on Flame-Spread Characteristics in Microgravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikami, Masato; Saputro, Herman; Seo, Takehiko; Oyagi, Hiroshi

2018-03-01

Stable operation of liquid-fueled combustors requires the group combustion of fuel spray. Our study employs a percolation approach to describe unsteady group-combustion excitation based on findings obtained from microgravity experiments on the flame spread of fuel droplets. We focus on droplet clouds distributed randomly in three-dimensional square lattices with a low-volatility fuel, such as n-decane in room-temperature air, where the pre-vaporization effect is negligible. We also focus on the flame spread in dilute droplet clouds near the group-combustion-excitation limit, where the droplet interactive effect is assumed negligible. The results show that the occurrence probability of group combustion sharply decreases with the increase in mean droplet spacing around a specific value, which is termed the critical mean droplet spacing. If the lattice size is at smallest about ten times as large as the flame-spread limit distance, the flame-spread characteristics are similar to those over an infinitely large cluster. The number density of unburned droplets remaining after completion of burning attained maximum around the critical mean droplet spacing. Therefore, the critical mean droplet spacing is a good index for stable combustion and unburned hydrocarbon. In the critical condition, the flame spreads through complicated paths, and thus the characteristic time scale of flame spread over droplet clouds has a very large value. The overall flame-spread rate of randomly distributed droplet clouds is almost the same as the flame-spread rate of a linear droplet array except over the flame-spread limit.

Endotoxin-Induced Structural Transformations in Liquid Crystalline Droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, I.-Hsin; Miller, Daniel S.; Bertics, Paul J.; Murphy, Christopher J.; de Pablo, Juan J.; Abbott, Nicholas L.

2011-06-01

The ordering of liquid crystals (LCs) is known to be influenced by surfaces and contaminants. Here, we report that picogram per milliliter concentrations of endotoxin in water trigger ordering transitions in micrometer-size LC droplets. The ordering transitions, which occur at surface concentrations of endotoxin that are less than 10-5 Langmuir, are not due to adsorbate-induced changes in the interfacial energy of the LC. The sensitivity of the LC to endotoxin was measured to change by six orders of magnitude with the geometry of the LC (droplet versus slab), supporting the hypothesis that interactions of endotoxin with topological defects in the LC mediate the response of the droplets. The LC ordering transitions depend strongly on glycophospholipid structure and provide new designs for responsive soft matter.

Numerical Investigation on Sensitivity of Liquid Jet Breakup to Physical Fuel Properties with Experimental Comparison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Dokyun; Bravo, Luis; Matusik, Katarzyna; Duke, Daniel; Kastengren, Alan; Swantek, Andy; Powell, Christopher; Ham, Frank

2016-11-01

One of the major concerns in modern direct injection engines is the sensitivity of engine performance to fuel characteristics. Recent works have shown that even slight differences in fuel properties can cause significant changes in efficiency and emission of an engine. Since the combustion process is very sensitive to the fuel/air mixture formation resulting from disintegration of liquid jet, the precise assessment of fuel sensitivity on liquid jet atomization process is required first to study the impact of different fuels on the combustion. In the present study, the breaking process of a liquid jet from a diesel injector injecting into a quiescent gas chamber is investigated numerically and experimentally for different liquid fuels (n-dodecane, iso-octane, CAT A2 and C3). The unsplit geometric Volume-of-Fluid method is employed to capture the phase interface in Large-eddy simulations and results are compared against the radiography measurement from Argonne National Lab including jet penetration, liquid mass distribution and volume fraction. The breakup characteristics will be shown for different fuels as well as droplet PDF statistics to demonstrate the influences of the physical properties on the primary atomization of liquid jet. Supported by HPCMP FRONTIER award, US DOD, Office of the Army.

Multiscale Simulation of Gas Film Lubrication During Liquid Droplet Collision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiaodong; Khare, Prashant; Ma, Dongjun; Yang, Vigor

2012-02-01

Droplet collision plays an elementary role in dense spray combustion process. When two droplets approach each other, a gas film forms in between. The pressure generated within the film prevents motion of approaching droplets. This fluid mechanics is fluid film lubrication that occurs when opposing bearing surfaces are completely separated by fluid film. The lubrication flow in gas film decides the collision outcome, coalescence or bouncing. Present study focuses on gas film drainage process over a wide range of Weber numbers during equal- and unequal-sized droplet collision. The formulation is based on complete set of conservation equations for both liquid and surrounding gas phases. An improved volume-of-fluid technique, augmented by an adaptive mesh refinement algorithm, is used to track liquid/gas interfaces. A unique thickness-based refinement algorithm based on topology of interfacial flow is developed and implemented to efficiently resolve the multiscale problem. The grid size on interface is up O(10-4) of droplet size with a max resolution of 0.015 μm. An advanced visualization technique using the Ray-tracing methodology is used to gain direct insights to detailed physics. Theories are established by analyzing the characteristics of shape changing and flow evolution.

Galinstan liquid metal breakup and droplet formation in a shock-induced cross-flow

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Yi; Wagner, Justin L.; Farias, Paul Abraham

Liquid metal breakup processes are important for understanding a variety of physical phenomena including metal powder formation, thermal spray coatings, fragmentation in explosive detonations and metalized propellant combustion. Since the breakup behaviors of liquid metals are not well studied, we experimentally investigate the roles of higher density and fast elastic surface oxide formation on breakup morphology and droplet characteristics. This work compares the column breakup of water with Galinstan, a room-temperature eutectic liquid metal alloy of gallium, indium and tin. A shock tube is used to generate a step change in convective velocity and back-lit imaging is used to classifymore » morphologies for Weber numbers up to 250. Digital in-line holography (DIH) is then used to quantitatively capture droplet size, velocity and three-dimensional position information. Differences in geometry between canonical spherical drops and the liquid columns utilized in this paper are likely responsible for observations of earlier transition Weber numbers and uni-modal droplet volume distributions. Scaling laws indicate that Galinstan and water share similar droplet size-velocity trends and root-normal volume probability distributions. Furthermore, measurements indicate that Galinstan breakup occurs earlier in non-dimensional time and produces more non-spherical droplets due to fast oxide formation.« less

Galinstan liquid metal breakup and droplet formation in a shock-induced cross-flow

DOE PAGES

Chen, Yi; Wagner, Justin L.; Farias, Paul Abraham; ...

2018-05-22

Liquid metal breakup processes are important for understanding a variety of physical phenomena including metal powder formation, thermal spray coatings, fragmentation in explosive detonations and metalized propellant combustion. Since the breakup behaviors of liquid metals are not well studied, we experimentally investigate the roles of higher density and fast elastic surface oxide formation on breakup morphology and droplet characteristics. This work compares the column breakup of water with Galinstan, a room-temperature eutectic liquid metal alloy of gallium, indium and tin. A shock tube is used to generate a step change in convective velocity and back-lit imaging is used to classifymore » morphologies for Weber numbers up to 250. Digital in-line holography (DIH) is then used to quantitatively capture droplet size, velocity and three-dimensional position information. Differences in geometry between canonical spherical drops and the liquid columns utilized in this paper are likely responsible for observations of earlier transition Weber numbers and uni-modal droplet volume distributions. Scaling laws indicate that Galinstan and water share similar droplet size-velocity trends and root-normal volume probability distributions. Furthermore, measurements indicate that Galinstan breakup occurs earlier in non-dimensional time and produces more non-spherical droplets due to fast oxide formation.« less

Elasticity modulated Electrowetting of a sessile liquid droplet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Sumit; Subramanian, Sri Ganesh; Dasgupta, Sunando; Chakraborty, Suman

2017-11-01

The sessile liquid droplets on the elastic and soft deformable surface produce strong deformation near the three-phase contact line (TPCL). The capillary and elastic forces play an important role during this deformation, and deteriorate the wetting behaviour of a sessile drop. The present work combines the effects of liquid viscosity and substrate elasticity on the dynamics of EWOD. The influence of decreasing film elasticity and viscosity on the electrowetting response of a sessile drop is experimentally investigated by delineating the changes in equilibrium apparent contact angles on substrates with varying Young's modulus of elasticity. The increase in viscosity of the liquid leads to greater electrowetting for non-deformable substrates whereas; the dynamics are not greatly affected in case of soft substrates. Although the viscosity appears to be an influential factor, the dynamics are more skewed towards the substrate rigidity. The vertical component of Young's force creates a wetting ridge at the three-phase contact line, the height of which is a direct function of the substrate rigidity. The produced ridges reduce the overall wettability of the droplet.

Revisiting kinetic boundary conditions at the surface of fuel droplet hydrocarbons: An atomistic computational fluid dynamics simulation

PubMed Central

Nasiri, Rasoul

2016-01-01

The role of boundary conditions at the interface for both Boltzmann equation and the set of Navier-Stokes equations have been suggested to be important for studying of multiphase flows such as evaporation/condensation process which doesn’t always obey the equilibrium conditions. Here we present aspects of transition-state theory (TST) alongside with kinetic gas theory (KGT) relevant to the study of quasi-equilibrium interfacial phenomena and the equilibrium gas phase processes, respectively. A two-state mathematical model for long-chain hydrocarbons which have multi-structural specifications is introduced to clarify how kinetics and thermodynamics affect evaporation/condensation process at the surface of fuel droplet, liquid and gas phases and then show how experimental observations for a number of n-alkane may be reproduced using a hybrid framework TST and KGT with physically reasonable parameters controlling the interface, gas and liquid phases. The importance of internal activation dynamics at the surface of n-alkane droplets is established during the evaporation/condensation process. PMID:27215897

Initial Observations on the Burning of an Ethanol Droplet in Microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kazakov, Andrei; Urban, Bradley; Conley, Jordan; Dryer, Frederick L.; Ferkul, Paul (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

Combustion of liquid ethanol represents an important system both from fundamental and practical points of view, Ethanol is currently being used as an additive to gasoline in order to reduce carbon monoxide and particulate emissions as well as to improve the fuel octane rating. A detailed physical understanding of liquid ethanol combustion is therefore necessary to achieve an optimal performance of such fuel blends in practical conditions. Ethanol is also a relatively simple model compound suitable for investigation of important combustion characteristics typical of more complex fuels. In particular, ethanol has been proposed for studies of sooting behavior during droplet burning. The sooting nature of ethanol has pressure sensitivities similar to that of n-heptane, but shifted to a higher range of pressures (1-3 atm). Additionally, liquid ethanol is miscible with water produced during its combustion forming mixtures with azeotropic behavior, a phenomenon important for understanding multi-component, liquid fuel combustion. In this work, we present initial results obtained in a series of recent space-based experiments and develop a detailed model describing the burning of ethanol droplet in microgravity.

The Liquid Droplet Radiator - an Ultralightweight Heat Rejection System for Efficient Energy Conversion in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattick, A. T.; Hertzberg, A.

1984-01-01

A heat rejection system for space is described which uses a recirculating free stream of liquid droplets in place of a solid surface to radiate waste heat. By using sufficiently small droplets ( 100 micron diameter) of low vapor pressure liquids the radiating droplet sheet can be made many times lighter than the lightest solid surface radiators (heat pipes). The liquid droplet radiator (LDR) is less vulnerable to damage by micrometeoroids than solid surface radiators, and may be transported into space far more efficiently. Analyses are presented of LDR applications in thermal and photovoltaic energy conversion which indicate that fluid handling components (droplet generator, droplet collector, heat exchanger, and pump) may comprise most of the radiator system mass. Even the unoptimized models employed yield LDR system masses less than heat pipe radiator system masses, and significant improvement is expected using design approaches that incorporate fluid handling components more efficiently. Technical problems (e.g., spacecraft contamination and electrostatic deflection of droplets) unique to this method of heat rejectioon are discussed and solutions are suggested.

The liquid droplet radiator - An ultralightweight heat rejection system for efficient energy conversion in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattick, A. T.; Hertzberg, A.

1981-01-01

A heat rejection system for space is described which uses a recirculating free stream of liquid droplets in place of a solid surface to radiate waste heat. By using sufficiently small droplets (less than about 100 micron diameter) of low vapor pressure liquids (tin, tin-lead-bismuth eutectics, vacuum oils) the radiating droplet sheet can be made many times lighter than the lightest solid surface radiators (heat pipes). The liquid droplet radiator (LDR) is less vulnerable to damage by micrometeoroids than solid surface radiators, and may be transported into space far more efficiently. Analyses are presented of LDR applications in thermal and photovoltaic energy conversion which indicate that fluid handling components (droplet generator, droplet collector, heat exchanger, and pump) may comprise most of the radiator system mass. Even the unoptimized models employed yield LDR system masses less than heat pipe radiator system masses, and significant improvement is expected using design approaches that incorporate fluid handling components more efficiently. Technical problems (e.g., spacecraft contamination and electrostatic deflection of droplets) unique to this method of heat rejection are discussed and solutions are suggested.

Reaction Force of Micro-scale Liquid Droplets Constrained Between Parallel Plates through CFD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Free, Robert; Hekiri, Haider; Hawa, Takumi

2012-02-01

Micro-scale liquid droplets responding to depression between parallel plates are investigated analytically and numerically. The functional dependence of the reaction force accrued in such droplets on droplet size, surface tension, depression amount, and contact angle is explored. For both the 2D and 3D case, an analytical model is developed based on first principles. Computational fluid dynamics is then utilized to evaluate the validity of these models. The reaction force is highly nonlinear, initially increasing very slowly with increasing depression of the droplet, but eventually moving asymptotically to infinity. The force scales linearly with both the droplet free radius and surface tension of the liquid, but has a much more complicated dependence on the contact angle and depression. Explicit expressions for the reaction force have been determined, showing these dependencies. The 3D model has been largely supported by the CFD results. It very accurately predicts the reaction force on the upper plate as the droplet is crushed, accounting for the effect of contact angle, surface tension, and droplet size.

Holographic Measurements of Fuel Droplet Diffusion in Isotropic Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopalan, Balaji

2005-11-01

High-speed digital holographic cinematography was used to investigate the diffusion of slightly buoyant fuel droplets in locally isotropic turbulence. High turbulence levels with a weak mean velocity was generated at the center of a tank by four rotating grids. 0.3-1.5mm droplets were injected here and tracked using in-line holography. To obtain all three components of velocity, we simultaneously recorded holograms of the central 37x37x37 mm^3 volume from two perpendicular directions. These were numerically reconstructed to provide focused images of the droplets. An automated code was developed to identify the 3-D droplet trajectories from the two views, and then calculate time series of their velocity. After subtracting the local mean fluid velocity, the time series were used to obtain the 3-D Lagrangian autocorrelation function of droplet velocity. Averaging over many trajectories provided the autocorrelation functions as a function of direction and droplet sizes. As expected, the correlation was higher in the vertical direction due to the effect of gravity. Data analysis is still in progress.

Comustion of HAN-Based Monopropellant Droplets in Reduced Gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaw, B. D.

2001-01-01

Hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN) is a major constituent in a class of liquid monopropellants that have many attractive characteristics and which display phenomena that differ significantly from other liquid monopropellants. They are composed primarily of HAN, H2O and a fuel species, often triethanolammonium nitrate (TEAN). HAN-based propellants have attracted attention as liquid gun propellants, and are attractive for NASA spacecraft propulsion applications. A representative propellant is XM46. This mixture is 60.8% HAN, 19.2% TEAN and 20% H2O by weight. Other HAN-based propellant mixtures are also of interest. For example, methanol and glycine have been investigated as potential fuel species for HAN-based monopropellants for thruster applications. In the present research, experimental and theoretical studies are performed on combustion of HAN-based monopropellant droplets. The fuel species considered are TEAN, methanol and glycine. Droplets initially in the mm size range are studied at pressures up to 30 atm. These pressures are applicable to spacecraft thruster applications. The droplets are placed in environments with various amounts of Ar, N2, O2, NO2 and N2O. Reduced gravity is employed to enable observations of burning rates and flame structures to be made without the complicating effects of buoyant and forced convection. Normal gravity experiments are also performed in this research program. The experiment goals are to provide accurate fundamental data on deflagration rates, gasphase temperature profiles, transient gas-phase flame behaviors, the onset of bubbling in droplets at lower pressures, and the low-pressure deflagration limit. Theoretical studies are performed to provide rational models of deflagration mechanisms of HAN-based liquid propellants. Besides advancing fundamental knowledge, this research should aid in applications (e.g., spacecraft thrusters and liquid propellant guns) of this unique class of monopropellants.

How faceted liquid droplets grow tails: from surface topology to active motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sloutskin, Eli

Among all possible shapes of a volume V, a sphere has the smallest surface area A. Therefore, liquid droplets are spherical, minimizing their interfacial energy γA for a given interfacial tension γ > 0 . This talk will demonstrate that liquid oil (alkane) droplets in water, stabilized by a common surfactant can be temperature-tuned to adopt icosahedral and other faceted shapes, above the bulk melting temperature of the oil. Although emulsions have been studied for centuries no faceted liquid droplets have ever been reported. The formation of an icosahedral shape is attributed to the interplay between γ and the elastic properties of the interfacial monomolecular layer, which crystallizes here 10-15K above bulk melting, leaving the droplet's bulk liquid. The icosahedral symmetry is dictated by twelve five-fold topological defects, forming within the hexagonally-packed interfacial crystalline monolayer. Moreover, we demonstrate that upon further cooling this `interfacial freezing' effect makes γ transiently switch its sign, leading to a spontaneous splitting of droplets and an active growth of their surface area, reminiscent of the classical spontaneous emulsification, yet driven by completely different physics. The observed phenomena allow deeper insights to be gained into the fundamentals of molecular elasticity and open new vitas for a wide range of novel nanotechnological applications, from self-assembly of complex shapes to new delivery strategies in bio-medicine. Acknowledgment is made to the Donors of the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund for support of this research and to the Kahn Foundation for the purchase of equipment.

Big savings from small holes. [Liquid Droplet Radiator project for space vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, Alan

1989-01-01

The status and results to date of the NASA-Lewis/USAF Astronautics study of technology for large spacecraft heat-dissipation by means of liquid-droplet radiation (LDR) are discussed. The LDR concept uses a droplet generator to create billions of 200-micron droplets of a heatsink fluid which will cool through radiation into deep space as they fly toward a dropet collector. This exposure to the space environment entails the maintenance of vapor pressure as low as 10 to the -7th torr; the fluid must also be very stable chemically. While certain oils are good fluids for LDR use at low temperatures, higher-temperature heatsink fluids include Li, Sn, and Ga liquid metals.

Investigation and visualization of liquid-liquid flow in a vertically mounted Hele-Shaw cell: flow regimes, velocity and shape of droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shad, S.; Gates, I. D.; Maini, B. B.

2009-11-01

The motion and shape of a liquid drop flowing within a continuous, conveying liquid phase in a vertical Hele-Shaw cell were investigated experimentally. The continuous phase was more viscous and wetted the bounding walls of the Hele-Shaw cell. The gap between the Hele-Shaw plates was set equal to 0.0226 cm. Four different flow regimes were observed: (a) small-droplet flow, (b) elongated-droplet flow, (c) churn flow and (d) channel flow. At low capillary number, that is, when capillary forces are larger than viscous forces, the droplet shape was irregular and changed with time and distance, and it moved with lower velocity than that of the conveying phase. At higher capillary number, several different shapes of stabilized elongated and flattened drops were observed. In contrast to gas-liquid systems, the velocities of droplets are higher than that of conveying liquid. New correlations derived from dimensionless analysis and fitted to the experimental data were generated to predict the elongated-drop velocity and aspect ratio.

Liquid droplet radiator program at the NASA Lewis Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Presler, A. F.; Coles, C. E.; Diem-Kirsop, P. S.; White, K. A., III

1985-01-01

The NASA Lewis Research Center and the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (AFRPL) are jointly engaged in a program for technical assessment of the Liquid Droplet Radiator (LDR) concept as an advanced high performance heat ejection component for future space missions. NASA Lewis has responsibility for the technology needed for the droplet generator, for working fluid qualification, and for investigating the physics of droplets in space; NASA Lewis is also conducting systems/mission analyses for potential LDR applications with candidate space power systems. For the droplet generator technology task, both micro-orifice fabrication techniques and droplet stream formation processes have been experimentally investigated. High quality micro-orifices (to 50 micron diameter) are routinely fabricated with automated equipment. Droplet formation studies have established operating boundaries for the generation of controlled and uniform droplet streams. A test rig is currently being installed for the experimental verification, under simulated space conditions, of droplet radiation heat transfer performance analyses and the determination of the effect radiative emissivity of multiple droplet streams. Initial testing has begun in the NASA Lewis Zero-Gravity Facility for investigating droplet stream behavior in microgravity conditions. This includes the effect of orifice wetting on jet dynamics and droplet formation. Results for both Brayton and Stirling power cycles have identified favorable mass and size comparisons of the LDR with conventional radiator concepts.

Modeling of movement of liquid metal droplets driven by an electric field.

PubMed

Wang, M F; Jin, M J; Jin, X J; Zuo, S G

2017-07-19

The motion of liquid metal has potential applications ranging from micro-pumps and self-fueled motors to rapid cooling and drug delivery. In this study, we systematically investigate the effects of the radius of LMDs (liquid metal droplets), the concentration of electrolyte solution and the applied electric field on the movement behavior of LMDs experimentally. The research also explains the experimental phenomenon with an innovative modeling analysis, which combines pertinent forces (i.e., the driving force induced by the gradient of surface tension, the viscous friction between the droplet and its surrounding electrolyte, and the friction between the droplet and the substrate). The model is highly consistent with the rule that LMDs with a larger radius need smaller actuation voltage, and we can predict the critical voltages of LMDs with r = 2-4 mm through V electrode = 30.62/r 2 - 0.998, which is obtained by fitting the parameters. We also obtain the model V = [-66.2Vr 2 /(259.7-17.7) + 1.253]r 2 , which can predict the average velocity-voltage lines of LMDs with r = 3, 3.5 mm and V = 1-13 V. In addition, the velocity increases upon increasing the concentration of the electrolyte solution from 0.1 mol L -1 to 0.3 mol L -1 , and tends to be stable at more than 0.3 mol L -1 owing to the saturation of the EDL (electrical double layer) charge density. Additionally, we discuss the phenomenon of elongation during movement that occurs upon increasing the size of the LMDs. If the size of the LMDs continues to increase, the reverse movement from the anode to the cathode can occur, and the phenomenon can also be explained by the model.

A Molecular Dynamics Study on Selective Cation Depletion from an Ionic Liquid Droplet under an Electric Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yudong; Ahn, Myungmo; Im, Dojin; Oh, Jungmin; Kang, Inseok

2017-11-01

General electrohydrodynamic behavior of ionic liquid droplets under an electric field is investigated using MD simulations. Especially, a unique behavior of ion depletion of an ionic liquid droplet under a uniform electric field is studied. Shape deformation due to electric stress and ion distributions inside the droplet are calculated to understand the ionic motion of imidazolium-based ionic liquid droplets with 200 ion pairs of 2 kinds of ionic liquids: EMIM-NTf2 and EMIM-ES. The intermolecular force between cations and anions can be significantly different due to the nature of the structure and charge distribution of the ions. Together with an analytical interpretation of the conducting droplet in an electric field, the MD simulation successfully explains the mechanism of selective ion depletion of an ionic liquid droplet in an electric field. The selective ion depletion phenomenon has been adopted to explain the experimentally observed retreating motion of a droplet in a uniform electric field. The effect of anions on the cation depletion phenomenon can be accounted for from a direct approach to the intermolecular interaction. This research was supproted by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. 2017R1D1A1B05035211).

High pressure droplet burning experiments in reduced gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chauveau, Christian; Goekalp, Iskender

1995-01-01

A parametric investigation of single droplet gasification regimes is helpful in providing the necessary physical ideas for sub-grid models used in spray combustion numerical prediction codes. A research program has been initiated at the LCSR to explore the vaporization regimes of single and interacting hydrocarbon and liquid oxygen droplets under high pressure conditions. This paper summarizes the status of the LCSR program on the high pressure burning of single fuel droplets; recent results obtained under normal and reduced gravity conditions with suspended droplets are presented. In the work described here, parabolic flights of the CNES Caravelle is used to create a reduced gravity environment of the order of 10(exp -2) g(sub O). For all the droplet burning experiments reported here, the suspended droplet initial diameters are scattered around 1.5 mm; and the ambient air temperature is 300 K. The ambient pressure is varied between 0.1 MPa and 12 MPa. Four fuels are investigated: methanol (Pc = 7.9 MPa), n-heptane (Pc = 2.74 MPa), n-hexane (Pc = 3.01 MPa) and n-octane (Pc = 2.48 MPa).

Theoretical study of liquid droplet dispersion in a venturi scrubber.

PubMed

Fathikalajahi, J; Talaie, M R; Taheri, M

1995-03-01

The droplet concentration distribution in an atomizing scrubber was calculated based on droplet eddy diffusion by a three-dimensional dispersion model. This model is also capable of predicting the liquid flowing on the wall. The theoretical distribution of droplet concentration agrees well with experimental data given by Viswanathan et al. for droplet concentration distribution in a venturi-type scrubber. The results obtained by the model show a non-uniform distribution of drops over the cross section of the scrubber, as noted by the experimental data. While the maximum of droplet concentration distribution may depend on many operating parameters of the scrubber, the results of this study show that the highest uniformity of drop distribution will be reached when penetration length is approximately equal to one-fourth of the depth of the scrubber. The results of this study can be applied to evaluate the removal efficiency of a venturi scrubber.

Distillation-based Droplet Modeling of Non-Ideal Oxygenated Gasoline Blends: Investigating the Role of Droplet Evaporation on PM Emissions

DOE PAGES

Burke, Stephen C.; Ratcliff, Matthew; McCormick, Robert; ...

2017-03-28

In some studies, a relationship has been observed between increasing ethanol content in gasoline and increased particulate matter (PM) emissions from vehicles equipped with spark ignition engines. The fundamental cause of the PM increase seen for moderate ethanol concentrations is not well understood. Ethanol features a greater heat of vaporization (HOV) than gasoline and also influences vaporization by altering the liquid and vapor composition throughout the distillation process. A droplet vaporization model was developed to explore ethanol's effect on the evaporation of aromatic compounds known to be PM precursors. The evolving droplet composition is modeled as a distillation process, withmore » non-ideal interactions between oxygenates and hydrocarbons accounted for using UNIFAC group contribution theory. Predicted composition and distillation curves were validated by experiments. Detailed hydrocarbon analysis was applied to fuel samples and to distillate fractions, and used as input for the initial droplet composition. With composition calculated throughout the distillation, the changing HOV and other physical properties can be found using reference data. The droplet can thus be modeled in terms of energy transfer, which in turn provides the transient mass transfer, droplet temperature, and droplet diameter. Model predictions suggest that non-ideal vapor-liquid equilibrium along with an increase in HOV can alter the droplet composition evolution. Results predict that the presence of ethanol causes enrichment of the higher boiling fractions (T90+) in the aromatic components as well as lengthens the droplet lifetime. A simulation of the evaporation process in a transient environment as experienced within an engine cylinder predicts a decrease in mixing time of the heaviest fractions of the fuel prior to spark initiation, possibly explaining observations linking ethanol to PM.« less

Distillation-based Droplet Modeling of Non-Ideal Oxygenated Gasoline Blends: Investigating the Role of Droplet Evaporation on PM Emissions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burke, Stephen C.; Ratcliff, Matthew; McCormick, Robert

In some studies, a relationship has been observed between increasing ethanol content in gasoline and increased particulate matter (PM) emissions from vehicles equipped with spark ignition engines. The fundamental cause of the PM increase seen for moderate ethanol concentrations is not well understood. Ethanol features a greater heat of vaporization (HOV) than gasoline and also influences vaporization by altering the liquid and vapor composition throughout the distillation process. A droplet vaporization model was developed to explore ethanol's effect on the evaporation of aromatic compounds known to be PM precursors. The evolving droplet composition is modeled as a distillation process, withmore » non-ideal interactions between oxygenates and hydrocarbons accounted for using UNIFAC group contribution theory. Predicted composition and distillation curves were validated by experiments. Detailed hydrocarbon analysis was applied to fuel samples and to distillate fractions, and used as input for the initial droplet composition. With composition calculated throughout the distillation, the changing HOV and other physical properties can be found using reference data. The droplet can thus be modeled in terms of energy transfer, which in turn provides the transient mass transfer, droplet temperature, and droplet diameter. Model predictions suggest that non-ideal vapor-liquid equilibrium along with an increase in HOV can alter the droplet composition evolution. Results predict that the presence of ethanol causes enrichment of the higher boiling fractions (T90+) in the aromatic components as well as lengthens the droplet lifetime. A simulation of the evaporation process in a transient environment as experienced within an engine cylinder predicts a decrease in mixing time of the heaviest fractions of the fuel prior to spark initiation, possibly explaining observations linking ethanol to PM.« less

Isolated Liquid Droplet Combustion: Inhibition and Extinction Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dryer, F. L.; Kroenlein, K. G.; Kazakov, A.; Williams, F. A.; Nayagam, V.

2004-01-01

Introduction of fire suppressants to the ambient environment surrounding a heterogeneous diffusion flame may be an inefficient technique for fire safety in systems without buoyant flows. Carbon dioxide substitution for nitrogen diluent leads to significant modifications of the sphero-symmetric burning behavior of isolated n-heptane droplets, partly through increased heat capacity within the gaseous diffusion flame, but mostly because of modifications in spectral radiative coupling in the gas phase. Effects of longer time scale phenomena such as sooting and slow gas-phase/droplet convection remain to be determined. Similar methodologies can be applied to evaluate the effects and efficacy of chemical inhibitors in the liquid and gas phases.

Superheated fuel injection for combustion of liquid-solid slurries

DOEpatents

Robben, F.A.

1984-10-19

A method and device are claimed for obtaining, upon injection, flash evaporation of a liquid in a slurry fuel to aid in ignition and combustion. The device is particularly beneficial for use of coal-water slurry fuels in internal combustion engines such as diesel engines and gas turbines, and in external combustion devices such as boilers and furnaces. The slurry fuel is heated under pressure to near critical temperature in an injector accumulator, where the pressure is sufficiently high to prevent boiling. After injection into a combustion chamber, the water temperature will be well above boiling point at a reduced pressure in the combustion chamber, and flash boiling will preferentially take place at solid-liquid surfaces, resulting in the shattering of water droplets and the subsequent separation of the water from coal particles. This prevents the agglomeration of the coal particles during the subsequent ignition and combustion process, and reduces the energy required to evaporate the water and to heat the coal particles to ignition temperature. The overall effect will be to accelerate the ignition and combustion rates, and to reduce the size of the ash particles formed from the coal. 2 figs., 2 tabs.

Superheated fuel injection for combustion of liquid-solid slurries

DOEpatents

Robben, Franklin A.

1985-01-01

A method and device for obtaining, upon injection, flash evaporation of a liquid in a slurry fuel to aid in ignition and combustion. The device is particularly beneficial for use of coal-water slurry fuels in internal combustion engines such as diesel engines and gas turbines, and in external combustion devices such as boilers and furnaces. The slurry fuel is heated under pressure to near critical temperature in an injector accumulator, where the pressure is sufficiently high to prevent boiling. After injection into a combustion chamber, the water temperature will be well above boiling point at a reduced pressure in the combustion chamber, and flash boiling will preferentially take place at solid-liquid surfaces, resulting in the shattering of water droplets and the subsequent separation of the water from coal particles. This prevents the agglomeration of the coal particles during the subsequent ignition and combustion process, and reduces the energy required to evaporate the water and to heat the coal particles to ignition temperature. The overall effect will be to accelerate the ignition and combustion rates, and to reduce the size of the ash particles formed from the coal.

Active Mesogenic Droplets: Impact of Liquid Crystallinity and Collective Behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahr, Christian

Droplets of common mesogenic compounds show a self-propelled motion when immersed in aqueous solutions containing ionic surfactants at concentrations well above the critical micelle concentration. After introducing some general properties of this type of artificial microswimmer, we focus on two topics: the influence of liquid crystallinity on the swimming behavior and the collective behavior of ensembles of a larger number of droplets. The mesogenic properties are not essential for the basic mechanism of self-propulsion, nevertheless they considerably influence the swimming behavior of the droplets. For instance, the shape of the trajectories strongly depends on whether the droplets are in the nematic or isotropic state. The droplet swimmers are also ideally suited for the study of collective behavior: Microfluidics enables the generation of large numbers of identical swimmers and we can tune their buoyancy. We report on the collective behavior in three-dimensional environments. Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SPP 1726 ``Microswimmers'').

Phenomenology of break-up modes in contact free externally heated nanoparticle laden fuel droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pathak, Binita; Basu, Saptarshi

2016-12-01

We study thermally induced atomization modes in contact free (acoustically levitated) nanoparticle laden fuel droplets. The initial droplet size, external heat supplied, and suspended particle concentration (wt. %) in droplets govern the stability criterion which ultimately determines the dominant mode of atomization. Pure fuel droplets exhibit two dominant modes of breakup namely primary and secondary. Primary modes are rather sporadic and normally do not involve shape oscillations. Secondary atomization however leads to severe shape deformations and catastrophic intense breakup of the droplets. The dominance of these modes has been quantified based on the external heat flux, dynamic variation of surface tension, acoustic pressure, and droplet size. Addition of particles alters the regimes of the primary and secondary atomization and introduces bubble induced boiling and bursting. We analyze this new mode of atomization and estimate the time scale of bubble growth up to the point of bursting using energy balance to determine the criterion suitable for parent droplet rupture. All the three different modes of breakup have been well identified in a regime map determined in terms of Weber number and the heat utilization rate which is defined as the energy utilized for transient heating, vaporization, and boiling in droplets.

Physical understanding of gas-liquid annular flow and its transition to dispersed droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Parmod; Das, Arup Kumar; Mitra, Sushanta K.

2016-07-01

Transformation from annular to droplet flow is investigated for co-current, upward gas-liquid flow through a cylindrical tube using grid based volume of fluid framework. Three transitional routes, namely, orificing, rolling, and undercutting are observed for flow transformation at different range of relative velocities between the fluids. Physics behind these three exclusive phenomena is described using circulation patterns of gaseous phase in the vicinity of a liquid film which subsequently sheds drop leading towards transition. Orifice amplitude is found to grow exponentially towards the core whereas it propagates in axial direction in a parabolic path. Efforts have been made to fit the sinusoidal profile of wave structure with the numerical interface contour at early stages of orificing. Domination of gas inertia over liquid flow has been studied in detail at the later stages to understand the asymmetric shape of orifice, leading towards lamella formation and droplet generation. Away from comparative velocities, circulations in the dominant phase dislodge the drop by forming either a ligament (rolling) or a bag (undercut) like protrusion in liquid. Study of velocity patterns in the plane of droplet dislodge reveals the underlying physics behind the disintegration and its dynamics at the later stages. Using numerical phase distributions, rejoining of dislodged droplet with liquid film as post-rolling consequences has been also proposed. A flow pattern map showing the transitional boundaries based on the physical mechanism is constructed for air-water combination.

Measurement of interactions between solid particles, liquid droplets, and/or gas bubbles in a liquid using an integrated thin film drainage apparatus.

PubMed

Wang, Louxiang; Sharp, David; Masliyah, Jacob; Xu, Zhenghe

2013-03-19

A novel device was designed to measure drainage dynamics of thin liquid films confined between a solid particle, an immiscible liquid droplet, and/or gas bubble. Equipped with a bimorph force sensor, a computer-interfaced video capture, and a data acquisition system, the newly designed integrated thin film drainage apparatus (ITFDA) allows for the direct and simultaneous measurements of force barrier, true film drainage time, and bubble/droplet deformation under a well-controlled external force, receding and advancing contact angles, capillary force, and adhesion (detachment) force between an air bubble or oil droplet and a solid, a liquid, or an air bubble in an immiscible liquid. Using the diaphragm of a high-frequency speaker as the drive mechanism for the air bubble or oil droplet attached to a capillary tube, this newly designed device is capable of measuring forces over a wide range of hydrodynamic conditions, including bubble approach and retract velocities up to 50 mm/s and displacement range up to 1 mm. The results showed that the ITFDA was capable of measuring hydrodynamic resistance, film drainage time, and other important physical parameters between air bubbles and solid particles in aqueous solutions. As an example of illustrating the versatility, the ITFDA was also applied to other important systems such as interactions between air bubble and oil droplet, two air bubbles, and two oil droplets in an aqueous solution.

Experimental investigation on the effect of liquid injection by multiple orifices in the formation of droplets in a Venturi scrubber.

PubMed

Guerra, V G; Gonçalves, J A S; Coury, J R

2009-01-15

Venturi scrubbers are widely utilized in gas cleaning. The cleansing elements in these scrubbers are droplets formed from the atomization of a liquid into a dust-laden gas. In industrial scrubbers, this liquid is injected through several orifices so that the cloud of droplets can be evenly distributed throughout the duct. The interaction between droplets when injected through many orifices, where opposite clouds of atomized liquid can reach each other, is to be expected. This work presents experimental measurements of droplet size measured in situ and the evidence of cloud interaction within a Venturi scrubber operating with multi-orifice jet injection. The influence of gas velocity, liquid flow rate and droplet size variation in the axial position after the point of the injection of the liquid were also evaluated for the different injection configurations. The experimental results showed that an increase in the liquid flow rate generated greater interaction between jets. The number of orifices had a significant influence on droplet size. In general, the increase in the velocity of the liquid jet and in the gas velocity favored the atomization process by reducing the size of the droplets.

Spray Characterization of Gas-to-Liquid Synthetic Jet Fuels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kannaiyan, Kumaran; Sadr, Reza; GTL jet fuel Consortium Team

2012-11-01

Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (SPK) fuel obtained from Fischer-Tropsch synthesis has grabbed the global attention due to its cleaner combustion characteristics. GTL fuels are expected to meet the vital qualities such as atomization, combustion and emission characteristics of conventional jet fuels. It is imperative to understand fuel atomization in order to gain insights on the combustion and emission aspects of an alternative fuel. In this work spray characteristics of GTL-SPK, which could be used as a drop-in fuel in aircraft gas turbine engines, is studied. This work outlines the spray experimental facility, the methodology used and the results obtained using two SPK's with different chemical compositions. The spray characteristics, such as droplet size and distribution, are presented at three differential pressures across a simplex nozzle and compared with that of the conventional Jet A-1 fuel. Experimental results clearly show that although the chemical composition is significantly different between SPK's, the spray characteristics are not very different. This could be attributed to the minimal difference in fluid properties between the SPK's. Also, the spray characteristics of SPK's show close resemblance to the spray characteristics of Jet A-1 fuel.

An Oil-Stream Photomicrographic Aeroscope for Obtaining Cloud Liquid-Water Content and Droplet Size Distributions in Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hacker, Paul T.

1956-01-01

An airborne cloud aeroscope by which droplet size, size distribution, and liquid-water content of clouds can be determined has been developed and tested in flight and in wind tunnels with water sprays. In this aeroscope the cloud droplets are continuously captured in a stream of oil, which Is then photographed by a photomicrographic camera. The droplet size and size distribution can be determined directly from the photographs. With the droplet size distribution known, the liquid-water content of the cloud can be computed from the geometry of the aeroscope, the airspeed, and the oil-flow rate. The aeroscope has the following features: Data are obtained semi-automatically, and permanent data are taken in the form of photographs. A single picture usually contains a sufficient number of droplets to establish the droplet size distribution. Cloud droplets are continuously captured in the stream of oil, but pictures are taken at Intervals. The aeroscope can be operated in icing and non-icing conditions. Because of mixing of oil in the instrument, the droplet-distribution patterns and liquid-water content values from a single picture are exponentially weighted average values over a path length of about 3/4 mile at 150 miles per hour. The liquid-water contents, volume-median diameters, and distribution patterns obtained on test flights and in the Lewis icing tunnel are similar to previously published data.

Darrieus-Landau instability of premixed flames enhanced by fuel droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicoli, Colette; Haldenwang, Pierre; Denet, Bruno

2017-07-01

Recent experiments on spray flames propagating in a Wilson cloud chamber have established that spray flames are much more sensitive to wrinkles or corrugations than single-phase flames. To propose certain elements of explanation, we numerically study the Darrieus-Landau (or hydrodynamic) instability (DL-instability) developing in premixtures that contain an array of fuel droplets. Two approaches are compared: numerical simulation starting from the general conservation laws in reactive media, and the numerical computation of Sivashinsky-type model equations for DL-instability. Both approaches provide us with results in deep agreement. It is first shown that the presence of droplets in fuel-air premixtures induces initial perturbations which are large enough to trigger the DL-instability. Second, the droplets are responsible for additional wrinkles when the DL-instability is developed. The latter wrinkles are of length scales shorter than those of the DL-instability, in such a way that the DL-unstable spray flames have a larger front surface and therefore propagate faster than the single-phase ones when subjected to the same instability.

Some Recent Observations on the Burning of Isolated N-Heptane and Alcohol Droplets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dryer, F. L.; Kazakov, A.; Urban, B. D.

2001-01-01

In a joint program involving Prof. F.A. Williams of the University of California, San Diego and Dr. V. Nayagam of the National Center for Microgravity Research on Combustion and Fluid Dynamics, the combustion of liquid fuel droplets of n-heptane, n-decane, methanol, methanol-water, ethanol and ethanol-water having initial diameters between about 1 mm and 6 mm continues to be studied. The objectives of the work are to improve fundamental knowledge of droplet combustion dynamics for pure fuels and fuel-water mixtures through microgravity experiments and theoretical analyses. The Princeton contributions to the collaborative program supports the engineering design, data analysis, and data interpretation requirements for the study of initially single component, spherically symmetric, isolated droplet combustion studies through experiments and numerical modeling. The complementary UCSD contributions apply asymptotic theoretical analyses and are described in the published literature and in a companion communication in this conference. The combined program continues to focus on analyses of results obtained from Fiber Supported Droplet Combustion (FSDC) experiments (FSDC-2, STS- 94) conducted with the above fuels in shuttle cabin air and Droplet Combustion Experiment (DCE) data obtained for unsupported and fiber supported droplets of n-heptane in Helium-Oxygen mixtures and cabin air (STS-83, STS-94). The program is preparing for a second DCE experimental mission using methanol/methanol-water as fuels and helium-oxygen-nitrogen environments. DCE-2 is to be conducted aboard the International Space Station. Emphases of recent Princeton work are on the study of simple alcohols (methanol, ethanol) and alcohol/water mixtures as fuels, with time-dependent measurements of drop size, flame-standoff, liquid-phase composition, and finally, extinction. Ground based experiments have included bench-scale studies at Princeton and collaborative experimental studies in the 2.2 second drop

Emissions Prediction and Measurement for Liquid-Fueled TVC Combustor with and without Water Injection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brankovic, A.; Ryder, R. C., Jr.; Hendricks, R. C.; Liu, N.-S.; Shouse, D. T.; Roquemore, W. M.

2005-01-01

An investigation is performed to evaluate the performance of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool for the prediction of the reacting flow in a liquid-fueled combustor that uses water injection for control of pollutant emissions. The experiment consists of a multisector, liquid-fueled combustor rig operated at different inlet pressures and temperatures, and over a range of fuel/air and water/fuel ratios. Fuel can be injected directly into the main combustion airstream and into the cavities. Test rig performance is characterized by combustor exit quantities such as temperature and emissions measurements using rakes and overall pressure drop from upstream plenum to combustor exit. Visualization of the flame is performed using gray scale and color still photographs and high-frame-rate videos. CFD simulations are performed utilizing a methodology that includes computer-aided design (CAD) solid modeling of the geometry, parallel processing over networked computers, and graphical and quantitative post-processing. Physical models include liquid fuel droplet dynamics and evaporation, with combustion modeled using a hybrid finite-rate chemistry model developed for Jet-A fuel. CFD and experimental results are compared for cases with cavity-only fueling, while numerical studies of cavity and main fueling was also performed. Predicted and measured trends in combustor exit temperature, CO and NOx are in general agreement at the different water/fuel loading rates, although quantitative differences exist between the predictions and measurements.

Combustion dynamics of low vapour pressure nanofuel droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandey, Khushboo; Chattopadhyay, Kamanio; Basu, Saptarshi

2017-07-01

Multiscale combustion dynamics, shape oscillations, secondary atomization, and precipitate formation have been elucidated for low vapour pressure nanofuel [n-dodecane seeded with alumina nanoparticles (NPs)] droplets. Dilute nanoparticle loading rates (0.1%-1%) have been considered. Contrary to our previous studies of ethanol-water blend (high vapour pressure fuel), pure dodecane droplets do not exhibit internal boiling after ignition. However, variation in surface tension due to temperature causes shape deformations for pure dodecane droplets. In the case of nanofuels, intense heat release from the enveloping flame leads to the formation of micron-size aggregates (of alumina NPS) which serve as nucleation sites promoting heterogeneous boiling. Three boiling regimes (A, B, and C) have been identified with varying bubble dynamics. We have deciphered key mechanisms responsible for the growth, transport, and rupture of the bubbles. Bubble rupture causes ejections of liquid droplets termed as secondary atomization. Ejection of small bubbles (mode 1) resembles the classical vapour bubble collapse mechanism near a flat free surface. However, large bubbles induce severe shape deformations as well as bulk oscillations. Rupture of large bubbles results in high speed liquid jet formation which undergoes Rayleigh-Plateau tip break-up. Both modes contribute towards direct fuel transfer from the droplet surface to flame envelope bypassing diffusion limitations. Combustion lifetime of nanofuel droplets consequently has two stages: stage I (where bubble dynamics are dominant) and stage II (formation of gelatinous mass due to continuous fuel depletion; NP agglomeration). In the present work, variation of flame dynamics and spatio-temporal heat release (HR) have been analysed using high speed OH* chemiluminescence imaging. Fluctuations in droplet shape and flame heat release are found to be well correlated. Droplet flame is bifurcated in two zones (I and II). Flame response is

Droplet Core Nuclear Rocket (DCNR)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anghaie, Samim

1991-01-01

The most basic design feature of the droplet core nuclear reactor is to spray liquid uranium into the core in the form of droplets on the order of five to ten microns in size, to bring the reactor to critical conditions. The liquid uranium fuel ejector is driven by hydrogen, and more hydrogen is injected from the side of the reactor to about one and a half meters from the top. High temperature hydrogen is expanded through a nozzle to produce thrust. The hydrogen pressure in the system can be somewhere between 50 and 500 atmospheres; the higher pressure is more desirable. In the lower core region, hydrogen is tangentially injected to serve two purposes: (1) to provide a swirling flow to protect the wall from impingement of hot uranium droplets: (2) to generate a vortex flow that can be used for fuel separation. The reactor is designed to maximize the energy generation in the upper region of the core. The system can result in and Isp of 2000 per second, and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.6 for the shielded reactor. The nuclear engine system can reduce the Mars mission duration to less than 200 days. It can reduce the hydrogen consumption by a factor of 2 to 3, which reduces the hydrogen load by about 130 to 150 metric tons.

Oscillation of satellite droplets in an Oldroyd-B viscoelastic liquid jet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Fang; Yin, Xie-Yuan; Yin, Xie-Zhen

2017-01-01

A one-dimensional numerical simulation is carried out to study the oscillation characteristics of satellite droplets in the beads-on-a-string structure of an Oldroyd-B viscoelastic liquid jet. The oscillation of satellite droplets is compared with the linear oscillation of a single viscoelastic droplet. It is found that, contrary to the predictions of linear theory, the period of oscillation of satellite droplets decreases with time, despite the increase in droplet volume. The mechanism may lie in the existence of the filament, which exerts an extra resistance on droplets. On the other hand, the oscillation of droplets does not influence very much the thinning of the filament. The influence of the axial wave number, viscosity, and elasticity on the oscillation of satellite droplets is examined. Increasing the wave number may result in the decrease in the period and the increase in the decay rate of oscillation, while increasing viscosity may lead to the increase in both the period and the decay rate of oscillation. Elasticity is shown to suppress the oscillation at large wave numbers, but its influence is limited at small wave numbers.

Droplet-turbulence interactions in sprays exposed to supercritical environmental conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Santavicca, Domenic A.

1993-01-01

The goal of this research was to experimentally characterize the behavior of droplets in vaporizing sprays under conditions typical of those encountered in high pressure combustion systems such as liquid fueled rocket engines. Of particular interest are measurements of droplet drag and lift, droplet dispersion, droplet heating, and droplet vaporization under both subcritical and supercritical conditions. A summary of the major accomplishments achieved during the period from June 1990 through June 1993, a brief description and status report on five research areas, which were directly or indirectly supported by this grant, and a list of publications and personnel associated with this research is included.

The Effects of Sooting and Radiation on Droplet Combustion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Kyeong-Ook; Manzello, Samuel L.; Choi, Mun Young

1997-01-01

The burning of liquid hydrocarbon fuels accounts for a significant portion of global energy production. With predicted future increases in demand and limited reserves of hydrocarbon fuel, it is important to maximize the efficiency of all processes that involve conversion of fuel. With the exception of unwanted fires, most applications involve introduction of liquid fuels into an oxidizing environment in the form of sprays which are comprised of groups of individual droplets. Therefore, tremendous benefits can result from a better understanding of spray combustion processes. Yet, theoretical developments and experimental measurements of spray combustion remains a daunting task due to the complex coupling of a turbulent, two-phase flow with phase change and chemical reactions. However, it is recognized that individual droplet behavior (including ignition, evaporation and combustion) is a necessary component for laying the foundation for a better understanding of spray processes. Droplet combustion is also an ideal problem for gaining a better understanding of non-premixed flames. Under the idealized situation producing spherically-symmetric flames (produced under conditions of reduced natural and forced convection), it represents the simplest geometry in which to formulate and solve the governing equations of mass, species and heat transfer for a chemically reacting two phase flow with phase change. The importance of this topic has promoted extensive theoretical investigations for more than 40 years.

Geometries in Soft Matter From Geometric Frustration, Liquid Droplets to Electrostatics in Solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Zhenwei

This thesis explores geometric aspects of soft matter systems. The topics covered fall into three categories: (i) geometric frustrations, including the interplay of geometry and topological defects in two dimensional systems, and the frustration of a planar sheet attached to a curved surface; (ii) geometries of liquid droplets, including the curvature driven instabilities of toroidal liquid droplets and the self-propulsion of droplets on a spatially varying surface topography; (iii) the study of the electric double layer structure around charged spherical interfaces by a geometric method. In (i), we study the crystalline order on capillary bridges with varying Gaussian curvature. Energy requires the appearance of topological defects on the surface, which are natural spots for biological activity and chemical functionalization. We further study how liquid crystalline order deforms flexible structured vesicles. In particular we find faceted tetrahedral vesicle as the ground state, which may lead to the design of supra-molecular structures with tetrahedral symmetry and new classes of nano-carriers. Furthermore, by a simple paper model we explore the geometric frustration on a planar sheet when brought to a negative curvature surface in a designed elasto-capillary system. In (ii), motivated by the idea of realizing crystalline order on a stable toroidal droplet and a beautiful experiment on toroidal droplets, we study the Rayleigh instability and the shrinking instability of thin and fat toroidal droplets, where the toroidal geometry plays an essential role. In (iii), by a geometric mapping we construct an approximate analytic spherical solution to the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation, and identify the applicability regime of the solution. The derived geometric solution enables further analytical study of spherical electrostatic systems such as colloidal suspensions.

Light scattering by a nematic liquid crystal droplet: Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin approximation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Loiko, V. A., E-mail: loiko@dragon.bas-net.by; Konkolovich, A. V.; Miskevich, A. A.

2016-01-15

Light scattering by an optically anisotropic liquid crystal (LC) droplet of a nematic in an isotropic polymer matrix is considered in the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) approximation. General relations are obtained for elements of the amplitude matrix of light scattering by a droplet of arbitrary shape and for the structure of the director field. Analytic expressions for the amplitude matrices are derived for spherical LC droplets with a uniformly oriented structure of local optical axes for strictly forward and strictly backward scattering. The efficiency factors of extinction and backward scattering for a spherical nonabsorbing LC droplet depending on the LC optical anisotropy,more » refractive index of the polymer, illumination conditions, and orientation of the optical axis of the droplet are analyzed. Verification of the obtained solutions has been performed.« less

Recent Advances In Science Support For Isolated Droplet Combustion Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dryer, F. L.; Kazakov, A.; Urban, B. D.; Kroenlein, K.

2003-01-01

In a joint program involving Prof. F.A. Williams of the University of California, San Diego and Dr. V. Nayagam of the National Center for Microgravity Research, the combustion characteristics of isolated liquid fuel droplets of n-heptane, n-decane, methanol, methanol-water, ethanol and ethanol-water having initial diameters between about 1 mm and 6 mm continues to be investigated. The objectives of the work are to improve fundamental knowledge of droplet combustion dynamics for pure fuels and fuel-water mixtures through microgravity experiments and theoretical analyses. The Princeton contributions support the engineering design, data analysis, and data interpretation requirements for the study of initially single component, spherically symmetric, isolated droplet combustion studies through experiments and numerical modeling. UCSD contributions are described in a companion communication in this conference. The Princeton effort also addresses the analyses of Fiber Supported Droplet Combustion (FSDC) experiments conducted with the above fuels and collaborative work with others who are investigating droplet combustion in the presence of steady convection. A thorough interpretation of droplet burning behavior for n-heptane and n-decane over a relatively wide range of conditions also involves the influences of sooting on the combustion behavior, and this particular aspect on isolated burning of droplets is under consideration in a collaborative program underway with Drexel University. This collaboration is addressed in another communication at this conference. The one-dimensional, time-dependent, numerical modeling approach that we have continued to evolve for analyzing isolated, quiescent droplet combustion data has been further applied to investigate several facets of isolated droplet burning of simple alcohols, n-heptane, and n-decane. Some of the new results are described below.

Development of Combustion Tube for Gaseous, Liquid, and Solid Fuels to Study Flame Acceleration and DDT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graziano, Tyler J.

An experimental combustion tube of 20 ft. in length and 10.25 in. in internal diameter was designed and fabricated in order to perform combustion tests to study deflagration rates, flame acceleration, and the possibility of DDT. The experiment was designed to allow gaseous, liquid, or solid fuels, or any combination of the three to produce a homogenous fuel/air mixture within the tube. Combustion tests were initiated with a hydrogen/oxygen torch igniter and the resulting flame behavior was measured with high frequency ion probes and pressure transducers. Tests were performed with a variety of gaseous and liquid fuels in an unobstructed tube with a closed ignition end and open muzzle. The flame performance with the gaseous fuels is loosely correlated with the expansion ratio, while there is a stronger correlation with the laminar flame speed. The strongest correlation to flame performance is the run-up distance scaling factor. This trend was not observed with the liquid fuels. The reason for this is likely due to incomplete evaporation of the liquid fuel droplets resulting in a partially unburned mixture, effectively altering the intended equivalence ratio. Results suggest that the simple theory for run-up distance and flame acceleration must be modified to more accurately predict the behavior of gaseous fuels. Also, it is likely that more complex spray combustion modeling is required to accurately predict the flame behavior for liquid fuels.

Study of orifice fabrication technologies for the liquid droplet radiator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, David B.; Hayes, Donald J.; Bush, J. Michael

1991-01-01

Eleven orifice fabrication technologies potentially applicable for a liquid droplet radiator are discussed. The evaluation is focused on technologies capable of yielding 25-150 microns diameter orifices with trajectory accuracies below 5 milliradians, ultimately in arrays of up to 4000 orifices. An initial analytical screening considering factors such as trajectory accuracy, manufacturability, and hydrodynamics of orifice flow is presented. Based on this screening, four technologies were selected for experimental evaluation. A jet straightness system used to test 50-orifice arrays made by electro-discharge machining (EDM), Fotoceram, and mechanical drilling is discussed. Measurements on orifice diameter control and jet trajectory accuracy are presented and discussed. Trajectory standard deviations are in the 4.6-10.0 milliradian range. Electroforming and EDM appear to have the greatest potential for Liquid Droplet Radiator applications. The direction of a future development effort is discussed.

Solidification of floating organic droplet in dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction as a green analytical tool.

PubMed

Mansour, Fotouh R; Danielson, Neil D

2017-08-01

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) is a special type of microextraction in which a mixture of two solvents (an extracting solvent and a disperser) is injected into the sample. The extraction solvent is then dispersed as fine droplets in the cloudy sample through manual or mechanical agitation. Hence, the sample is centrifuged to break the formed emulsion and the extracting solvent is manually separated. The organic solvents commonly used in DLLME are halogenated hydrocarbons that are highly toxic. These solvents are heavier than water, so they sink to the bottom of the centrifugation tube which makes the separation step difficult. By using solvents of low density, the organic extractant floats on the sample surface. If the selected solvent such as undecanol has a freezing point in the range 10-25°C, the floating droplet can be solidified using a simple ice-bath, and then transferred out of the sample matrix; this step is known as solidification of floating organic droplet (SFOD). Coupling DLLME to SFOD combines the advantages of both approaches together. The DLLME-SFOD process is controlled by the same variables of conventional liquid-liquid extraction. The organic solvents used as extractants in DLLME-SFOD must be immiscible with water, of lower density, low volatility, high partition coefficient and low melting and freezing points. The extraction efficiency of DLLME-SFOD is affected by types and volumes of organic extractant and disperser, salt addition, pH, temperature, stirring rate and extraction time. This review discusses the principle, optimization variables, advantages and disadvantages and some selected applications of DLLME-SFOD in water, food and biomedical analysis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Liquid water content and droplet size calibration of the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ide, Robert F.

1989-01-01

The icing research tunnel at the NASA Lewis Research Center underwent a major rehabilitation in 1986 to 1987, necessitating recalibration of the icing cloud. The methods used in the recalibration, including the procedure used to establish a uniform icing cloud and the use of a standard icing blade technique for measurement of liquid water content are described. PMS Forward Scattering Spectrometer and Optical Array probes were used for measurement of droplet size. Examples of droplet size distributions are shown for several median volumetric diameters. Finally, the liquid water content/droplet size operating envelopes of the icing tunnel are shown for a range of airspeeds and are compared to the FAA icing certification criteria.

Microfluidic droplet-based liquid-liquid extraction.

PubMed

Mary, Pascaline; Studer, Vincent; Tabeling, Patrick

2008-04-15

We study microfluidic systems in which mass exchanges take place between moving water droplets, formed on-chip, and an external phase (octanol). Here, no chemical reaction takes place, and the mass exchanges are driven by a contrast in chemical potential between the dispersed and continuous phases. We analyze the case where the microfluidic droplets, occupying the entire width of the channel, extract a solute-fluorescein-from the external phase (extraction) and the opposite case, where droplets reject a solute-rhodamine-into the external phase (purification). Four flow configurations are investigated, based on straight or zigzag microchannels. Additionally to the experimental work, we performed two-dimensional numerical simulations. In the experiments, we analyze the influence of different parameters on the process (channel dimensions, fluid viscosities, flow rates, drop size, droplet spacing, ...). Several regimes are singled out. In agreement with the mass transfer theory of Young et al. (Young, W.; Pumir, A.; Pomeau, Y. Phys. Fluids A 1989, 1, 462), we find that, after a short transient, the amount of matter transferred across the droplet interface grows as the square root of time and the time it takes for the transfer process to be completed decreases as Pe-2/3, where Pe is the Peclet number based on droplet velocity and radius. The numerical simulation is found in excellent consistency with the experiment. In practice, the transfer time ranges between a fraction and a few seconds, which is much faster than conventional systems.

Thermally induced secondary atomization of droplet in an acoustic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basu, Saptarshi; Saha, Abhishek; Kumar, Ranganathan

2012-01-01

We study the thermal effects that lead to instability and break up in acoustically levitated vaporizing fuel droplets. For selective liquids, atomization occurs at the droplet equator under external heating. Short wavelength [Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH)] instability for diesel and bio-diesel droplets triggers this secondary atomization. Vapor pressure, latent heat, and specific heat govern the vaporization rate and temperature history, which affect the surface tension gradient and gas phase density, ultimately dictating the onset of KH instability. We develop a criterion based on Weber number to define a condition for the inception of secondary atomization.

Formation and Maturation of Phase Separated Liquid Droplets by RNA Binding Proteins

PubMed Central

Lin, Yuan; Protter, David S. W.; Rosen, Michael K.; Parker, Roy

2015-01-01

Eukaryotic cells possess numerous dynamic membrane-less organelles, RNP granules, enriched in RNA and RNA binding proteins containing disordered regions. We demonstrate that the disordered regions of key RNP granule components, and the full-length granule protein hnRNPA1, can phase separate in vitro, producing dynamic liquid droplets. Phase separation is promoted by low salt concentrations or RNA. Over time, the droplets mature to more stable states, as assessed by slowed fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and resistance to salt. Maturation often coincides with formation of fibrous structures. Different disordered domains can co-assemble into phase-separated droplets. These biophysical properties demonstrate a plausible mechanism by which interactions between disordered regions, coupled with RNA binding, could contribute to RNP granule assembly in vivo through promoting phase separation. Progression from dynamic liquids to stable fibers may be regulated to produce cellular structures with diverse physiochemical properties and functions. Misregulation could contribute to diseases involving aberrant RNA granules. PMID:26412307

Experiments and Model Development for the Investigation of Sooting and Radiation Effects in Microgravity Droplet Combustion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, Mun Young; Yozgatligil, Ahmet; Dryer, Frederick L.; Kazakov, Andrei; Dobashi, Ritsu

2001-01-01

Today, despite efforts to develop and utilize natural gas and renewable energy sources, nearly 97% of the energy used for transportation is derived from combustion of liquid fuels, principally derived from petroleum. While society continues to rely on liquid petroleum-based fuels as a major energy source in spite of their finite supply, it is of paramount importance to maximize the efficiency and minimize the environmental impact of the devices that burn these fuels. The development of improved energy conversion systems, having higher efficiencies and lower emissions, is central to meeting both local and regional air quality standards. This development requires improvements in computational design tools for applied energy conversion systems, which in turn requires more robust sub-model components for combustion chemistry, transport, energy transport (including radiation), and pollutant emissions (soot formation and burnout). The study of isolated droplet burning as a unidimensional, time dependent model diffusion flame system facilitates extensions of these mechanisms to include fuel molecular sizes and pollutants typical of conventional and alternative liquid fuels used in the transportation sector. Because of the simplified geometry, sub-model components from the most detailed to those reduced to sizes compatible for use in multi-dimensional, time dependent applied models can be developed, compared and validated against experimental diffusion flame processes, and tested against one another. Based on observations in microgravity experiments on droplet combustion, it appears that the formation and lingering presence of soot within the fuel-rich region of isolated droplets can modify the burning rate, flame structure and extinction, soot aerosol properties, and the effective thermophysical properties. These observations led to the belief that perhaps one of the most important outstanding contributions of microgravity droplet combustion is the observation that in the

Evaluation of Liquid Fuel Spray Models for Hybrid RANS/LES and DLES Prediction of Turbulent Reactive Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afshar, Ali

An evaluation of Lagrangian-based, discrete-phase models for multi-component liquid sprays encountered in the combustors of gas turbine engines is considered. In particular, the spray modeling capabilities of the commercial software, ANSYS Fluent, was evaluated. Spray modeling was performed for various cold flow validation cases. These validation cases include a liquid jet in a cross-flow, an airblast atomizer, and a high shear fuel nozzle. Droplet properties including velocity and diameter were investigated and compared with previous experimental and numerical results. Different primary and secondary breakup models were evaluated in this thesis. The secondary breakup models investigated include the Taylor analogy breakup (TAB) model, the wave model, the Kelvin-Helmholtz Rayleigh-Taylor model (KHRT), and the Stochastic secondary droplet (SSD) approach. The modeling of fuel sprays requires a proper treatment for the turbulence. Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS), large eddy simulation (LES), hybrid RANS/LES, and dynamic LES (DLES) were also considered for the turbulent flows involving sprays. The spray and turbulence models were evaluated using the available benchmark experimental data.

Emulsion Droplet Combustion in Microgravity: Water/Heptane Emulsions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Avedisian, C. Thomas

1997-01-01

This presentation reviews a series of experiments to further examine parametric effects on sooting processes of droplet flames in microgravity. The particular focus is on a fuel droplet emulsified with water, specifically emulsions of n-heptane as the fuel-phase and water as the dispersed phase. Water was selected as the additive because of its anticipated effect on soot formation, and the heptane fuel phase was chosen to theoretically reduce the likelihood of microexplosions because its boiling point is nearly the same as that of water: 100 C for water and 98 C for heptane. The water content was varied while the initial droplet diameter was kept within a small range. The experiments were carried out in microgravity to reduce the effects of buoyancy and to promote spherical symmetry in the burning process. Spherically symmetric droplet burning is a convenient starting point for analysis, but experimental data are difficult to obtain for this situation as evidenced by the fact that no quantitative data have been reported on unsupported emulsion droplet combustion in a convection-free environment. The present study improves upon past work carried out on emulsion droplet combustion in microgravity which employed emulsion droplets suspended from a fiber. The fiber can be instrusive to the emulsion droplet burning process as it can promote coalescence of the dispersed water phase and heterogeneous nucleation on the fiber. Prior work has shown that the presence of water in liquid hydrocarbons can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on the combustion process. Water is known to reduce soot formation and radiation heat transfer to combustor walls Gollahalli (1979) reduce flame temperatures and thereby NOx emissions, and encourage secondary droplet atomization or microexplosion. Water also tends to retard ignition and and promote early extinction. The former effect restricted the range of water volume fractions as discussed below.

Area-tunable micromirror based on electrowetting actuation of liquid-metal droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Zhiliang; Zeng, Hongjun; Feinerman, Alan

2006-11-01

The authors report a micromirror device actuated by electrowetting effect. The micromirror surface is formed by a liquid-metal droplet jetted on a substrate and then topped with a parylene/Teflon coated indium tin oxide glass slide. The droplet is deformed by a voltage applied across the parylene/Teflon film. The radius of micromirror is tuned from 13μm (0V) to 88μm (90V), and the normalized area increases from 0.2 to 0.94 accordingly. The switching time ranges from 1ms for a 350μm diameter droplet to 0.2ms for a 50μm one. A 4×1 micromirror array is demonstrated and switched simultaneously.

Probing Ion Transfer across Liquid-Liquid Interfaces by Monitoring Collisions of Single Femtoliter Oil Droplets on Ultramicroelectrodes.

PubMed

Deng, Haiqiang; Dick, Jeffrey E; Kummer, Sina; Kragl, Udo; Strauss, Steven H; Bard, Allen J

2016-08-02

We describe a method of observing collisions of single femtoliter (fL) oil (i.e., toluene) droplets that are dispersed in water on an ultramicroelectrode (UME) to probe the ion transfer across the oil/water interface. The oil-in-water emulsion was stabilized by an ionic liquid, in which the oil droplet trapped a highly hydrophobic redox probe, rubrene. The ionic liquid also functions as the supporting electrolyte in toluene. When the potential of the UME was biased such that rubrene oxidation would be possible when a droplet collided with the electrode, no current spikes were observed. This implies that the rubrene radical cation is not hydrophilic enough to transfer into the aqueous phase. We show that current spikes are observed when tetrabutylammonium trifluoromethanesulfonate or tetrahexylammonium hexafluorophosphate are introduced into the toluene phase and when tetrabutylammonium perchlorate is introduced into the water phase, implying that the ion transfer facilitates electron transfer in the droplet collisions. The current (i)-time (t) behavior was evaluated quantitatively, which indicated the ion transfer is fast and reversible. Furthermore, the size of these emulsion droplets can also be calculated from the electrochemical collision. We further investigated the potential dependence on the electrochemical collision response in the presence of tetrabutylammonium trifluoromethanesulfonate in toluene to obtain the formal ion transfer potential of tetrabutylammonium across the toluene/water interface, which was determined to be 0.754 V in the inner potential scale. The results yield new physical insights into the charge balance mechanism in emulsion droplet collisions and indicate that the electrochemical collision technique can be used to probe formal ion transfer potentials between water and solvents with very low (ε < 5) dielectric constants.

Marangoni Effect on the Shape of Freely Receding Evaporating Sessile Droplets of Perfectly Wetting Liquids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsoumpas, Yannis; Dehaeck, Sam; Rednikov, Alexey; Colinet, Pierre

2014-11-01

Freely receding evaporating sessile droplets of perfectly wetting liquids (HFE-7100, 7200 and 7500), with small finite contact angles induced by evaporation, are studied with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Surprisingly, the experimentally obtained profiles turn out to deviate from the classical macroscopic static shape of a sessile droplet (as determined by gravity and capillarity), often used when modeling evaporating droplets. These deviations can be seen in two ways. Namely, either the droplet appears to be inflated as compared to the classical static shape assuming the same contact angle and contact radius, or the apparent contact angle appears lower than the classical static one assuming the same volume and contact radius. In reality, the experimental profiles exhibit a local decrease of the slope near the contact line, which we attribute to the Marangoni effect in an evaporating sessile droplet. In this case, the radially inward (along the liquid-air interface) direction of the flow delivers more liquid to the center of the droplet making it appear inflated. When the Marangoni effect is weak, as in the case of the poorly volatile HFE-7500, no significant influence is noticed on the drop shape. The experimental results are compared with the predictions of a lubrication-type theoretical model that incorporates the evaporation-induced Marangoni flow. Financial support of FP7 Marie Curie MULTIFLOW Network (PITN-GA-2008-214919), ESA/BELSPO-PRODEX, BELSPO- μMAST (IAP 7/38) & FRS-FNRS is gratefully acknowledged.

Influence of droplet size, pH and ionic strength on endotoxin-triggered ordering transitions in liquid crystalline droplets

PubMed Central

Miller, Daniel S.; Abbott, Nicholas L.

2012-01-01

We report an investigation of ordering transitions that are induced in water-dispersed, micrometer-sized droplets of a thermotropic liquid crystal (LC) by the bacterial lipopolysaccharide endotoxin. We reveal that the ordering transitions induced by endotoxin – from a bipolar state of the droplets to a radial state – are strongly dependent on the size of the LC droplets. Specifically, as the diameters of the LC droplets increase from 2 μm to above 10 μm (in phosphate buffered saline with an ionic strength of 90 mM and a pH of 7.2), we measured the percentage of droplets exhibiting a radial configuration in the presence of 100 pg/mL endotoxin to decrease from 98 ± 1 % to 3 ± 2 %. In addition, we measured a decrease in either the ionic strength or pH of the aqueous phase to reduce the percentage of droplets exhibiting a radial configuration in the presence of endotoxin. These results, when interpreted within the context of a simple thermodynamic model that incorporates the contributions of elasticity and surface anchoring to the free energies of the LC droplets, lead us to conclude that (i) the elastic constant K24 plays a central role in determining the size-dependent response of the LC droplets to endotoxin, and (ii) endotoxin-triggered ordering transitions occur only under solution conditions (pH, ionic strength) where the combined contributions of elasticity and surface anchoring to the free energies of the bipolar and radial configurations of the LC droplets are similar in magnitude. Our analysis also suggests that the presence of endotoxin perturbs the free energies of the LC droplets by ~10−17 J/droplet, which is comparable to the standard free energy of self-association of ~103 endotoxin molecules. These results, when combined with prior reports of localization of endotoxin at the center of LC droplets, are consistent with the hypothesis that self-assembly of endotoxin within micrometer-sized LC droplets provides the driving force for the ordering

Micromachined ultrasonic droplet generator based on a liquid horn structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meacham, J. M.; Ejimofor, C.; Kumar, S.; Degertekin, F. L.; Fedorov, A. G.

2004-05-01

A micromachined ultrasonic droplet generator is developed and demonstrated for drop-on-demand fluid atomization. The droplet generator comprises a bulk ceramic piezoelectric transducer for ultrasound generation, a reservoir for the ejection fluid, and a silicon micromachined liquid horn structure as the nozzle. The nozzles are formed using a simple batch microfabrication process that involves wet etching of (100) silicon in potassium hydroxide solution. Device operation is demonstrated by droplet ejection of water through 30 μm orifices at 1.49 and 2.30 MHz. The finite-element simulations of the acoustic fields in the cavity and electrical impedance of the device are in agreement with the measurements and indicate that the device utilizes cavity resonances in the 1-5 MHz range in conjunction with acoustic wave focusing by the pyramidally shaped nozzles to achieve low power operation.

Growth Kinetics of Intracellular RNA/Protein Droplets: Signature of a Liquid-Liquid Phase Transition?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berry, Joel; Weber, Stephanie C.; Vaidya, Nilesh; Zhu, Lian; Haataja, Mikko; Brangwynne, Clifford P.

2015-03-01

Nonmembrane-bound organelles are functional, dynamic assemblies of RNA and/or protein that can self-assemble and disassemble within the cytoplasm or nucleoplasm. The possibility that underlying intracellular phase transitions may drive and mediate the morphological evolution of some membrane-less organelles has been supported by several recent studies. In this talk, results from a collaborative experimental-theoretical study of the growth and dissolution kinetics of nucleoli and extranucleolar droplets (ENDs) in C. elegans embryos will be presented. We have employed Flory-Huggins solution theory, reaction-diffusion kinetics, and quantitative statistical dynamic scaling analysis to characterize the specific growth mechanisms at work. Our findings indicate that both in vivo and in vitro droplet scaling and growth kinetics are consistent with those resulting from an equilibrium liquid-liquid phase transition mediated by passive nonequilibrium growth mechanisms - simultaneous Brownian coalescence and Ostwald ripening. This supports a view in which cells can employ phase transitions to drive structural organization, while utilizing active processes, such as local transcriptional activity, to fine tune the kinetics of these phase transitions in response to given conditions.

Combustion characteristics of crude jatropha oil droplets using rhodium liquid as a homogeneous combustion catalyst

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nanlohy, Hendry Y.; Wardana, I. N. G.; Hamidi, N.; Yuliati, L.

2018-01-01

Combustion characteristics of crude jatropha oil droplet at room temperature with and without catalyst have been studied experimentally. Its combustion characteristics have been observed by igniting the oil droplet on a junction of a thermocouple, and the combustion characteristics of oil droplets are observed using a high-speed camera. The results show that the uniqueness of crude jatropha oil as alternative fuel is evidenced by the different stages of combustion caused by thermal cracking in burning droplets. The results also show that the role of the catalyst is not only an accelerator agent, but there are other unique functions and roles as a stabilizer. Moreover, the results also found that the catalyst was able to shorten the ignition timing and burnout time. This phenomenon proves that the presence of catalysts alters and weakens the structure of the triglyceride geometry so that the viscosity and flash point is reduced, the fuel absorbs heat well and flammable.

Experimental study of dielectrophoresis and liquid dielectrophoresis mechanisms for particle capture in a droplet.

PubMed

Tsai, Sung-Lin; Hong, Jhih-Lin; Chen, Ming-Kun; Jang, Ling-Sheng

2011-06-01

This work presents a microfluidic system that can transport, concentrate, and capture particles in a controllable droplet. Dielectrophoresis (DEP), a phenomenon in which a force is exerted on a dielectric particle when it is subjected to a non-uniform electric field, is used to manipulate particles. Liquid dielectrophoresis (LDEP), a phenomenon in which a liquid moves toward regions of high electric field strength under a non-uniform electric field, is used to manipulate the fluid. In this study, a mechanism of droplet creation presented in a previous work that uses DEP and LDEP is improved. A driving electrode with a DEP gap is used to prevent beads from getting stuck at the interface between air and liquid, which is actuated with an AC signal of 200 V(pp) at a frequency of 100 kHz. DEP theory is used to calculate the DEP force in the liquid, and LDEP theory is used to analyze the influence of the DEP gap. The increment of the actuation voltage due to the electrode with a DEP gap is calculated. A set of microwell electrodes is used to capture a bead using DEP force, which is actuated with an AC signal of 20 V(pp) at a frequency of 5 MHz. A simulation is carried out to investigate the dimensions of the DEP gap and microwell electrodes. Experiments are performed to demonstrate the creation of a 100-nL droplet and the capture of individual 10-μm polystyrene latex beads in the droplet. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Single Droplet Combustion of Decane in Microgravity: Experiments and Numerical Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dietrich, D. L.; Struk, P. M.; Ikegam, M.; Xu, G.

2004-01-01

This paper presents experimental data on single droplet combustion of decane in microgravity and compares the results to a numerical model. The primary independent experiment variables are the ambient pressure and oxygen mole fraction, pressure, droplet size (over a relatively small range) and ignition energy. The droplet history (D(sup 2) history) is non-linear with the burning rate constant increasing throughout the test. The average burning rate constant, consistent with classical theory, increased with increasing ambient oxygen mole fraction and was nearly independent of pressure, initial droplet size and ignition energy. The flame typically increased in size initially, and then decreased in size, in response to the shrinking droplet. The flame standoff increased linearly for the majority of the droplet lifetime. The flame surrounding the droplet extinguished at a finite droplet size at lower ambient pressures and an oxygen mole fraction of 0.15. The extinction droplet size increased with decreasing pressure. The model is transient and assumes spherical symmetry, constant thermo-physical properties (specific heat, thermal conductivity and species Lewis number) and single step chemistry. The model includes gas-phase radiative loss and a spherically symmetric, transient liquid phase. The model accurately predicts the droplet and flame histories of the experiments. Good agreement requires that the ignition in the experiment be reasonably approximated in the model and that the model accurately predict the pre-ignition vaporization of the droplet. The model does not accurately predict the dependence of extinction droplet diameter on pressure, a result of the simplified chemistry in the model. The transient flame behavior suggests the potential importance of fuel vapor accumulation. The model results, however, show that the fractional mass consumption rate of fuel in the flame relative to fuel vaporized is close to 1.0 for all but the lowest ambient oxygen mole

Antimisting fuel breakup and flammability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parikh, P.; Fleeter, R.; Sarohia, V.

1983-01-01

The breakup behavior and flammability of antimisting turbine fuels subjected to aerodynamic shear are investigated. Fuels tested were Jet A containing 0.3% FM-9 polymer at various levels of degradation ranging from virgin AMK to neat Jet A. The misting behavior of the fuels was quantified by droplet size distribution measurements. A technique based on high resolution laser photography and digital image processing of photographic records for rapid determination of droplet size distribution was developed. The flammability of flowing droplet-air mixtures was quantified by direct measurements of temperature rise in a flame established in the wake of a continuous ignition source. The temperature rise measurements were correlated with droplet size measurements. The flame anchoring phenomenon associated with the breakup of a liquid fuel in the wake of bluff body was shown to be important in the context of a survivable crash scenario. A pass/fail criterion for flammability testing of antimisting fuels, based on this flame-anchoring phenomenon, was proposed. The role of various ignition sources and their intensity in ignition and post-ignition behavior of antimisting fuels was also investigated.

Ground deposition of liquid droplets released from a point source in the atmospheric surface layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panneton, Bernard

1989-01-01

A series of field experiments is presented in which the ground deposition of liquid droplets, 120 and 150 microns in diameter, released from a point source at 7 m above ground level, was measured. A detailed description of the experimental technique is provided, and the results are presented and compared to the predictions of a few models. A new rotating droplet generator is described. Droplets are produced by the forced breakup of capillary liquid jets and droplet coalescence is inhibited by the rotational motion of the spray head. The two dimensional deposition patterns are presented in the form of plots of contours of constant density, normalized arcwise distributions and crosswind integrated distributions. The arcwise distributions follow a Gaussian distribution whose standard deviation is evaluated using a modified Pasquill's technique. Models of the crosswind integrated deposit from Godson, Csanady, Walker, Bache and Sayer, and Wilson et al are evaluated. The results indicate that the Wilson et al random walk model is adequate for predicting the ground deposition of the 150 micron droplets. In one case, where the ratio of the droplet settling velocity to the mean wind speed was largest, Walker's model proved to be adequate. Otherwise, none of the models were acceptable in light of the experimental data.

Combustion characteristics in the transition region of liquid fuel sprays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cernansky, N. P.; Namer, I.; Tidona, R. J.

1986-01-01

A number of important effects have been observed in the droplet size transition region in spray combustion systems. In this region, where the mechanism of flame propagation is transformed from diffusive to premixed dominated combustion, the following effects have been observed: (1) maxima in burning velocity; (2) extension of flammability limits; (3) minima in ignition energy; and (4) minima in NOx formation. A monodisperse aerosol generator has been used to form and deliver a well controlled liquid fuel spray to the combustion test section where measurements of ignition energy have been made. The ignition studies were performed on monodisperse n-heptane sprays at atmospheric pressure over a range of equivalence ratios and droplet diameters. A capacitive discharge spark ignition system was used as the ignition source, providing independent control of spark energy and duration. Preliminary measurements were made to optimize spark duration and spark gap, optimum conditions being those at which the maximum frequency or probability of ignition was observed. Using the optimum electrode spacing and spark duration, the frequency of ignition was determined as a function of spark energy for three overall equivalence ratios (0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) and for initial droplet diameters of 25, 40, 50, 60, and 70 micro m.

Temperature-Tuned Faceting and Shape Changes in Liquid Alkane Droplets

DOE PAGES

Guttman, Shani; Sapir, Zvi; Ocko, Benjamin M.; ...

2017-01-09

Recent extensive studies reveal that surfactant-stabilized spherical alkane emulsion droplets spontaneously adopt polyhedral shapes upon cooling below a temperature T d while remaining liquid. Further cooling induces the growth of tails and spontaneous droplet splitting. Two mechanisms were offered to account for these intriguing effects. One assigns the effects to the formation of an intradroplet frame of tubules consisting of crystalline rotator phases with cylindrically curved lattice planes. The second assigns the sphere-to-polyhedron transition to the buckling of defects in a crystalline interfacial monolayer, known to form in these systems at some T s > T d. The buckling reducesmore » the extensional energy of the crystalline monolayer’s defects, unavoidably formed when wrapping a spherical droplet by a hexagonally packed interfacial monolayer. The tail growth, shape changes, and droplet splitting were assigned to the decrease and vanishing of surface tension, γ. Here we present temperature-dependent γ(T), optical microscopy measurements, and interfacial entropy determinations for several alkane/surfactant combinations. We demonstrate the advantages and accuracy of the in situ γ(T) measurements made simultaneously with the microscopy measurements on the same droplet. The in situ and coinciding ex situ Wilhelmy plate γ(T) measurements confirm the low interfacial tension, ≲0.1 mN/m, observed at T d. Here, our results provide strong quantitative support validating the crystalline monolayer buckling mechanism.« less

A New Finite-Conductivity Droplet Evaporation Model Including Liquid Turbulence Effect

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balasubramanyam, M. S.; Chen, C. P.; Trinh, H. P.

2006-01-01

A new approach to account for finite thermal conductivity and turbulence effects within atomizing droplets of an evaporating spray is presented in this paper. The model is an extension of the T-blob and T-TAB atomization/spray model of Trinh and Chen [9]. This finite conductivity model is based on the two-temperature film theory in which the turbulence characteristics of the droplet are used to estimate the effective thermal diffusivity for the liquid-side film thickness. Both one-way and two-way coupled calculations were performed to investigate the performance cf this model against the published experimental data.

Computational Thermodynamics Analysis of Vaporizing Fuel Droplets in the Human Upper Airways

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhe; Kleinstreuer, Clement

The detailed knowledge of air flow structures as well as particle transport and deposition in the human lung for typical inhalation flow rates is an important precursor for dosimetry-and-health-effect studies of toxic particles as well as for targeted drug delivery of therapeutic aerosols. Focusing on highly toxic JP-8 fuel aerosols, 3-D airflow and fluid-particle thermodynamics in a human upper airway model starting from mouth to Generation G3 (G0 is the trachea) are simulated using a user-enhanced and experimentally validated finite-volume code. The temperature distributions and their effects on airflow structures, fuel vapor deposition and droplet motion/evaporation are discussed. The computational results show that the thermal effect on vapor deposition is minor, but it may greatly affect droplet deposition in human airways.

Modeling of atomization and distribution of drop-liquid fuel in unsteady swirling flows in a combustion chamber and free space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sviridenkov, A. A.; Toktaliev, P. D.; Tretyakov, V. V.

2018-03-01

Numerical and experimental research of atomization and propagation of drop-liquid phase in swirling flow behind the frontal device of combustion chamber was performed. Numerical procedure was based on steady and unsteady Reynolds equations solution. It's shown that better agreement with experimental data could be obtained with unsteady approach. Fractional time step method was implemented to solve Reynolds equations. Models of primary and secondary breakup of liquid fuel jet in swirling flows are formulated and tested. Typical mean sizes of fuel droplets for base operational regime of swirling device and combustion chamber were calculated. Comparison of main features of internal swirling flow in combustion chamber with unbounded swirling flow was made.

Ternary liquid mixtures control the multiplicity, shape and internal structure of emulsion droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haase, Martin F.; Brujic, Jasna

2014-03-01

It is important to control the shape, internal structure and stability of emulsion droplets for drug delivery, biochemical assays, and the design of materials with novel physical properties. Successful methods involve the mechanical manipulation of the flow of oil in water using complex microfluidic devices to make multiple emulsions with a sequential introduction of specific reactants. Instead, here we show how the thermodynamics of immiscible liquid mixtures tailor emulsions using a single dripping instability. For example, the initial composition and choice of surfactant govern the multiplicity of concentric alternating oil and water layers inside the droplets. Stabilizing ternary droplets using nanoparticles gives rise to a plethora of shapes whose geometry is defined by the deformability of the shell and the flow rate. Another option is to incorporate lipids to the multiple emulsion droplet, which form vesicles upon expulsion of the inner water droplets. Depending on the number of initial water droplets, these vesicles eventually form complex hollow topologies, which can be used as junctions or scaffolds for the self-assembly of colloidal particles in the future.

Analytical modeling of operating characteristics of premixing-prevaporizing fuel-air mixing passages. Volume 1: Analysis and results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, O. L.; Chiappetta, L. M.; Edwards, D. E.; Mcvey, J. B.

1982-01-01

A model for predicting the distribution of liquid fuel droplets and fuel vapor in premixing-prevaporizing fuel-air mixing passages of the direct injection type is reported. This model consists of three computer programs; a calculation of the two dimensional or axisymmetric air flow field neglecting the effects of fuel; a calculation of the three dimensional fuel droplet trajectories and evaporation rates in a known, moving air flow; a calculation of fuel vapor diffusing into a moving three dimensional air flow with source terms dependent on the droplet evaporation rates. The fuel droplets are treated as individual particle classes each satisfying Newton's law, a heat transfer, and a mass transfer equation. This fuel droplet model treats multicomponent fuels and incorporates the physics required for the treatment of elastic droplet collisions, droplet shattering, droplet coalescence and droplet wall interactions. The vapor diffusion calculation treats three dimensional, gas phase, turbulent diffusion processes. The analysis includes a model for the autoignition of the fuel air mixture based upon the rate of formation of an important intermediate chemical species during the preignition period.

ILIDS measurements of the evaporation of fuel droplets during the intake and compression strokes in a firing lean burn engine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Skippon, S.M.; Tagaki, Y.

1996-09-01

The evaporation of fuel droplets is an important factor in determining the quality of mixture preparation in lean-burn engines, particularly when using open-valve injection timing, which results in large in-cylinder droplet populations. Interferometric Laser Imaging for Droplet Sizing (ILIDS) has been used to measure the in-cylinder droplet size distribution and fuel volume in the droplet phase as a function of crank angle for a typical full boiling range gasoline and three single component fuels with different boiling points: iso-pentane, iso-octane, and xylene, representing the volatilities of the light end, mid-range and heavy ends of a typical gasoline. The measurements weremore » made under firing conditions, with both open and closed valve injection timing, and at two different coolant temperatures, representing simulated cold start and fully warmed up conditions. A specially built single cylinder research engine was used, equipped with a transparent sapphire cylinder to provide all-round sidewall optical access to the cylinder interior. The engine had a four-valve leanburn head, swirl control valve and air-assisted injector. The experimental arrangements for ILIDS in a firing engine, and the optical access engine itself, are discussed in detail. The results showed significant differences in the rates of evaporation of the three fuel components: iso-pentane evaporated fully very early in the induction stroke, iso-octane droplets persisted longer, and xylene droplets persisted to the end of the compression stroke.« less

Cassidy conducts MDCA Fuel Reservoir Remove and Replace OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-04-10

ISS035-E-017699 (10 April 2013) --- This is one of several photos documenting the Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) Fuel Reservoir replacement. Here, Expedition 35 Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy removes and replaces one of the Fuel Reservoirs with the MDCA Chamber Insert Assembly (CIA) pulled partially out of the Combustion Chamber. The MDCA Fuel Reservoirs contain the liquid fuel used during droplet combustion experiments. This reservoir change-out was in support of the FLame EXtinguishment (FLEX)-2 experiment, scheduled to be executed by ground controllers.

Ground deposition of liquid droplets released from a point source in the atmospheric surface layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panneton, Bernard

1989-05-01

A series of field experiments is presented in which the ground deposition of liquid droplets, 120 and 150 micrometers in diameter, released from a point source at 7 meters above the ground level, was measured. A detailed description of the experimental technique is provided, and the results are presented and compared to the predictions of a few models. A new rotating droplet generator is described. Droplets are produced by the forced breakup of capillary liquid jets and droplet coalescence is inhibited by the rotational motion of the spray head. A system for analyzing spray samples was developed. This is a specialized image analysis system based on an electronic digitizing camera which measures the area and perimeter of stains left by dyed droplets collected on Kromekote cards. A complete set of meteorological data supports the ground-deposition data. The turbulent air velocities at two levels above the ground and the temperature of the air at one level were measured with one sonic anemometer and a sonic anemometer-thermometer. The vertical heat and momentum fluxes were estimated using the eddy-correlation technique. The two-dimensional deposition patterns are presented in the form of plots of contours of constant density, normalized arcwise distributions and crosswind integrated distributions. Models of the crosswind integrated deposit from Godson, Csanady, Walker, Bache and Sayer, and Wilson et al., are evaluated. The results indicate that the Wilson et al random walk model is adequate for predicting the ground deposition of the 150 micrometer droplets.

Selfbound quantum droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langen, Tim; Wenzel, Matthias; Schmitt, Matthias; Boettcher, Fabian; Buehner, Carl; Ferrier-Barbut, Igor; Pfau, Tilman

2017-04-01

Self-bound many-body systems are formed through a balance of attractive and repulsive forces and occur in many physical scenarios. Liquid droplets are an example of a self-bound system, formed by a balance of the mutual attractive and repulsive forces that derive from different components of the inter-particle potential. On the basis of the recent finding that an unstable bosonic dipolar gas can be stabilized by a repulsive many-body term, it was predicted that three-dimensional self-bound quantum droplets of magnetic atoms should exist. Here we report on the observation of such droplets using dysprosium atoms, with densities 108 times lower than a helium droplet, in a trap-free levitation field. We find that this dilute magnetic quantum liquid requires a minimum, critical number of atoms, below which the liquid evaporates into an expanding gas as a result of the quantum pressure of the individual constituents. Consequently, around this critical atom number we observe an interaction-driven phase transition between a gas and a self-bound liquid in the quantum degenerate regime with ultracold atoms.

Communication: Orientational structure manipulation in nematic liquid crystal droplets induced by light excitation of azodendrimer dopant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shvetsov, Sergey A.; Emelyanenko, Alexander V.; Boiko, Natalia I.; Liu, Jui-Hsiang; Khokhlov, Alexei R.

2017-06-01

Reversible orientational transitions in the droplets of a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) caused by the change of boundary conditions under the low intensity diode illumination are investigated. Photosensitivity of NLC is achieved by the addition of the dendrimer compound with azobenzene terminal groups. Two types of NLC droplets in glycerol are considered: the spherical droplets in the bulk of glycerol and the droplets laid-down onto the solid substrate. In the second case, the first order phase transition is revealed. The effects described can be useful for the development of highly sensitive chemical detectors and microsized photo-tunable optical devices.

Effect of aviation fuel type and fuel injection conditions on the spray characteristics of pressure swirl and hybrid air blast fuel injectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feddema, Rick

Feddema, Rick T. M.S.M.E., Purdue University, December 2013. Effect of Aviation Fuel Type and Fuel Injection Conditions on the Spray Characteristics of Pressure Swirl and Hybrid Air Blast Fuel Injectors. Major Professor: Dr. Paul E. Sojka, School of Mechanical Engineering Spray performance of pressure swirl and hybrid air blast fuel injectors are central to combustion stability, combustor heat management, and pollutant formation in aviation gas turbine engines. Next generation aviation gas turbine engines will optimize spray atomization characteristics of the fuel injector in order to achieve engine efficiency and emissions requirements. Fuel injector spray atomization performance is affected by the type of fuel injector, fuel liquid properties, fuel injection pressure, fuel injection temperature, and ambient pressure. Performance of pressure swirl atomizer and hybrid air blast nozzle type fuel injectors are compared in this study. Aviation jet fuels, JP-8, Jet A, JP-5, and JP-10 and their effect on fuel injector performance is investigated. Fuel injector set conditions involving fuel injector pressure, fuel temperature and ambient pressure are varied in order to compare each fuel type. One objective of this thesis is to contribute spray patternation measurements to the body of existing drop size data in the literature. Fuel droplet size tends to increase with decreasing fuel injection pressure, decreasing fuel injection temperature and increasing ambient injection pressure. The differences between fuel types at particular set conditions occur due to differences in liquid properties between fuels. Liquid viscosity and surface tension are identified to be fuel-specific properties that affect the drop size of the fuel. An open aspect of current research that this paper addresses is how much the type of aviation jet fuel affects spray atomization characteristics. Conventional aviation fuel specifications are becoming more important with new interest in alternative

Fast electric control of the droplet size in a microfluidic T-junction droplet generator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shojaeian, Mostafa; Hardt, Steffen

2018-05-01

The effect of DC electric fields on the generation of droplets of water and xanthan gum solutions in sunflower oil at a microfluidic T-junction is experimentally studied. The electric field leads to a significant reduction of the droplet diameter, by about a factor of 2 in the case of water droplets. The droplet size can be tuned by varying the electric field strength, an effect that can be employed to produce a stream of droplets with a tailor-made size sequence. Compared to the case of purely hydrodynamic droplet production without electric fields, the electric control has about the same effect on the droplet size if the electric stress at the liquid/liquid interface is the same as the hydrodynamic stress.

Mechanical vibration of viscoelastic liquid droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharp, James; Harrold, Victoria

2014-03-01

The resonant vibrations of viscoelastic sessile droplets supported on different substrates were monitored using a simple laser light scattering technique. In these experiments, laser light was reflected from the surfaces of droplets of high Mw poly acrylamide-co-acrylic acid (PAA) dissolved in water. The scattered light was allowed to fall on the surface of a photodiode detector and a mechanical impulse was applied to the drops using a vibration motor mounted beneath the substrates. The mechanical impulse caused the droplets to vibrate and the scattered light moved across the surface of the photodiode. The resulting time dependent photodiode signal was then Fourier transformed to obtain the mechanical vibrational spectra of the droplets. The frequencies and widths of the resonant peaks were extracted for droplets containing different concentrations of PAA and with a range of sizes. This was repeated for PAA loaded water drops on surfaces which displayed different values of the three phase contact angle. The results were compared to a simple model of droplet vibration which considers the formation of standing wave states on the surface of a viscoelastic droplet. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Leverhulme trust under grant number RPG-2012-702.

Effects of Nanoparticulate Additives on Acoustically Coupled Fuel Droplet Combustion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vargas, Andres; Plascencia, Miguel; Sim, Hyung Sub; Smith, Owen; Karagozian, Ann

2017-11-01

The present study investigates interactions between applied acoustic perturbations and burning ethanol droplets containing nano particulate additives. Reactive nanoscale aluminum (nAl) as well as inert silica (nSiO2), each with an 80 nm average diameter. Continuously-fed fuel droplet combustion experiments were conducted in the vicinity of a pressure node created in a closed acoustic waveguide, with a range of applied forcing frequencies, pressure or velocity perturbation amplitudes, and particle loading concentrations. Simultaneous phase-locked OH* chemiluminescence and high-speed visible imaging enabled quantification of the influences of nanoparticle concentration on burning rate constant K and combustion-acoustic coupling. Results indicated that nAl particles in ethanol yielded measurable increases in K with increasing applied perturbation amplitudes, as compared to pure ethanol in the presence of acoustic excitation. Droplets with nAl exposed to moderate acoustic excitation exhibited sustained combustion for much longer periods of time than for unforced conditions. Post analysis of particulate matter collected from residue via electron microscopy aids in interpreting these trends and findings. Supported by AFOSR Grant FA9550-15-1-0339.

Liquid crystalline pattern formation in drying droplets of biopolymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smalyukh, Ivan; Zribi, Olena; Butler, John; Lavrentovich, Oleg; Wong, Gerard

2006-03-01

When a droplet of DNA in water dries out, a ring-like deposit is observed along the perimeter, similar to the stains in spilled drops of coffee. However, the dried ring of DNA is a self-similar birefringent pattern composed of extended molecules. We examine dynamics of the pattern formation at the droplet's rim. This gives us an insight into the underlining physics. During the major part of drying process the contact line is pinned so that DNA molecules are brought to the perimeter and extended by the radial capillary flow. Lyotropic nematic phase is formed in which highly concentrated DNA aligns along the triple line to minimize elastic energy. When the contact angle becomes small, the contact line starts to retract and the radial dilative stress causes buckling distortions at the rim which then propagate deep into the elastic liquid- crystalline medium and give rise to the pattern.

Ionic Liquid Droplet Microreactor for Catalysis Reactions Not at Equilibrium.

PubMed

Zhang, Ming; Ettelaie, Rammile; Yan, Tao; Zhang, Suojiang; Cheng, Fangqin; Binks, Bernard P; Yang, Hengquan

2017-12-06

We develop a novel strategy to more effectively and controllably process continuous enzymatic or homogeneous catalysis reactions based on nonaqueous Pickering emulsions. A key element of this strategy is "bottom-up" construction of a macroscale continuous flow reaction system through packing catalyst-containing micron-sized ionic liquid (IL) droplet in oil in a column reactor. Due to the continuous influx of reactants into the droplet microreactors and the continuous release of products from the droplet microreactors, catalysis reactions in such a system can take place without limitations arising from establishment of the reaction equilibrium and catalyst separation, inherent in conventional batch reactions. As proof of the concept, enzymatic enantioselective trans-esterification and CuI-catalyzed cycloaddition reactions using this IL droplet-based flow system both exhibit 8 to 25-fold enhancement in catalysis efficiency compared to their batch counterparts, and a durability of at least 4000 h for the enantioselective trans-esterification of 1-phenylethyl alcohol, otherwise unattainable in their batch counterparts. We further establish a theoretical model for such a catalysis system working under nonequilibrium conditions, which not only supports the experimental results but also helps to predict reaction progress at a microscale level. Being operationally simple, efficient, and adaptive, this strategy provides an unprecedented platform for practical applications of enzymes and homogeneous catalysts even at a controllable level.

Cassidy conducts MDCA Fuel Reservoir Remove and Replace OPS

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-04-10

ISS035-E-017712 (10 April 2013)?-- This is one of several photos documenting the Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) Fuel Reservoir replacement in the U.S. lab Destiny. Here, Expedition 35 Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy removes and replaces one of the Fuel Reservoirs with the MDCA Chamber Insert Assembly (CIA) pulled partially out of the Combustion Chamber. The MDCA Fuel Reservoirs contain the liquid fuel used during droplet combustion experiments. This reservoir change-out was in support of the FLame EXtinguishment (FLEX)-2 experiment, scheduled to be executed by ground controllers.

Oxides of Nitrogen Emissions from the Combustion of Monodisperse Liquid Fuel Sprays. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarv, H.

1985-01-01

A study of NO sub x formation in a one dimensional monodisperse spray combustion system, which allowed independent droplet size variation, was conducted. Temperature, NO and NO sub x concentrations were measured in the transition region, encompassing a 26 to 74 micron droplet size range. Emission measurements of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and oxygen were also made. The equivalence ratio was varied between 0.8 and 1.2 for the fuels used, including methanol, isopropanaol, n-heptane and n-octane. Pyridine and pyrrole were added to n-heptane as nitrogen-containing additives in order to simulate synthetic fuels. Results obtained from the postflame regions using the pure fuels indicate an optimum droplet size in the range of 43 to 58 microns for minimizing NO sub x production. For the fuels examined, the maximum NO sub x reductions relative to the small droplet size limit were about 10 to 20% for lean and 20 to 30% for stoichiometric and rich mixtures. This behavior is attributed to droplet interactions and the transition from diffusive to premixed type of burning. Preflame vaporization controls the gas phase stoichiometry which has a significant effect on the volume of the hot gases surrounding a fuel droplet, where NO sub x is formed.

Extended lattice Boltzmann scheme for droplet combustion.

PubMed

Ashna, Mostafa; Rahimian, Mohammad Hassan; Fakhari, Abbas

2017-05-01

The available lattice Boltzmann (LB) models for combustion or phase change are focused on either single-phase flow combustion or two-phase flow with evaporation assuming a constant density for both liquid and gas phases. To pave the way towards simulation of spray combustion, we propose a two-phase LB method for modeling combustion of liquid fuel droplets. We develop an LB scheme to model phase change and combustion by taking into account the density variation in the gas phase and accounting for the chemical reaction based on the Cahn-Hilliard free-energy approach. Evaporation of liquid fuel is modeled by adding a source term, which is due to the divergence of the velocity field being nontrivial, in the continuity equation. The low-Mach-number approximation in the governing Navier-Stokes and energy equations is used to incorporate source terms due to heat release from chemical reactions, density variation, and nonluminous radiative heat loss. Additionally, the conservation equation for chemical species is formulated by including a source term due to chemical reaction. To validate the model, we consider the combustion of n-heptane and n-butanol droplets in stagnant air using overall single-step reactions. The diameter history and flame standoff ratio obtained from the proposed LB method are found to be in good agreement with available numerical and experimental data. The present LB scheme is believed to be a promising approach for modeling spray combustion.

Liquid-Phase Circulation and Mixing in Multicomponent Droplets Vaporizing in a Laminar Convective Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-10-15

included an f/2.8 dual port long-distance microscope coupled to a black d•rl white CCD video camera. A long-pass filter (with a cut-off at 530 nm) was...evaporation rates of multicomponent droplets is needed for the calibration of exciplex -based vapor/liquid visualization techniques that are employed today in...Publishing Co., Houston. Texas. Hanlon. T. R.. and Melton. L. A. (1992). Exciplex fluorescence thermometry of falling hexadecane droplets. Journal of Heat

Droplet transport system and methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neitzel, G. Paul (Inventor)

2010-01-01

Embodiments of droplet transport systems and methods are disclosed for levitating and transporting single or encapsulated droplets using thermocapillary convection. One method embodiment, among others comprises providing a droplet of a first liquid; and applying thermocapillary convection to the droplet to levitate and move the droplet.

Droplet impact dynamics for two liquids impinging on anisotropic superhydrophobic surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearson, John T.; Maynes, Daniel; Webb, Brent W.

2012-09-01

Droplet impingement experiments were performed on grooved hydrophobic surfaces with cavity fractions of 0, 80, and 93 % using droplets of water and a 50 %/50 % water/glycerol mixture. The influence of liquid viscosity, cavity fraction, and spreading direction, relative to the surface grooves, is explored qualitatively and quantitatively. The maximum droplet spread diameter, velocity of the rebounding jet, and the time delay between droplet impact and jet emission were characterized for Weber numbers, We, based on droplet impact speed and diameter, up to 500. The unequal shear stresses and contact angles influence the maximum spread diameters in the two primary spread directions. At We > 100, the ratio of the spread diameter along the direction of the grooves to the spread diameter perpendicular to the grooves increases above unity with increasing We. The maximum droplet spread diameter is compared to recent predictive models, and the data reveal differing behavior for the two fluids considered. The results also reveal the existence of very high relative jet velocities in the range 5 ≤ We ≤ 15 for water droplets, while such jets were not observed for the more viscous mixture. Further, in the range 115 ≤ We ≤ 265, the water/glycerol jet formation dynamics are radically different from the water behavior. Most evident is the existence of two-pronged jets, which arise from the anisotropy of the surface and the unequal shear stresses and contact angles that prevail on the surfaces. It is these influences that give rise to differences in the maximum spread diameters in the two primary spread directions. Similar two-pronged jet emission was observed for water over the very narrow range of We from 91 to 96. The issuing jet velocities were also observed to increase with increasing cavity fraction for both fluids and over the entire range of We explored. Lastly, the elapsed time between droplet impact and jet emission decreased with increasing cavity fraction.

The liquid droplet radiator: Status of development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Persson, J.

1991-12-01

The ever greater amounts of power to be dissipated onboard future spacecraft, together with their limited external dimensions, will make it increasingly difficult to use conventional radiator technology without imposing a severe mass penalty. Hunting for lightweight alternatives to current heat rejection systems has become a matter of growing urgency, which explains the great interest that the Liquid Droplet Radiator (LDR) has attracted. Tradeoff analyses indicate that an LDR may be as much as an order of magnitude lighter than a comparable conventional radiator. A literature study examining the progress of the LDR research and some of its possible applications is reviewed. An investigation of the LDR heat rejection capability is presented.

Moving Liquids with Sound: The Physics of Acoustic Droplet Ejection for Robust Laboratory Automation in Life Sciences.

PubMed

Hadimioglu, Babur; Stearns, Richard; Ellson, Richard

2016-02-01

Liquid handling instruments for life science applications based on droplet formation with focused acoustic energy or acoustic droplet ejection (ADE) were introduced commercially more than a decade ago. While the idea of "moving liquids with sound" was known in the 20th century, the development of precise methods for acoustic dispensing to aliquot life science materials in the laboratory began in earnest in the 21st century with the adaptation of the controlled "drop on demand" acoustic transfer of droplets from high-density microplates for high-throughput screening (HTS) applications. Robust ADE implementations for life science applications achieve excellent accuracy and precision by using acoustics first to sense the liquid characteristics relevant for its transfer, and then to actuate transfer of the liquid with customized application of sound energy to the given well and well fluid in the microplate. This article provides an overview of the physics behind ADE and its central role in both acoustical and rheological aspects of robust implementation of ADE in the life science laboratory and its broad range of ejectable materials. © 2015 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

Analysis of small droplets with a new detector for liquid chromatography based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janzen, Christoph; Fleige, Rüdiger; Noll, Reinhard; Schwenke, Heinrich; Lahmann, Wilhelm; Knoth, Joachim; Beaven, Peter; Jantzen, Eckard; Oest, Andreas; Koke, Peter

2005-08-01

The miniaturization of analytical techniques is a general trend in speciation analytics. We have developed a new analytical technique combining high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). This enables a molecule-specific separation followed by an element-specific analysis of smallest amounts of complex samples. The liquid flow coming from a HPLC pump is transformed into a continuous stream of small droplets (diameter 50-100 μm, volume 65-500 pl) using a piezoelectric pulsed nozzle. After the detection of single droplets with a droplet detector, a Q-switched Nd:YAG Laser is triggered to emit a synchronized laser pulse that irradiates a single droplet. The droplets are evaporated and transformed to the plasma state. The spectrum emitted from the plasma is collected by a spherical mirror and directed through the entrance slit of a Paschen-Runge spectrometer equipped with channel photomultipliers. The spectrometer detects 31 elements simultaneously covering a spectral range from 120 to 589 nm. Purging the measurement chamber with argon enables the detection of vacuum-UV lines. Since the sample is transferred to the plasma state without dilution, very low flow rates in the sub-μl/min range can be realised.

Droplet evaporation and combustion in a liquid-gas multiphase system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muradoglu, Metin; Irfan, Muhammad

2017-11-01

Droplet evaporation and combustion in a liquid-gas multiphase system are studied computationally using a front-tracking method. One field formulation is used to solve the flow, energy and species equations with suitable jump conditions. Both phases are assumed to be incompressible; however, the divergence-free velocity field condition is modified to account for the phase change at the interface. Both temperature and species gradient driven phase change processes are simulated. Extensive validation studies are performed using the benchmark cases: The Stefan and the sucking interface problems, d2 law and wet bulb temperature comparison with the psychrometric chart values. The phase change solver is then extended to incorporate the burning process following the evaporation as a first step towards the development of a computational framework for spray combustion. We used detailed chemistry, variable transport properties and ideal gas behaviour for a n-heptane droplet combustion; the chemical kinetics being handled by the CHEMKIN. An operator-splitting approach is used to advance temperature and species mass fraction in time. The numerical results of the droplet burning rate, flame temperature and flame standoff ratio show good agreement with the experimental and previous numeric.

Ground Deposition of Liquid Droplets Released from a Point Source in the Atmospheric Surface Layer.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panneton, Bernard

1989-09-01

A series of field experiments is presented in which the ground deposition of liquid droplets, 120 and 150 μm in diameter, released from a point source at 7 meters above the ground level, was measured. A detailed description of the experimental technique is provided, and the results are presented and compared to the predictions of a few models. A new rotating droplet generator is described. Droplets are produced by the forced breakup of capillary liquid jets and droplet coalescence is inhibited by the rotational motion of the spray head. A system for analyzing spray samples has been developed. This is a specialized image analysis system based on an electronic digitizing camera which measures the area and perimeter of stains left by dyed droplets collected on Kromekote^{rm TM } cards. A complete set of meteorological data supports the ground-deposition data. The turbulent air velocities at two levels above the ground and the temperature of the air at one level were measured with one sonic anemometer and a sonic anemometer-thermometer. The vertical heat and momentum fluxes were estimated using the eddy-correlation technique. The two-dimensional deposition patterns are presented in the form of plots of contours of constant density, normalized arcwise distributions and crosswind integrated distributions. The arcwise distributions follow a Gaussian distribution whose standard deviation is evaluated using a modified Pasquill's beta technique. Models of the crosswind integrated deposit from Godson, Csanady, Walker, Bache and Sayer, and Wilson et al are evaluated. The results indicate that the Wilson et al random walk model is adequate for predicting the ground deposition of the 150 μm droplets. In one case, where the ratio of the droplet settling velocity to the mean wind speed was largest, Walker's model proved to be adequate. Otherwise, none of the models were acceptable in light of our experimental data.

Ecodesign of Liquid Fuel Tanks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gicevska, Jana; Bazbauers, Gatis; Repele, Mara

2011-01-01

The subject of the study is a 10 litre liquid fuel tank made of metal and used for fuel storage and transportation. The study dealt with separate life cycle stages of this product, compared environmental impacts of similar fuel tanks made of metal and plastic, as well as analysed the product's end-of-life cycle stage, studying the waste treatment and disposal scenarios. The aim of this study was to find opportunities for improvement and to develop proposals for the ecodesign of 10 litre liquid fuel tank.

Infiltration of Liquid Droplets Into Porous Media: Effects of Dynamic Contact Angle and Contact Angle Hysteresis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilpert, M.

2008-12-01

Infiltration of liquid droplets into dry porous media occurs when rain drops fall onto soil, when accidentally spilling organic liquid (e.g., gasoline and chlorinated solvents) onto ground, or when aerosol pesticides are not intercepted by the vegetation and then released to soils. If harmful chemicals are released from the droplet into the atmosphere through evaporation, it is important to know the time of infiltration. We developed a theory for infiltration, which accounts for a general model for the dynamic contact angle between the droplet and the porous medium as well as contact angle hysteresis. Our theory assumes the droplet to have the shape of a spherical cap and the pressure within the droplet to be uniform. The theory shows that droplet infiltration involves three phases due to contact angle hysteresis: (1) an increasing drawing area (IDA) phase during which the interface between the droplet and the porous medium increases, (2) a constant drawing area (CDA) phase during which the contact line of the droplet remains pinned, and (3) a decreasing drawing area (DDA) phase. We find that infiltration always consists of a cascade process formed by the IDA, CDA, and DDA phases, where the entire process may begin or end in any of the three phases. The entire process is formulated with four nondimensional parameters: three contact angles (initial, advancing, and receding) and a porous permeability parameter that depends on porous medium geometry. The total time of infiltration and the time dependence of drawing area are critically affected by the occurrence of the IDA, CDA, and DDA phases as well as by the permeability. In general, the IDA and DDA phases are described by integro-differential equations. With ordinary differential equations (ODEs), we are able to approximate the IDA phase and to describe exactly infiltration processes that starts out with the CDA or DDA phase.

Chembio extraction on a chip by nanoliter droplet ejection.

PubMed

Yu, Hongyu; Kwon, Jae Wan; Kim, Eun Sok

2005-03-01

This paper describes a novel liquid separation technique for chembio extraction by an ultrasonic nanoliter-liquid-droplet ejector built on a PZT sheet. This technique extracts material from an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) in a precise amount through digital control of the number of nanoliter droplets, without any mixing between the two liquids in the ATPS. The ultrasonic droplet ejector uses an acoustic streaming effect produced by an acoustic beam focused on the liquid surface, and ejects liquid droplets only from the liquid surface without disturbing most of the liquid below the surface. This unique characteristic of the focused acoustic beam is perfect (1) for separating a top-layer liquid (from the bulk of liquid) that contains particles of interest or (2) for recovering a top-layer liquid that has different phase from a bottom-layer liquid. Three kinds of liquid extraction are demonstrated with the ultrasonic droplet ejector: (1) 16 microl of top layer in Dextran-polyethylene glycol-water ATPS (aqueous two-phase system) is recovered within 20 s; (2) micron sized particles that float on water surface are ejected out with water droplets; and (3) oil layer on top of water is separated out.

A novel percussion type droplet-on-demand generator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussain, Taaha; Patel, Priyesh; Balachandran, Ramanarayanan; Ladommatos, Nicos

2015-01-01

Numerous engineering applications require generation of droplets on demand which are of high uniformity and constant size. The common method to produce droplets is to drive liquid at high pressure through a small orifice/nozzle. The liquid stream disintegrates into small droplets. However this method normally requires large volumes of liquid and is not suitable for applications where single droplets of constant size is required. Such applications require droplet-on-demand generators which commonly employ piezoelectric or pneumatic actuation. It is well known that piezoelectric generators are hard to employ at high pressure and, high temperature applications, and the pneumatic generators often produce satellite (secondary) droplets. This paper describes the development of a novel percussion type droplet-on-demand generator, which overcomes some of the above difficulties and is capable of producing single droplets on demand. The generator consists of a cylindrical liquid filled chamber with a small orifice at the bottom. The top of the chamber is covered with a thin flexible metal disc. A small metal pin is employed to hammer/impact the top metal surface to generate a pressure pulse inside the liquid chamber. The movement and the momentum of the metal pin are controlled using a solenoid device. The pressure pulse generated overcomes the surface tension of the liquid meniscus at the exit of the orifice and ejects a single droplet. The work presented in this paper will demonstrate the capabilities of the droplet generator.

Numerical Simulation of the Combustion of Fuel Droplets: Finite Rate Kinetics and Flame Zone Grid Adaptation (CEFD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gogos, George; Bowen, Brent D.; Nickerson, Jocelyn S.

2002-01-01

The NASA Nebraska Space Grant (NSGC) & EPSCoR programs have continued their effort to support outstanding research endeavors by funding the Numerical Simulation of the Combustion of Fuel Droplets study at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL). This team of researchers has developed a transient numerical model to study the combustion of suspended and moving droplets. The engines that propel missiles, jets, and many other devices are dependent upon combustion. Therefore, data concerning the combustion of fuel droplets is of immediate relevance to aviation and aeronautical personnel, especially those involved in flight operations. The experiments being conducted by Dr. Gogos and Dr. Nayagam s research teams, allow investigators to gather data for comparison with theoretical predictions of burning rates, flame structures, and extinction conditions. The consequent improved hndamental understanding droplet combustion may contribute to the clean and safe utilization of fossil hels (Williams, Dryer, Haggard & Nayagam, 1997, 72). The present state of knowledge on convective extinction of he1 droplets derives fiom experiments conducted under normal gravity conditions. However, any data obtained with suspended droplets under normal gravity are grossly affected by gravity. The need to obtain experimental data under microgravity conditions is therefore well justified and addresses one of the goals of NASA s Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) microgravity combustion experiment.

Electrowetting on liquid-infused film (EWOLF): Complete reversibility and controlled droplet oscillation suppression for fast optical imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Chonglei; Liu, Yahua; Chen, Xuemei; He, Yuncheng; Li, Qiusheng; Li, K. Y.; Wang, Zuankai

2014-10-01

Electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) has emerged as a powerful tool to electrically manipulate tiny individual droplets in a controlled manner. Despite tremendous progress over the past two decades, current EWOD operating in ambient conditions has limited functionalities posing challenges for its applications, including electronic display, energy generation, and microfluidic systems. Here, we demonstrate a new paradigm of electrowetting on liquid-infused film (EWOLF) that allows for complete reversibility and tunable transient response simultaneously. We determine that these functionalities in EWOLF are attributed to its novel configuration, which allows for the formation of viscous liquid-liquid interfaces as well as additional wetting ridges, thereby suppressing the contact line pinning and severe droplet oscillation encountered in the conventional EWOD. Finally, by harnessing these functionalities demonstrated in EWOLF, we also explore its application as liquid lens for fast optical focusing.

Electrowetting on liquid-infused film (EWOLF): Complete reversibility and controlled droplet oscillation suppression for fast optical imaging

PubMed Central

Hao, Chonglei; Liu, Yahua; Chen, Xuemei; He, Yuncheng; Li, Qiusheng; Li, K. Y.; Wang, Zuankai

2014-01-01

Electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) has emerged as a powerful tool to electrically manipulate tiny individual droplets in a controlled manner. Despite tremendous progress over the past two decades, current EWOD operating in ambient conditions has limited functionalities posing challenges for its applications, including electronic display, energy generation, and microfluidic systems. Here, we demonstrate a new paradigm of electrowetting on liquid-infused film (EWOLF) that allows for complete reversibility and tunable transient response simultaneously. We determine that these functionalities in EWOLF are attributed to its novel configuration, which allows for the formation of viscous liquid-liquid interfaces as well as additional wetting ridges, thereby suppressing the contact line pinning and severe droplet oscillation encountered in the conventional EWOD. Finally, by harnessing these functionalities demonstrated in EWOLF, we also explore its application as liquid lens for fast optical focusing. PMID:25355005

Electrowetting on liquid-infused film (EWOLF): complete reversibility and controlled droplet oscillation suppression for fast optical imaging.

PubMed

Hao, Chonglei; Liu, Yahua; Chen, Xuemei; He, Yuncheng; Li, Qiusheng; Li, K Y; Wang, Zuankai

2014-10-30

Electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) has emerged as a powerful tool to electrically manipulate tiny individual droplets in a controlled manner. Despite tremendous progress over the past two decades, current EWOD operating in ambient conditions has limited functionalities posing challenges for its applications, including electronic display, energy generation, and microfluidic systems. Here, we demonstrate a new paradigm of electrowetting on liquid-infused film (EWOLF) that allows for complete reversibility and tunable transient response simultaneously. We determine that these functionalities in EWOLF are attributed to its novel configuration, which allows for the formation of viscous liquid-liquid interfaces as well as additional wetting ridges, thereby suppressing the contact line pinning and severe droplet oscillation encountered in the conventional EWOD. Finally, by harnessing these functionalities demonstrated in EWOLF, we also explore its application as liquid lens for fast optical focusing.

Thermocapillary migration of liquid droplets in a temperature gradient in a density matched system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rashidnia, N.; Balasubramaniam, R.

1991-01-01

An experimental investigation of thermocapillary flow in droplets of a vegetable oil (partially hydrogenated soybean oil) immersed in silicone oil was conducted in a test cell with a heated top wall and a cooled bottom wall. The liquids are nearly immiscible and have equal densities at a temperature below the room temperature, thus providing a simulation of low-gravity conditions by reducing the buoyancy forces. The interfacial tension between the two oils was measured in the temperature range 20 to 50 C using a capillary tube and (d sigma)/(d T) was determined to be negative. Droplets ranging in sizes from 3 mm to 1 cm diameter were injected into the silicone oil. The vertical temperature profile in the bulk liquid (silicone oil) produces temperature variations along the interface which induce variations in the interfacial tension. The flow inside the droplet driven by the resulting interfacial shear stresses was observed using a laser light-sheet flow visualization technique. The flow direction is consistent with the sign of (d sigma)/(d T). The observed maximum surface velocities are compared to the theoretical predictions of Young et al. (1959).

Thermocapillary migration of liquid droplets in a temperature gradient in a density matched system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rashidnia, N.; Balasubramaniam, R.

1989-01-01

An experimental investigation of thermocapillary flow in droplets of a vegetable oil (partially hydrogenated soybean oil) immersed in silicone oil was conducted in a test cell with a heated top wall and a cooled bottom wall. The liquids are nearly immiscible and have equal densities at a temperature below the room temperature, thus providing a simulation of low-gravity conditions by reducing the buoyancy forces. The interfacial tension between the two oils was measured in the temperature range 20 to 50 C using a capillary tube and (d sigma)/(d T) was determined to be negative. Droplets ranging in sizes from 3 mm to 1 cm diameter were injected into the silicone oil. The vertical temperature profile in the bulk liquid (silicone oil) produces temperature variations along the interface which induce variations in the interfacial tension. The flow inside the droplet driven by the resulting interfacial shear stresses was observed using a laser light-sheet flow visualization technique. The flow direction is consistent with the sign of (d sigma)/(d T). The observed maximum surface velocities are compared to the theoretical predictions of Young et al. (1959).

Predictive Model of Supercooled Water Droplet Pinning/Repulsion Impacting a Superhydrophobic Surface: The Role of the Gas-Liquid Interface Temperature.

PubMed

Mohammadi, Morteza; Tembely, Moussa; Dolatabadi, Ali

2017-02-28

Dynamical analysis of an impacting liquid drop on superhydrophobic surfaces is mostly carried out by evaluating the droplet contact time and maximum spreading diameter. In this study, we present a general transient model of the droplet spreading diameter developed from the previously defined mass-spring model for bouncing drops. The effect of viscosity was also considered in the model by definition of a dash-pot term extracted from experiments on various viscous liquid droplets on a superhydrophobic surface. Furthermore, the resultant shear force of the stagnation air flow was also considered with the help of the classical Homann flow approach. It was clearly shown that the proposed model predicts the maximum spreading diameter and droplet contact time very well. On the other hand, where stagnation air flow is present in contradiction to the theoretical model, the droplet contact time was reduced as a function of both droplet Weber numbers and incoming air velocities. Indeed, the reduction in the droplet contact time (e.g., 35% at a droplet Weber number of up to 140) was justified by the presence of a formed thin air layer underneath the impacting drop on the superhydrophobic surface (i.e., full slip condition). Finally, the droplet wetting model was also further developed to account for low temperature through the incorporation of classical nucleation theory. Homogeneous ice nucleation was integrated into the model through the concept of the reduction of the supercooled water drop surface tension as a function of the gas-liquid interface temperature, which was directly correlated with the Nusselt number of incoming air flow. It was shown that the experimental results was qualitatively predicted by the proposed model under all supercooling conditions (i.e., from -10 to -30 °C).

Liquid fuel cells.

PubMed

Soloveichik, Grigorii L

2014-01-01

The advantages of liquid fuel cells (LFCs) over conventional hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells include a higher theoretical energy density and efficiency, a more convenient handling of the streams, and enhanced safety. This review focuses on the use of different types of organic fuels as an anode material for LFCs. An overview of the current state of the art and recent trends in the development of LFC and the challenges of their practical implementation are presented.

Analysis of stochastic crystallization in micron-sized droplets of undercooled liquid l-arabitol.

PubMed

Guinet, Yannick; Carpentier, Laurent; Paccou, Laurent; Derollez, Patrick; Hédoux, Alain

2016-11-29

Kinetics of isothermal crystallization of l-arabitol were analyzed from the undercooled liquid state within micron-sized droplets from micro-Raman spectroscopy. This study reveals that crystallization slightly above T g is controlled by stochastic heterogeneous nucleation inherent to the droplet size. Microscopic Raman investigations performed in droplets give the unique opportunity to analyze the pure metastable Form II of l-arabitol. It was found that Form II is characterized by a molecular packing more compact than that of the stable Form I, inherent to strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Kinetics laws obtained by analyzing several droplets at different temperatures, reveal the transient character of Form II, quasi systematically detected during the crystallization process of form I. Form II appears as the first step of crystallization prior to successive short-living metastable states which is necessary to achieve a complete crystallization in Form I. It was found that the kinetics of conversion between the metastable states (Form II) into Form I is dependent on the amount of strong hydrogen bonding distinctive of Form II. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The dynamics of milk droplet-droplet collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finotello, Giulia; Kooiman, Roeland F.; Padding, Johan T.; Buist, Kay A.; Jongsma, Alfred; Innings, Fredrik; Kuipers, J. A. M.

2018-01-01

Spray drying is an important industrial process to produce powdered milk, in which concentrated milk is atomized into small droplets and dried with hot gas. The characteristics of the produced milk powder are largely affected by agglomeration, combination of dry and partially dry particles, which in turn depends on the outcome of a collision between droplets. The high total solids (TS) content and the presence of milk proteins cause a relatively high viscosity of the fed milk concentrates, which is expected to largely influence the collision outcomes of drops inside the spray. It is therefore of paramount importance to predict and control the outcomes of binary droplet collisions. Only a few studies report on droplet collisions of high viscous liquids and no work is available on droplet collisions of milk concentrates. The current study therefore aims to obtain insight into the effect of viscosity on the outcome of binary collisions between droplets of milk concentrates. To cover a wide range of viscosity values, three milk concentrates (20, 30 and 46% TS content) are investigated. An experimental set-up is used to generate two colliding droplet streams with consistent droplet size and spacing. A high-speed camera is used to record the trajectories of the droplets. The recordings are processed by Droplet Image Analysis in MATLAB to determine the relative velocities and the impact geometries for each individual collision. The collision outcomes are presented in a regime map dependent on the dimensionless impact parameter and Weber ( We) number. The Ohnesorge ( Oh) number is introduced to describe the effect of viscosity from one liquid to another and is maintained constant for each regime map by using a constant droplet diameter ( d ˜ 700 μ m). In this work, a phenomenological model is proposed to describe the boundaries demarcating the coalescence-separation regimes. The collision dynamics and outcome of milk concentrates are compared with aqueous glycerol

Liquid fuel cells

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Summary The advantages of liquid fuel cells (LFCs) over conventional hydrogen–oxygen fuel cells include a higher theoretical energy density and efficiency, a more convenient handling of the streams, and enhanced safety. This review focuses on the use of different types of organic fuels as an anode material for LFCs. An overview of the current state of the art and recent trends in the development of LFC and the challenges of their practical implementation are presented. PMID:25247123

Laser-Induced Fluorescence and Synthetic Jet Fuel Analysis in the Ultra Compact Combustor

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-12-01

In the primary zone, high- temperature, high-pressure air enters from the compressor and flows around fuel injectors spraying atomized liquid -droplet...chemical reaction in which synthesis gas , a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, is converted into liquid hydrocarbons of various forms. The most...the fuel lines needed to be rebuilt due to a recent COAL lab renovation. The liquid fuel system had not been used for nearly two years so some

Prediction of high frequency combustion instability in liquid propellant rocket engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Y. M.; Chen, C. P.; Ziebarth, J. P.; Chen, Y. S.

1992-01-01

The present use of a numerical model developed for the prediction of high-frequency combustion stabilities in liquid propellant rocket engines focuses on (1) the overall behavior of nonlinear combustion instabilities (2) the effects of acoustic oscillations on the fuel-droplet vaporization and combustion process in stable and unstable engine operating conditions, oscillating flowfields, and liquid-fuel trajectories during combustion instability, and (3) the effects of such design parameters as inlet boundary conditions, initial spray conditions, and baffle length. The numerical model has yielded predictions of the tangential-mode combustion instability; baffle length and droplet size variations are noted to have significant effects on engine stability.

Droplet Breakup Mechanisms in Air-blast Atomizers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aliabadi, Amir Abbas; Taghavi, Seyed Mohammad; Lim, Kelly

2011-11-01

Atomization processes are encountered in many natural and man-made phenomena. Examples are pollen release by plants, human cough or sneeze, engine fuel injectors, spray paint and many more. The physics governing the atomization of liquids is important in understanding and utilizing atomization processes in both natural and industrial processes. We have observed the governing physics of droplet breakup in an air-blast water atomizer using a high magnification, high speed, and high resolution LASER imaging technique. The droplet breakup mechanisms are investigated in three major categories. First, the liquid drops are flattened to form an oblate ellipsoid (lenticular deformation). Subsequent deformation depends on the magnitude of the internal forces relative to external forces. The ellipsoid is converted into a torus that becomes stretched and disintegrates into smaller drops. Second, the drops become elongated to form a long cylindrical thread or ligament that break up into smaller drops (Cigar-shaped deformation). Third, local deformation on the drop surface creates bulges and protuberances that eventually detach themselves from the parent drop to form smaller drops.

Impact of droplet on superheated surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lohse, Detlef; Staat, Hendrik J. J.; Tran, Tuan; Prosperetti, Andrea; Sun, Chao

2012-11-01

At impact of a liquid droplet on a smooth surface heated way above the liquid's boiling point, the droplet spreads without any surface contact, floating on its own (Leidenfrost-type) vapor layer, and then bounces back. We show that the dimensionless maximum spreading factor Γ, defined by the ratio of the maximal spreading diameter and the droplet diameter, shows a universal scaling Γ ~ Weγ with the Weber number We - regardless of surface temperature and of liquid properties - which is much steeper than that for the impact on non-heated (hydrophilic or hydrophobic) surfaces, for which γ = 1 / 4 . Based on the idea that the vapor shooting out of the gap between the droplet and the superheated surface drags the liquid outwards, we derive scaling laws for the spreading factor Γ, the vapor layer thickness, and the vapor flow velocity.

Droplet charging regimes for ultrasonic atomization of a liquid electrolyte in an external electric field.

PubMed

Forbes, Thomas P; Degertekin, F Levent; Fedorov, Andrei G

2011-01-01

Distinct regimes of droplet charging, determined by the dominant charge transport process, are identified for an ultrasonic droplet ejector using electrohydrodynamic computational simulations, a fundamental scale analysis, and experimental measurements. The regimes of droplet charging are determined by the relative magnitudes of the dimensionless Strouhal and electric Reynolds numbers, which are a function of the process (pressure forcing), advection, and charge relaxation time scales for charge transport. Optimal (net maximum) droplet charging has been identified to exist for conditions in which the electric Reynolds number is of the order of the inverse Strouhal number, i.e., the charge relaxation time is on the order of the pressure forcing (droplet formation) time scale. The conditions necessary for optimal droplet charging have been identified as a function of the dimensionless Debye number (i.e., liquid conductivity), external electric field (magnitude and duration), and atomization drive signal (frequency and amplitude). The specific regime of droplet charging also determines the functional relationship between droplet charge and charging electric field strength. The commonly expected linear relationship between droplet charge and external electric field strength is only found when either the inverse of the Strouhal number is less than the electric Reynolds number, i.e., the charge relaxation is slower than both the advection and external pressure forcing, or in the electrostatic limit, i.e., when charge relaxation is much faster than all other processes. The analysis provides a basic understanding of the dominant physics of droplet charging with implications to many important applications, such as electrospray mass spectrometry, ink jet printing, and drop-on-demand manufacturing.

Droplet charging regimes for ultrasonic atomization of a liquid electrolyte in an external electric field

PubMed Central

Forbes, Thomas P.; Degertekin, F. Levent; Fedorov, Andrei G.

2011-01-01

Distinct regimes of droplet charging, determined by the dominant charge transport process, are identified for an ultrasonic droplet ejector using electrohydrodynamic computational simulations, a fundamental scale analysis, and experimental measurements. The regimes of droplet charging are determined by the relative magnitudes of the dimensionless Strouhal and electric Reynolds numbers, which are a function of the process (pressure forcing), advection, and charge relaxation time scales for charge transport. Optimal (net maximum) droplet charging has been identified to exist for conditions in which the electric Reynolds number is of the order of the inverse Strouhal number, i.e., the charge relaxation time is on the order of the pressure forcing (droplet formation) time scale. The conditions necessary for optimal droplet charging have been identified as a function of the dimensionless Debye number (i.e., liquid conductivity), external electric field (magnitude and duration), and atomization drive signal (frequency and amplitude). The specific regime of droplet charging also determines the functional relationship between droplet charge and charging electric field strength. The commonly expected linear relationship between droplet charge and external electric field strength is only found when either the inverse of the Strouhal number is less than the electric Reynolds number, i.e., the charge relaxation is slower than both the advection and external pressure forcing, or in the electrostatic limit, i.e., when charge relaxation is much faster than all other processes. The analysis provides a basic understanding of the dominant physics of droplet charging with implications to many important applications, such as electrospray mass spectrometry, ink jet printing, and drop-on-demand manufacturing. PMID:21301636

Motion of water droplets in the counter flow of high-temperature combustion products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volkov, R. S.; Strizhak, P. A.

2018-01-01

This paper presents the experimental studies of the deceleration, reversal, and entrainment of water droplets sprayed in counter current flow to a rising stream of high-temperature (1100 K) combustion gases. The initial droplets velocities 0.5-2.5 m/s, radii 10-230 μm, relative volume concentrations 0.2·10-4-1.8·10-4 (m3 of water)/(m3 of gas) vary in the ranges corresponding to promising high-temperature (over 1000 K) gas-vapor-droplet applications (for example, polydisperse fire extinguishing using water mist, fog, or appropriate water vapor-droplet veils, thermal or flame treatment of liquids in the flow of combustion products or high-temperature air; creating coolants based on flue gas, vapor and water droplets; unfreezing of granular media and processing of the drossed surfaces of thermal-power equipment; ignition of liquid and slurry fuel droplets). A hardware-software cross-correlation complex, high-speed (up to 105 fps) video recording tools, panoramic optical techniques (Particle Image Velocimetry, Particle Tracking Velocimetry, Interferometric Particle Imagine, Shadow Photography), and the Tema Automotive software with the function of continuous monitoring have been applied to examine the characteristics of the processes under study. The scale of the influence of initial droplets concentration in the gas flow on the conditions and features of their entrainment by high-temperature gases has been specified. The dependencies Red = f(Reg) and Red' = f(Reg) have been obtained to predict the characteristics of the deceleration of droplets by gases at different droplets concentrations.

Air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction by solidifying the floating organic droplets for the rapid determination of seven fungicide residues in juice samples.

PubMed

You, Xiangwei; Xing, Zhuokan; Liu, Fengmao; Zhang, Xu

2015-05-22

A novel air assisted liquid-liquid microextraction using the solidification of a floating organic droplet method (AALLME-SFO) was developed for the rapid and simple determination of seven fungicide residues in juice samples, using the gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). This method combines the advantages of AALLME and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating organic droplets (DLLME-SFO) for the first time. In this method, a low-density solvent with a melting point near room temperature was used as the extraction solvent, and the emulsion was rapidly formed by pulling in and pushing out the mixture of aqueous sample solution and extraction solvent for ten times repeatedly using a 10-mL glass syringe. After centrifugation, the extractant droplet could be easily collected from the top of the aqueous samples by solidifying it at a temperature lower than the melting point. Under the optimized conditions, good linearities with the correlation coefficients (γ) higher than 0.9959 were obtained and the limits of detection (LOD) varied between 0.02 and 0.25 μgL(-1). The proposed method was applied to determine the target fungicides in juice samples and acceptable recoveries ranged from 72.6% to 114.0% with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 2.3-13.0% were achieved. Compared with the conventional DLLME method, the newly proposed method will neither require a highly toxic chlorinated solvent for extraction nor an organic dispersive solvent in the application process; hence, it is more environmentally friendly. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stable water isotopologue ratios in fog and cloud droplets of liquid clouds are not size-dependent

USGS Publications Warehouse

Spiegel, J.K.; Aemisegger, F.; Scholl, M.; Wienhold, F.G.; Collett, J.L.; Lee, T.; van Pinxteren, D.; Mertes, S.; Tilgner, A.; Herrmann, H.; Werner, Roland A.; Buchmann, N.; Eugster, W.

2012-01-01

In this work, we present the first observations of stable water isotopologue ratios in cloud droplets of different sizes collected simultaneously. We address the question whether the isotope ratio of droplets in a liquid cloud varies as a function of droplet size. Samples were collected from a ground intercepted cloud (= fog) during the Hill Cap Cloud Thuringia 2010 campaign (HCCT-2010) using a three-stage Caltech Active Strand Cloud water Collector (CASCC). An instrument test revealed that no artificial isotopic fractionation occurs during sample collection with the CASCC. Furthermore, we could experimentally confirm the hypothesis that the δ values of cloud droplets of the relevant droplet sizes (μm-range) were not significantly different and thus can be assumed to be in isotopic equilibrium immediately with the surrounding water vapor. However, during the dissolution period of the cloud, when the supersaturation inside the cloud decreased and the cloud began to clear, differences in isotope ratios of the different droplet sizes tended to be larger. This is likely to result from the cloud's heterogeneity, implying that larger and smaller cloud droplets have been collected at different moments in time, delivering isotope ratios from different collection times.

Process for vaporizing a liquid hydrocarbon fuel

DOEpatents

Szydlowski, Donald F.; Kuzminskas, Vaidotas; Bittner, Joseph E.

1981-01-01

The object of the invention is to provide a process for vaporizing liquid hydrocarbon fuels efficiently and without the formation of carbon residue on the apparatus used. The process includes simultaneously passing the liquid fuel and an inert hot gas downwardly through a plurality of vertically spaed apart regions of high surface area packing material. The liquid thinly coats the packing surface, and the sensible heat of the hot gas vaporizes this coating of liquid. Unvaporized liquid passing through one region of packing is uniformly redistributed over the top surface of the next region until all fuel has been vaporized using only the sensible heat of the hot gas stream.

Liquid droplet sensing using twisted optical fiber couplers fabricated by hydrofluoric acid flow etching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Son, Gyeongho; Jung, Youngho; Yu, Kyoungsik

2017-04-01

We report a directional-coupler-based refractive index sensor and its cost-effective fabrication method using hydrofluoric acid droplet wet-etching and surface-tension-driven liquid flows. The proposed fiber sensor consists of a pair of twisted tapered optical fibers with low excess losses. The fiber cores in the etched microfiber region are exposed to the surrounding medium for efficient interaction with the guided light. We observe that the etching-based low-loss fiber-optic sensors can measure the water droplet volume by detecting the refractive index changes of the surrounding medium around the etched fiber core region.

The electroosmotic droplet switch: countering capillarity with electrokinetics.

PubMed

Vogel, Michael J; Ehrhard, Peter; Steen, Paul H

2005-08-23

Electroosmosis, originating in the double-layer of a small liquid-filled pore (size R) and driven by a voltage V, is shown to be effective in pumping against the capillary pressure of a larger liquid droplet (size B) provided the dimensionless parameter sigmaR(2)/epsilon|zeta|VB is small enough. Here sigma is surface tension of the droplet liquid/gas interface, epsilon is the liquid dielectric constant, and zeta is the zeta potential of the solid/liquid pair. As droplet size diminishes, the voltage required to pump electroosmotically scales as V approximately R(2)/B. Accordingly, the voltage needed to pump against smaller higher-pressure droplets can actually decrease provided the pump poresize scales down with droplet size appropriately. The technological implication of this favorable scaling is that electromechanical transducers made of moving droplets, so-called "droplet transducers," become feasible. To illustrate, we demonstrate a switch whose bistable energy landscape derives from the surface energy of a droplet-droplet system and whose triggering derives from the electroosmosis effect. The switch is an electromechanical transducer characterized by individual addressability, fast switching time with low voltage, and no moving solid parts. We report experimental results for millimeter-scale droplets to verify key predictions of a mathematical model of the switch. With millimeter-size water droplets and micrometer-size pores, 5 V can yield switching times of 1 s. Switching time scales as B(3)/VR(2). Two possible "grab-and-release" applications of arrays of switches are described. One mimics the controlled adhesion of an insect, the palm beetle; the other uses wettability to move a particle along a trajectory.

Shock wave-droplet interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Habibi Khoshmehr, Hamed; Krechetnikov, Rouslan

2016-11-01

Disintegration of a liquid droplet under the action of a shock wave is experimentally investigated. The shock wave-pulse is electromagnetically generated by discharging a high voltage capacitor into a flat spiral coil, above which an isolated circular metal membrane is placed in a close proximity. The Lorentz force arising due to the eddy current induced in the membrane abruptly accelerates it away from the spiral coil thus generating a shock wave. The liquid droplet placed at the center of the membrane, where the maximum deflection occurs, is disintegrated in the process of interaction with the shock wave. The effects of droplet viscosity and surface tension on the droplet destruction are studied with high-speed photography. Water-glycerol solution at different concentrations is used for investigating the effect of viscosity and various concentrations of water-sugar and water-ethanol solution are used for studying the effect of surface tension. Here we report on how the metamorphoses, which a liquid drop undergoes in the process of interaction with a shock wave, are affected by varied viscosity and surface tension.

On-demand Droplet Manipulation via Triboelectrification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wei; Vahabi, Hamed; Cackovic, Matthew; Jiang, Rui; Kota, Arun

2017-11-01

Controlled manipulation of liquid droplets has attracted tremendous interest across different scientific fields over the past two decades. To date, a variety of external stimuli-mediated methods such as magnetic field, electric field, and light have been developed for manipulating droplets on surfaces. However, these methods usually have drawbacks such as complex fabrication of manipulation platform, low droplet motility, expensive actuation system and lack of precise control. In this work, we demonstrate the controlled manipulation of liquid droplet with both high (e.g., water) and low (e.g., n-hexadecane) dielectric strengths on a smooth, slippery surface via triboelectric effect. Our highly simple, facile and portable methodology enables on-demand, precise manipulation of droplets using solely the electrostatic attraction or repulsion force, which is exerted on the droplet by a simple charged actuator (e.g., Teflon film). We envision that our triboelectric effect enabled droplet manipulation methodology will open a new avenue for droplet based lab-on-a-chip systems, energy harvesting devices and biomedical applications.

Capillary droplet propulsion on a fibre.

PubMed

Haefner, Sabrina; Bäumchen, Oliver; Jacobs, Karin

2015-09-21

A viscous liquid film coating a fibre becomes unstable and decays into droplets due to the Rayleigh-Plateau instability (RPI). Here, we report on the generation of uniform droplets on a hydrophobized fibre by taking advantage of this effect. In the late stages of liquid column breakup, a three-phase contact line can be formed at one side of the droplet by spontaneous rupture of the thinning film. The resulting capillary imbalance leads to droplet propulsion along the fibre. We study the dynamics and the dewetting speed of the droplet as a function of molecular weight as well as temperature and compare to a force balance model based on purely viscous dissipation.

Non-equilibrium diffusion combustion of a fuel droplet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyurenkova, Veronika V.

2012-06-01

A mathematical model for the non-equilibrium combustion of droplets in rocket engines is developed. This model allows to determine the divergence of combustion rate for the equilibrium and non-equilibrium model. Criterion for droplet combustion deviation from equilibrium is introduced. It grows decreasing droplet radius, accommodation coefficient, temperature and decreases on decreasing diffusion coefficient. Also divergence from equilibrium increases on reduction of droplet radius. Droplet burning time essentially increases under non-equilibrium conditions. Comparison of theoretical and experimental data shows that to have adequate solution for small droplets it is necessary to use the non-equilibrium model.

Fast-switching optically isotropic liquid crystal nano-droplets with improved depolarization and Kerr effect by doping high k nanoparticles.

PubMed

Kim, Byeonggon; Kim, Hyun Gyu; Shim, Gyu-Yeop; Park, Ji-Sub; Joo, Kyung-Il; Lee, Dong-Jin; Lee, Joun-Ho; Baek, Ji-Ho; Kim, Byeong Koo; Choi, Yoonseuk; Kim, Hak-Rin

2018-01-10

We proposed and analyzed an optically isotropic nano-droplet liquid crystal (LC) doped with high k nanoparticles (NPs), exhibiting enhanced Kerr effects, which could be operated with reduced driving voltages. For enhancing the contrast ratio together with the light efficiencies, the LC droplet sizes were adjusted to be shorter than the wavelength of visible light to reduce depolarization effects by optical scattering of the LC droplets. Based on the optical analysis of the depolarization effects, the influence of the relationship between the LC droplet size and the NP doping ratio on the Kerr effect change was investigated.

Numerical investigation of interfacial transport resistance due to water droplets in proton exchange membrane fuel cell air channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koz, Mustafa; Kandlikar, Satish G.

2013-12-01

Oxygen transport resistance at the air flow channel and gas diffusion layer (GDL) interface is needed in modelling the performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). This resistance is expressed through the non-dimensional Sherwood number (Sh). The effect of the presence of a droplet on Sh is studied numerically in an isolated air flow channel using a commercially available package, COMSOL Multiphysics®. A droplet is represented as a solid obstruction placed on the GDL-channel interface and centred along the channel width. The effect of a single droplet is first studied for a range of superficial mean air velocities and droplet sizes. Secondly, the effect of droplet spacing on Sh is studied through simulations of two consecutive droplets. Lastly, multiple droplets in a row are studied as a more representative case of a PEMFC air flow channel. The results show that the droplets significantly increase Sh above the fully developed value in the wake region. This enhancement increases with the number of droplets, droplet size, and superficial mean air velocity. Moreover, the analogy between mass and heat transfer is investigated by comparing Sh to the equivalent Nusselt number.

Understanding Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in paraffin-based hybrid rocket fuels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrarolo, Anna; Kobald, Mario; Schlechtriem, Stefan

2018-04-01

Liquefying fuels show higher regression rates than the classical polymeric ones. They are able to form, along their burning surface, a low viscosity and surface tension liquid layer, which can become unstable (Kelvin-Helmholtz instability) due to the high velocity gas flow in the fuel port. This causes entrainment of liquid droplets from the fuel surface into the oxidizer gas flow. To better understand the droplets entrainment mechanism, optical investigations on the combustion behaviour of paraffin-based hybrid rocket fuels in combination with gaseous oxygen have been conducted in the framework of this research. Combustion tests were performed in a 2D single-slab burner at atmospheric conditions. High speed videos were recorded and analysed with two decomposition techniques. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and independent component analysis (ICA) were applied to the scalar field of the flame luminosity. The most excited frequencies and wavelengths of the wave-like structures characterizing the liquid melt layer were computed. The fuel slab viscosity and the oxidizer mass flow were varied to study their influence on the liquid layer instability process. The combustion is dominated by periodic, wave-like structures for all the analysed fuels. Frequencies and wavelengths characterizing the liquid melt layer depend on the fuel viscosity and oxidizer mass flow. Moreover, for very low mass flows, no wavelength peaks are detected for the higher viscosity fuels. This is important to better understand and predict the onset and development of the entrainment process, which is connected to the amplification of the longitudinal waves.

RAPID COMMUNICATION: Optical distortion correction for liquid droplet visualization using the ray tracing method: further considerations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minor, G.; Oshkai, P.; Djilali, N.

2007-11-01

The original work of Kang et al (2004 Meas. Sci. Technol. 15 1104 12) presents a scheme for correcting optical distortion caused by the curved surface of a droplet, and illustrates its application in PIV measurements of the velocity field inside evaporating liquid droplets. In this work we re-derive the correction algorithm and show that several terms in the original algorithm proposed by Kang et al are erroneous. This was not evident in the original work because the erroneous terms are negligible for droplets with approximately hemispherical shapes. However, for the more general situation of droplets that have shapes closer to that of a sphere, with heights much larger than their contact-line radii, these errors become quite significant. The corrected algorithm is presented and its application illustrated in comparison with that of Kang et al.

Liquid crystals in micron-scale droplets, shells and fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urbanski, Martin; Reyes, Catherine G.; Noh, JungHyun; Sharma, Anshul; Geng, Yong; Subba Rao Jampani, Venkata; Lagerwall, Jan P. F.

2017-04-01

The extraordinary responsiveness and large diversity of self-assembled structures of liquid crystals are well documented and they have been extensively used in devices like displays. For long, this application route strongly influenced academic research, which frequently focused on the performance of liquid crystals in display-like geometries, typically between flat, rigid substrates of glass or similar solids. Today a new trend is clearly visible, where liquid crystals confined within curved, often soft and flexible, interfaces are in focus. Innovation in microfluidic technology has opened for high-throughput production of liquid crystal droplets or shells with exquisite monodispersity, and modern characterization methods allow detailed analysis of complex director arrangements. The introduction of electrospinning in liquid crystal research has enabled encapsulation in optically transparent polymeric cylinders with very small radius, allowing studies of confinement effects that were not easily accessible before. It also opened the prospect of functionalizing textile fibers with liquid crystals in the core, triggering activities that target wearable devices with true textile form factor for seamless integration in clothing. Together, these developments have brought issues center stage that might previously have been considered esoteric, like the interaction of topological defects on spherical surfaces, saddle-splay curvature-induced spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking, or the non-trivial shape changes of curved liquid crystal elastomers with non-uniform director fields that undergo a phase transition to an isotropic state. The new research thrusts are motivated equally by the intriguing soft matter physics showcased by liquid crystals in these unconventional geometries, and by the many novel application opportunities that arise when we can reproducibly manufacture these systems on a commercial scale. This review attempts to summarize the current understanding of

Producing liquid fuels from biomass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solantausta, Yrjo; Gust, Steven

The aim of this survey was to compare, on techno-economic criteria, alternatives of producing liquid fuels from indigenous raw materials in Finland. Another aim was to compare methods under development and prepare a proposal for steering research related to this field. Process concepts were prepared for a number of alternatives, as well as analogous balances and production and investment cost assessments for these balances. Carbon dioxide emissions of the alternatives and the price of CO2 reduction were also studied. All the alternatives for producing liquid fuels from indigenous raw materials are utmost unprofitable. There are great differences between the alternatives. While the production cost of ethanol is 6 to 9 times higher than the market value of the product, the equivalent ratio for substitute fuel oil produced from peat by pyrolysis is 3 to 4. However, it should be borne in mind that the technical uncertainties related to the alternatives are of different magnitude. Production of ethanol from barley is of commercial technology, while biomass pyrolysis is still under development. If the aim is to reach smaller carbon dioxide emissions by using liquid biofuels, the most favorable alternative is pyrolysis oil produced from wood. Fuels produced from cultivated biomass are more expensive ways of reducing CO2 emissions. Their potential of reducing CO2 emissions in Finland is insignificant. Integration of liquid fuel production to some other production line is more profitable.

Electro-coalescence of particle-coated droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shum, Anderson Ho Cheung

Droplets in air or in an immiscible liquid phase are used widely in applications ranging from personal hygiene products to drug delivery. The stability of the droplets are highly linked to their utility, and thus have been systematically studied. To enhance the stability of the droplets, particles are often added to the droplets. In this talk, I will discuss how the particle layer at droplet interfaces responds to electrical charging of the droplets. The electrical forces can distort the droplet shape, which is opposed by the layer of particles adsorbed. A balance of the electrical and interfacial effects provides a quantitative indicator of the droplet instability. The coalescence of droplets in both air and liquid induced by electrically charging, which we call ``electro-coalescence'', will be introduced, with its potential application in devising a digital millifluidic platform. We thank the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (No. HKU 719813E, 17304514 and 17306315 and C6004-14G) from the and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21476189/B060201 and 91434202).

Some Recent Observations on the Burning of Isolated N-Heptane and Alcohol Droplets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dryer, F. L.

1999-01-01

In a joint program involving Prof F.A. Williams of the University of California, San Diego and Dr. Vedha Nayagam of the National Center for Microgravity Research on Fluid and Combustion, the combustion of liquid fuel droplets having initial diameters between about 1 mm and 6 mm is being studied. The objectives of the work are to improve fundamental knowledge of droplet combustion dynamics through microgravity experiments and theoretical analyses. The Princeton contributions to the collaborative program supports the engineering design, data analysis, and data interpretation requirements for the study of initially single component, spherically symmetric, isolated droplet combustion studies through experiments and numerical modeling. The complementary UCSD contributions apply asymptotic theoretical analyses and are described in the published literature and in a companion communication in this volume. Emphases of the Princeton work are on the study of simple alcohols (methanol, ethanol), alcohol/water mixtures, and pure alkanes (n-heptane, n-decane) as fuels, with time dependent measurements of drop size, flame-stand-off, liquid-phase composition, and finally, extinction. Ground based experiments have included bench-scale studies at Princeton and collaborative experimental studies in the 2.2 and 5.18 second drop towers at NASA-Glenn Research Center. Spacelab studies have included fiber-supported droplet combustion (FSDC) experiments in the Glovebox facility with accompanying numerical analyses. Experiments include FSDC-1, performed on the USML-2 mission in October, 1995 (STS-73) and FSDC-2, on the second flight of the MSL-1 mission in July, 1997 (STS-94).

Vapour-mediated sensing and motility in two-component droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cira, N. J.; Benusiglio, A.; Prakash, M.

2015-03-01

Controlling the wetting behaviour of liquids on surfaces is important for a variety of industrial applications such as water-repellent coatings and lubrication. Liquid behaviour on a surface can range from complete spreading, as in the `tears of wine' effect, to minimal wetting as observed on a superhydrophobic lotus leaf. Controlling droplet movement is important in microfluidic liquid handling, on self-cleaning surfaces and in heat transfer. Droplet motion can be achieved by gradients of surface energy. However, existing techniques require either a large gradient or a carefully prepared surface to overcome the effects of contact line pinning, which usually limit droplet motion. Here we show that two-component droplets of well-chosen miscible liquids such as propylene glycol and water deposited on clean glass are not subject to pinning and cause the motion of neighbouring droplets over a distance. Unlike the canonical predictions for these liquids on a high-energy surface, these droplets do not spread completely but exhibit an apparent contact angle. We demonstrate experimentally and analytically that these droplets are stabilized by evaporation-induced surface tension gradients and that they move in response to the vapour emitted by neighbouring droplets. Our fundamental understanding of this robust system enabled us to construct a wide variety of autonomous fluidic machines out of everyday materials.

On the pH of Aqueous Attoliter-Volume Droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos, Kieran P.; Velpula, Samson S.; Demille, Trevor B.; Pajela, Ryan; Goldner, Lori S.

Droplets of water dispersed in perfluorinated liquids have widespread use including microfluidics, drug delivery and single-molecule measurements. Perfluorinated liquids are distinctly biocompatible due to their stability, low surface tension, lipophobicity, and hydrophobicity. For this reason, the effect of the perfluorinated surface on droplet contents is usually ignored. However, as the droplet diameter is reduced, we expect that any effect of the water/oil interface on droplet contents will become more obvious. We studied the pH of attoliter-volume aqueous droplets in perfluorinated liquids using pH-sensing fluorescent dyes. Droplets were prepared either by sonication or extrusion from buffer and perfluorinated liquids (FC40 or FC77). A non-ionic surfactant was used to stabilize the droplets. Buffer strength, ionic strength, and pH of the aqueous phase were varied and resulting droplet pH compared to the pH of the buffer from which they were formed. Preliminary data are consistent with a pH in droplets that depends on the concentration of non-ionic surfactant. At low surfactant concentrations, the pH in droplets is distinctly lower than the stock buffer. However, as the concentration of non-ionic surfactant is increased the change in pH decreases. This work was funded by NSF/DBI-1152386.

Aircraft-Fuel-Tank Design for Liquid Hydrogen

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reynolds, T W

1955-01-01

Some of the considerations involved in the design of aircraft fuel tanks for liquid hydrogen are discussed herein. Several of the physical properties of metals and thermal insulators in the temperature range from ambient to liquid-hydrogen temperatures are assembled. Calculations based on these properties indicate that it is possible to build a large-size liquid-hydrogen fuel tank which (1) will weigh less then 15 percent of the fuel weight, (2) will have a hydrogen vaporization rate less than 30 percent of the cruise fuel-flow rate, and (3) can be held in a stand-by condition and readied for flight in a short time.

Analysis of the effects of evaporative cooling on the evaporation of liquid droplets using a combined field approach

PubMed Central

Xu, Xuefeng; Ma, Liran

2015-01-01

During liquid evaporation, the equations for the vapor concentration in the atmosphere and for the temperature in the liquid are coupled and must be solved in an iterative manner. In the present paper, a combined field approach which unifies the coupled fields into one single hybrid field and thus makes the iteration unnecessary is proposed. By using this approach, the influences of the evaporative cooling on the evaporation of pinned sessile droplets are investigated, and its predictions are found in good agreement with the previous theoretical and experimental results. A dimensionless number Ec which can evaluate the strength of the evaporative cooling is then introduced, and the results show that both the evaporation flux along the droplet surface and the total evaporation rate of the droplet decrease as the evaporative cooling number Ec increases. For drying droplets, there exists a critical value EcCrit below which the evaporative cooling effect can be neglected and above which the significance of the effect increases dramatically. The present work may also have more general applications to coupled field problems in which all the fields have the same governing equation. PMID:25721987

Liquid Crystal Droplet-Based Amplification of Microvesicles that are Shed by Mammalian Cells

PubMed Central

Tan, Lie Na; Wiepz, Gregory J.; Miller, Daniel S.; Shusta, Eric V.; Abbott, Nicholas L.

2014-01-01

Membrane-derived microvesicles (MVs) shed by cells are being investigated for their role in intercellular communication and as potential biomarkers of disease, but facile and sensitive methods for their analysis do not exist. Here we demonstrate new principles for analysis of MVs that use micrometer-sized droplets of liquid crystals (LCs) to amplify MVs that are selectively captured via antibody-mediated interactions. The influence of the MVs on the micrometer-sized LC droplets is shown to be readily quantified via use of flow cytometry. The methodology was developed using MVs shed by epidermoid carcinoma A431 cells that contain epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) as an important and representative example of MVs containing signaling proteins that play a central role in cancer. The LC droplets were found to be sensitive to 106 MVs containing EGFR (relative to controls using isotype control antibody) and to possess a dynamic range of response across several orders of magnitude. Because the 100 nm-sized MVs captured via EGFR generate an optical response in the micrometer-sized LC droplets that can be readily detected by flow cytometry in light scattering mode, the approach possesses significant advantages over direct detection of MVs by flow cytometry. The LC droplets are also substantially more sensitive than techniques such as immunoblotting because the lipid-component of the MVs serves to amplify the antibody-mediated capture of the target proteins in the MVs. Other merits of the approach are defined and discussed in the paper. PMID:24667742

Gradient polymer-disposed liquid crystal single layer of large nematic droplets for modulation of laser light.

PubMed

Hadjichristov, Georgi B; Marinov, Yordan G; Petrov, Alexander G

2011-06-01

The light modulating ability of gradient polymer-disposed liquid crystal (PDLC) single layer of large droplets formed by nematic E7 in UV-cured polymer NOA65 is studied. Operating at relatively low voltages, such PDLC film with a of thickness 10-25 μm and droplet size up to 50 μm exhibits a good contrast ratio and is capable of producing a large phase shift for the propagating coherent light. For a linearly polarized He-Ne laser (λ=633 nm), an electrically commanded phase shift as large as π/2 can be obtained by the large-droplet region of the film. The electrically produced phase shift and its spatial profile controlled by the thickness of the gradient PDLC single layers of large nematic droplets can be useful for tunable spatial light modulators and other devices for active control of laser light.

Serrating Nozzle Surfaces for Complete Transfer of Droplets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Chang-Jin " CJ" ; Yi, Uichong

2010-01-01

A method of ensuring the complete transfer of liquid droplets from nozzles in microfluidic devices to nearby surfaces involves relatively simple geometric modification of the nozzle surfaces. The method is especially applicable to nozzles in print heads and similar devices required to dispense liquid droplets having precise volumes. Examples of such devices include heads for soft printing of ink on paper and heads for depositing droplets of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or protein solutions on glass plates to form microarrays of spots for analysis. The main purpose served by the present method is to ensure that droplets transferred from a nozzle have consistent volume, as needed to ensure accuracy in microarray analysis or consistent appearance of printed text and images. In soft printing, droplets having consistent volume are generated inside a print head, but in the absence of the present method, the consistency is lost in printing because after each printing action (in which a drop is ejected from a nozzle), a small residual volume of liquid remains attached to the nozzle. By providing for complete transfer of droplets (and thus eliminating residual liquid attached to the nozzle) the method ensures consistency of volume of transferred droplets. An additional benefit of elimination of residue is prevention of cross-contamination among different liquids printed through the same nozzle a major consideration in DNA microarray analysis. The method also accelerates the printing process by minimizing the need to clean a printing head to prevent cross-contamination. Soft printing involves a hydrophobic nozzle surface and a hydrophilic print surface. When the two surfaces are brought into proximity such that a droplet in the nozzle makes contact with the print surface, a substantial portion of the droplet becomes transferred to the print surface. Then as the nozzle and the print surface are pulled apart, the droplet is pulled apart and most of the droplet remains on the

Droplet size effects on film drainage between droplet and substrate.

PubMed

Steinhaus, Benjamin; Spicer, Patrick T; Shen, Amy Q

2006-06-06

When a droplet approaches a solid surface, the thin liquid film between the droplet and the surface drains until an instability forms and then ruptures. In this study, we utilize microfluidics to investigate the effects of film thickness on the time to film rupture for water droplets in a flowing continuous phase of silicone oil deposited on solid poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) surfaces. The water droplets ranged in size from millimeters to micrometers, resulting in estimated values of the film thickness at rupture ranging from 600 nm down to 6 nm. The Stefan-Reynolds equation is used to model film drainage beneath both millimeter- and micrometer-scale droplets. For millimeter-scale droplets, the experimental and analytical film rupture times agree well, whereas large differences are observed for micrometer-scale droplets. We speculate that the differences in the micrometer-scale data result from the increases in the local thin film viscosity due to confinement-induced molecular structure changes in the silicone oil. A modified Stefan-Reynolds equation is used to account for the increased thin film viscosity of the micrometer-scale droplet drainage case.

Numerical and experimental study of liquid breakup process in solid rocket motor nozzle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yen, Yi-Hsin

Rocket propulsion is an important travel method for space exploration and national defense, rockets needs to be able to withstand wide range of operation environment and also stable and precise enough to carry sophisticated payload into orbit, those engineering requirement makes rocket becomes one of the state of the art industry. The rocket family have been classified into two major group of liquid and solid rocket based on the fuel phase of liquid or solid state. The solid rocket has the advantages of simple working mechanism, less maintenance and preparing procedure and higher storage safety, those characters of solid rocket make it becomes popular in aerospace industry. Aluminum based propellant is widely used in solid rocket motor (SRM) industry due to its avalibility, combusion performance and economical fuel option, however after aluminum react with oxidant of amonimum perchrate (AP), it will generate liquid phase alumina (Al2O3) as product in high temperature (2,700˜3,000 K) combustion chamber enviornment. The liquid phase alumina particles aggromorate inside combustion chamber into larger particle which becomes major erosion calprit on inner nozzle wall while alumina aggromorates impinge on the nozzle wall surface. The erosion mechanism result nozzle throat material removal, increase the performance optimized throat diameter and reduce nozzle exit to throat area ratio which leads to the reduction of exhaust gas velocity, Mach number and lower the propulsion thrust force. The approach to avoid particle erosion phenomenon taking place in SRM's nozzle is to reduce the alumina particle size inside combustion chamber which could be done by further breakup of the alumina droplet size in SRM's combustion chamber. The study of liquid breakup mechanism is an important means to smaller combustion chamber alumina droplet size and mitigate the erosion tack place on rocket nozzle region. In this study, a straight two phase air-water flow channel experiment is set up

Coalescence of liquid droplets in micro fluidic device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Mingming; Cubaud, Thomas; Ho, Chih-Ming; Chiou, Peiyu; Wu, Ming C.

2003-11-01

We study experimentally the initial dynamic process when two droplets (diameter range 100μm -1000μm) merge in micro fluidic device. It is known that passive mixing in micro fluidic device relies mostly on a time consuming process - diffusion. In digital fluidic platform,(S.K. Cho, H. Moon, and C.J. Kim, J. of Microelectromechanical Systems, Vol 12, No 1, 70(2003).) we find that the surface-tension-driven flow at the initial stage of the merging can be used to enhance mixing. In our experiments, the droplets are manipulated by two different methods, and results are compared. In one method, the droplet is manipulated by pressure driven flow in micro channels, and in the other, the droplet is moved using an optical electro-wetting device. The droplet is seeded with 4 μm diameter latex particles for visualizing the mixing process. The outlines of the droplets as well as the flow patterns marked by the latex particles inside the droplets are recorded using a high speed imaging system. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (CTS-0121340), Institute for CMISE (a NASA URETI), DARPA MPG program, and DARPA Optoelectronics Center Program (CHIPS).

Determination of organophosphorus pesticides in environmental water samples by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with solidification of floating organic droplet followed by high-performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Wu, Chunxia; Liu, Huimin; Liu, Weihua; Wu, Qiuhua; Wang, Chun; Wang, Zhi

2010-07-01

A simple dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection was developed for the determination of five organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) in water samples. In this method, the extraction solvent used is of low density, low toxicity, and proper melting point near room temperature. The extractant droplet could be collected easily by solidifying it in the lower temperature. Some important experimental parameters that affect the extraction efficiencies were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the calibration curve was linear in the concentration range from 1 to 200 ng mL(-1) for the five OPs (triazophos, parathion, diazinon, phoxim, and parathion-methyl), with the correlation coefficients (r) varying from 0.9991 to 0.9998. High enrichment factors were achieved ranging from 215 to 557. The limits of detection were in the range between 0.1 and 0.3 ng mL(-1). The recoveries of the target analytes from water samples at spiking levels of 5.0 and 50.0 ng mL(-1) were 82.2-98.8% and 83.6-104.0%, respectively. The relative standard deviations fell in the range of 4.4% to 6.3%. The method was suitable for the determination of the OPs in real water samples.

Computational sensitivity study of spray dispersion and mixing on the fuel properties in a gas turbine combustor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grosshans, Holger; Cao, Le; Fuchs, Laszlo; Szász, Robert-Zoltán

2017-04-01

A swirl stabilized gas turbine burner has been simulated in order to assess the effects of the fuel properties on spray dispersion and fuel-air mixing. The properties under consideration include fuel surface tension, viscosity and density. The turbulence of the gas phase is modeled applying the methodology of large eddy simulation whereas the dispersed liquid phase is described by Lagrangian particle tracking. The exchange of mass, momentum and energy between the two phases is accounted for by two-way coupling. Bag and stripping breakup regimes are considered for secondary droplet breakup, using the Reitz-Diwakar and the Taylor analogy breakup models. Moreover, a model for droplet evaporation is included. The results reveal a high sensitivity of the spray structure to variations of all investigated parameters. In particular, a decrease in the surface tension or the fuel viscosity, or an increase in the fuel density, lead to less stable liquid structures. As a consequence, smaller droplets are generated and the overall spray surface area increases, leading to faster evaporation and mixing. Furthermore, with the trajectories of the small droplets being strongly influenced by aerodynamic forces (and less by their own inertia), the spray is more affected by the turbulent structures of the gaseous phase and the spray dispersion is enhanced.

Coupling liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry detection with microfluidic droplet array for label-free enzyme inhibition assay.

PubMed

Wang, Xiu-Li; Zhu, Ying; Fang, Qun

2014-01-07

In this work, the combination of droplet-based microfluidics with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) was achieved, for providing a fast separation and high-information-content detection method for the analysis of nanoliter-scale droplets with complex compositions. A novel interface method was developed using an oil-covered droplet array chip to couple with an LC/MS system via a capillary sampling probe and a 4 nL injection valve without the need of a droplet extraction device. The present system can perform multistep operations including parallel enzyme inhibition reactions in nanoliter droplets, 4 nL sample injection, fast separation with capillary LC, and label-free detection with ESI-MS, and has significant flexibility in the accurate addressing and sampling of droplets of interest on demand. The system performance was evaluated using angiotensin I and angiotensin II as model samples, and the repeatabilities of peak area for angiotensin I and angiotensin II were 2.7% and 7.5% (RSD, n = 4), respectively. The present system was further applied to the screening for inhibitors of cytochrome P450 (CYP1A2) and measurement of the IC50 value of the inhibitor. The sample consumption for each droplet assay was 100 nL, which is reduced 10-100 times compared with conventional 384-multi-well plate systems usually used in high-throughput drug screening.

Vibration-Induced Gas-Liquid Interface Breakup

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Hern, Timothy; Torczynski, John; Romero, Ed; Shelden, Bion

2010-11-01

Gas-liquid interfaces can be forced to break up when subjected to vibrations within critical ranges of frequency and amplitude. This breakup mechanism was examined experimentally using deep layers of silicone oils over a range of viscosity and sinusoidal, primarily axial vibration conditions that can produce dramatic disturbances at the gas-liquid free surface. Although small-amplitude vibrations produce standing Faraday waves, large-amplitude vibrations produce liquid jets into the gas, droplets pinching off from the jets, gas cavities in the liquid from droplet impact, and bubble transport below the interface. Experiments used several different silicone oils over a range of pressures and vibration conditions. Computational simulations exhibiting similar behavior will be included in the presentation. Applications include liquid fuel rockets, inertial sensing devices, moving vehicles, mixing processes, and acoustic excitation. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Dependence of Morphology of SiOx Nanowires on the Supersaturation of Au-Si Alloy Liquid Droplets Formed on the Au-Coated Si Substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Han; Li, Ji-Xue; Jin, Ai-Zi; Zhang, Ze

2001-11-01

A thermodynamic theory about the dependence of morphology of SiOx nanowires on the super-saturation of alloy liquid droplets has been proposed on the basis of the vapour-liquid-solid growth mechanism and has been supported experimentally. By changing the Si concentration in the Au-Si liquid droplets formed on the Au-coated Si substrate, firework-, tulip- and bud-shaped SiOx nanowires were synthesized by a thermal evaporation method and distributed concentrically around some void defects in the Si substrate. Voids were formed underneath the surface of the Si substrate during the thermal evaporation at 850°C and resulted in the Si-concentration deficient thus different saturation of Au-Si droplets. Electron microscopy analysis showed that the nanowires had an amorphous structure and were terminated by Au-Si particles.

Bi-Component Droplet Combustion in Reduced Gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaw, Benjamin D.

2004-01-01

This research deals with reduced-gravity combustion of bi-component droplets initially in the mm size range or larger. The primary objectives of the research are to study the effects of droplet internal flows, thermal and solutal Marangoni stresses, and species volatility differences on liquid species transport and overall combustion phenomena (e.g., gas-phase unsteadiness, burning rates, sooting, radiation, and extinction). The research program utilizes a reduced gravity environment so that buoyancy effects are rendered negligible. Use of large droplets also facilitates visualization of droplet internal flows, which is important for this research. In the experiments, droplets composed of low- and high-volatility species are burned. The low-volatility components are initially present in small amounts. As combustion of a droplet proceeds, the liquid surface mass fraction of the low-volatility component will increase with time, resulting in a sudden and temporary decrease in droplet burning rates as the droplet rapidly heats to temperatures close to the boiling point of the low-volatility component. This decrease in burning rates causes a sudden and temporary contraction of the flame. The decrease in burning rates and the flame contraction can be observed experimentally. Measurements of burning rates as well as the onset time for flame contraction allow effective liquid-phase species diffusivities to be calculated, e.g., using asymptotic theory. It is planned that droplet internal flows will be visualized in flight and ground-based experiments. In this way, effective liquid species diffusivities can be related to droplet internal flow characteristics. This program is a continuation of extensive ground-based experimental and theoretical research on bi-component droplet combustion that has been ongoing for several years. The focal point of this program is a flight experiment (Bi-Component Droplet Combustion Experiment, BCDCE). This flight experiment is under

Bi-Component Droplet Combustion in Reduced Gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaw, B. D.

2001-01-01

This research deals with reduced-gravity combustion of bi-component droplets initially in the mm size range or larger. The primary objectives of the research are to study the effects of droplet internal flows, thermal and solutal Marangoni stresses, and species volatility differences on liquid species transport and overall combustion phenomena (e.g., gas-phase unsteadiness, burning rates, sooting, radiation, and extinction). The research program utilizes a reduced-gravity environment so that buoyancy effects are rendered negligible. Use of large droplets also facilitates visualization of droplet internal flows, which is important for this research. In the experiments, droplets composed of low- and high-volatility species are burned. The low-volatility components are initially present in small amounts. As combustion of a droplet proceeds, the liquid surface mass fraction of the low-volatility component will increase with time, resulting in a sudden and temporary decrease in droplet burning rates as the droplet rapidly heats to temperatures close to the boiling point of the low-volatility component. This decrease in burning rates causes a sudden and temporary contraction of the flame. The decrease in burning rates and the flame contraction can be observed experimentally. Measurements of burning rates as well as the onset time for flame contraction allow effective liquid-phase species diffusivities to be calculated, e.g., using asymptotic theory. It is planned that droplet internal flows will be visualized in future flight and ground-based experiments. In this way, effective liquid species diffusivities can be related to droplet internal flow characteristics. This program is a continuation of extensive ground based experimental and theoretical research on bi-component droplet combustion that has been ongoing for several years. The focal point of this program is a flight experiment (Bi-Component Droplet Combustion Experiment, BCDCE). This flight experiment is under

Droplet Evolution and Refinement During Liquid-Liquid Decomposition of Zn-6 Wt Pct Bi Immiscible Alloy Under High Static Magnetic Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Tianxiang; Zhong, Yunbo; Wang, Jiang; Ren, Zhongming; Ren, Weili; Lei, Zuosheng; Debray, Francois; Beaugnon, Eric; Wei, Xicheng

2018-05-01

In situ solidification experiments on Zn-6 wt pct Bi immiscible alloys were conducted to investigate the droplet evolution under high static magnetic fields (HSMFs). The results showed that a microstructure with extremely fine Bi-rich particles distributed in the matrix can be obtained under an HSMF of 29 T. The average diameter of the Bi-rich phase decreased with the increasing magnetic flux density. Stokes sedimentation disappeared when the HSMF was larger than 18 T. Starting at an HSMF of 18 T, Bi-rich droplets grew via pure diffusion in the liquid matrix. The HSMF decreased the spacing of the droplet arrays when the cooling rate (R) was approximately 1600 °C/min. The formation of a Zn-rich phase surrounded by a Bi-rich shell at HSMFs below 18 T, when R was approximately 60 °C/min, was attributed to the thermoelectric magnetic force.

Splashing Droplets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

VanderWal, Randall L.; Kizito, John Patrick; Berger, Gordon M.; Iwan, J.; Alexander, D.; Tryggvason, Gretar

2002-01-01

Current data on droplet breakup is scarce for the sizes and velocities typical of practical applications such as in spray combustion processes and coating processes. While much more representative of practical applications, the small spatial scales and rapid time-scales prevent detailed measurement of the internal fluid dynamics and liquid property gradients produced by impinging upon surfaces. Realized through the extended spatial and temporal scales afforded by a microgravity environment, an improved understanding of drop breakup dynamics is sought to understand and ultimately control the impingement dynamics of droplets upon surfaces in practical situations. The primary objective of this research will be to mark the onset of different 'splashing modes' and to determine their temperature, pressure and angle dependence for impinging droplets representative of practical fluids. In addition, we are modeling the evolution of droplets that do not initially splash but rather undergo a 'fingering' evolution observed on the spreading fluid front and the transformation of these fingers into splashed products. An example of our experimental data is presented below. These images are of Isopar V impacting a mirror-polished surface. They were acquired using a high-speed camera at 1000 frames per second. They show the spreading of a single droplet after impact and ensuing finger instabilities. Normal gravity experimental data such as this will guide low gravity measurements in the 2.2 second drop tower and KC-135 aircraft as available. Presently we are in the process of comparing the experimental data of droplet shape evolution to numerical models, which can also capture the internal fluid dynamics and liquid property gradients such as produced by impingement upon a heated surface. To-date isothermal numerical data has been modeled using direct numerical simulations of representative splashing droplets. The data obtained so far indicates that the present model describes well

Tunable Droplet Breakup Dynamics on Micropillared Superhydrophobic Surfaces.

PubMed

Zhang, Rui; Hao, Pengfei; Zhang, Xiwen; Niu, Fenglei; He, Feng

2018-06-22

Functional materials with controllable droplet breakup properties have extensive application prospects in aircraft anti-icing, spraying cooling, surface coating, and so on. Here we show that introducing micropillar arrays with various morphologies to fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces could either facilitate or suppress droplet splitting. The spacing and height of micropillars play an essential role in tuning the splitting patterns. Delayed splashing occurs on dense pillars which support the liquid lamella and provide channels for air to escape. A novel droplet breakup mechanism is found on sparse tall pillars, which rises from the instability of lateral liquid jets and significantly reduces the droplet breakup threshold. The critical Weber number of the rupture of low-viscous liquid is solely determined by the geometric parameters of micropillars and droplets. This work unveils the impact of ordered microstructures on the droplet breakup dynamics and provides a quantitative analysis of the geometric parameters in revising the breakup criteria.

Marangoni flow in an evaporating water droplet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Xuefeng; Luo, Jianbin

2007-09-01

Marangoni effect has been observed in many liquids, but its existence in pure water is still a debated problem. In the present work, the Marangoni flow in evaporating water droplets has been observed by using fluorescent nanoparticles. Flow patterns indicate that a stagnation point where the surface flow, the surface tension gradient, and the surface temperature gradient change their directions exists at the droplet surface. The deduced nonmonotonic variation of the droplet surface temperature, which is different from that in some previous works, is explained by a heat transfer model considering the adsorbed thin film of the evaporating liquid droplet.

Elliptical spreading characteristics of a liquid metal droplet impact on a glass surface under a horizontal magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Juan-Cheng; Qi, Tian-Yu; Han, Tian-Yang; Zhang, Jie; Ni, Ming-Jiu

2018-01-01

The spreading characteristics of a liquid GaInSn alloy droplet on a glass surface with the action of a horizontal magnetic field have been experimentally investigated in the present paper. With changing the impact velocity from 0.1 m/s to 1.2 m/s and increasing the magnetic field from 0 T to 1.6 T, we focus on studying the influence of the horizontal magnetic field on the spreading characteristics of a liquid metal droplet using the shadow-graph method. The elliptical spreading pattern of a liquid metal droplet induced by the horizontal magnetic field was discovered by experiments. By introducing a numerical method in getting the distribution of current lines and the Lorentz force inside the droplet, we give a detailed explanation on the mechanism of elliptical spreading. Furthermore, some quantitative results on a maximum spreading factor and time at moment of maximum spreading varied with the Hartmann number and Weber number are shown to give us a comprehensive understanding of the elliptical spreading. With the increasing of the magnetic field, the maximum spreading factor in the front view is reduced while that in the side view is increased, which reveals a larger deformation happened during the spreading process. While with the increasing of impact velocity, the spreading factor increased. Finally, we present a non-dimensional parameter to get scaling laws for the averaged maximum spreading factor and the aspect ratio of the maximum spreading factor; results show that the predict data can agree with experimental data in a certain degree.

The Multi-User Droplet Combustion Apparatus: the Development and Integration Concept for Droplet Combustion Payloads in the Fluids and Combustion Facility Combustion Integrated Rack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myhre, C. A.

2002-01-01

The Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) is a multi-user facility designed to accommodate four different droplet combustion science experiments. The MDCA will conduct experiments using the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) of the NASA Glenn Research Center's Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF). The payload is planned for the International Space Station. The MDCA, in conjunction with the CIR, will allow for cost effective extended access to the microgravity environment, not possible on previous space flights. It is currently in the Engineering Model build phase with a planned flight launch with CIR in 2004. This paper provides an overview of the capabilities and development status of the MDCA. The MDCA contains the hardware and software required to conduct unique droplet combustion experiments in space. It consists of a Chamber Insert Assembly, an Avionics Package, and a multiple array of diagnostics. Its modular approach permits on-orbit changes for accommodating different fuels, fuel flow rates, soot sampling mechanisms, and varying droplet support and translation mechanisms to accommodate multiple investigations. Unique diagnostic measurement capabilities for each investigation are also provided. Additional hardware provided by the CIR facility includes the structural support, a combustion chamber, utilities for the avionics and diagnostic packages, and the fuel mixing capability for PI specific combustion chamber environments. Common diagnostics provided by the CIR will also be utilized by the MDCA. Single combustible fuel droplets of varying sizes, freely deployed or supported by a tether are planned for study using the MDCA. Such research supports how liquid-fuel-droplets ignite, spread, and extinguish under quiescent microgravity conditions. This understanding will help us develop more efficient energy production and propulsion systems on Earth and in space, deal better with combustion generated pollution, and address fire hazards associated with

Deforming water droplets with a superhydrophobic silica coating.

PubMed

Li, Xiaoguang; Shen, Jun

2013-11-04

The surface liquidity of a water droplet is eliminated by rubbing hydrophobic particles onto the droplet surface using a sol-gel silica coating with extremely weak binding force, which results in solid-like deformability of a liquid drop.

Chemical Gradients on Graphene to Drive Droplet Motion

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-09

the flexibility of carbon chemistry, graphene provides many options in designing such gradients. Moreover, to effectively move a liquid droplet, the...surface chemistry gradientmust be both continuous (x and y direction) and uniform in the direc - tion perpendicular to the droplet motion (y direction) to...directing the transport of liquid droplets. This work demonstrates that with careful consideration of the surface chem- istry, electron beam-generated

Physical properties, evaporation and combustion characteristics of nanofluid-type fuels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanvir, Saad

existing literature. Additionally, a droplet collision experiment was developed to understand the collision characteristics of nanofluids fuels, especially the effect of particle addition on collision regimes. It was found that as particle concentration increases, coalescence was seen over a wider the range of Webber numbers and collision parameters as compared to pure liquids. Enhancement in surface tension at room temperature conditions is hypothesized to be the main factor causing this shift. A primary goal of this study is to understand how particle addition impacts the combustion behavior of liquid fuels. A droplet stream flame was used to measure the burning rate of ethanol droplets with the addition of aluminum (80nm) and graphite nanoparticles (50nm and 100nm). Results indicate that as particle concentration is increased, the burning rate of the resulting nanofluid droplet also increases. The maximum enhancement of 140 % was observed with the addition of 3 wt.% 80nm aluminum nanoparticles. The burning rate enhancement is mainly attributed to the strong radiation absorption by the nanofluid fuels from the flame. Computational models were developed to determine the ratio of radiation retention by the entire depth of the fluid (volumetric absorptivity) using optical properties of both the particles and the fluid. Furthermore, the penetration of radiation within the nanofluid was quantified using the well-known Monte Carlo algorithm. Results indicate that radiation absorption by the hybrid droplet does play a role in the enhancement of burning rate. More importantly, the absorption is not uniform within the hybrid droplet. It is localized in the region near the droplet surface, promoting localized boiling. This mechanism is believed to be responsible for the observed increase in burning rate. An experimental as well as numerical investigation on the evaporation characteristics of nanofluid fuels was conducted. The present study aims to determine the contribution of

Response of two-phase droplets to intense electromagnetic radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spann, James F.; Maloney, Daniel J.; Lawson, William F.; Casleton, Kent H.

1993-01-01

The response of two-phase droplets to intense radiant heating is studied to determine the incident power that is required for causing explosive boiling in the liquid phase. The droplets studied consist of strongly absorbing coal particles dispersed in a weakly absorbing water medium. Experiments are performed by confining droplets (radii of 37, 55, and 80 microns) electrodynamically and irradiating them from two sides with pulsed laser beams. Emphasis is placed on the transition region from accelerated droplet vaporization to droplet superheating and explosive boiling. The time scale observed for explosive boiling is more than 2 orders of magnitude longer than published values for pure liquids. The delayed response is the result of energy transfer limitations between the absorbing solid phase and the surrounding liquid.

Modelling NOx emissions of single droplet combustion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moesl, Klaus G.; Schwing, Joachim E.; Sattelmayer, Thomas

2012-02-01

An approach for modelling and simulation of the generation of nitrogen oxide (NOx) in the gas phase surrounding single burning droplets is presented. Assuming spherical symmetry (no gravity, no forced convection), the governing equations are derived first. Then simplifications are introduced and it is proven that they are appropriate. The influences of the initial droplet diameter, the ambient conditions, and the droplet pre-vapourisation on NOx are investigated. The fuel of choice is n-decane (C10H22) as it resembles kerosene and diesel fuel best, and the complexity of the reaction mechanism is manageable. Combinations of C10H22 mechanisms and well-established NOx kinetics are evaluated in detail and validated for their applicability in the context of this work. The conducted simulations of droplet combustion in an atmosphere of hot exhaust gas show that NOx formation (by mass of fuel) increases linearly with the droplet diameter. There is a trade-off between available oxygen and ambient temperature. Increasing the equivalence ratio of the exhaust gas leads to higher NOx emissions in the very lean regime, but to lower emissions if the equivalence ratio exceeds 0.85. Pre-vapourisation of fuel at ambient conditions becomes beneficial with respect to NOx emissions only if the degree of vapourisation is above a minimum limit. If less fuel is vapourised before ignition, the NOx emissions remain almost unaffected.

Supercritical droplet combustion and related transport phenomena

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yang, Vigor; Hsieh, K. C.; Shuen, J. S.

1993-01-01

An overview of recent advances in theoretical analyses of supercritical droplet vaporization and combustion is conducted. Both hydrocarbon and cryogenic liquid droplets over a wide range of thermodynamic states are considered. Various important high-pressure effects on droplet behavior, such as thermodynamic non-ideality, transport anomaly, and property variation, are reviewed. Results indicate that the ambient gas pressure exerts significant control of droplet gasification and burning processes through its influence on fluid transport, gas-liquid interfacial thermodynamics, and chemical reactions. The droplet gasification rate increases progressively with pressure. However, the data for the overall burnout time exhibit a considerable change in the combustion mechanism at the criticl pressure, mainly as a result of reduced mass diffusivity and latent heat of vaporization with increased pressure. The influence of droplet size on the burning characteristics is also noted.

Dielectrophoretic levitation of droplets and bubbles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, T. B.

1982-01-01

Uncharged droplets and bubbles can be levitated dielectrophoretically in liquids using strong, nonuniform electric fields. The general equations of motion for a droplet or bubble in an axisymmetric, divergence-free electrostatic field allow determination of the conditions necessary and sufficient for stable levitation. The design of dielectrophoretic (DEP) levitation electrode structures is simplified by a Taylor-series expansion of cusped axisymmetric electrostatic fields. Extensive experimental measurements on bubbles in insulating liquids verify the simple dielectrophoretic model. Other have extended dielectrophoretic levitation to very small particles in aqueous media. Applications of DEP levitation to the study of gas bubbles, liquid droplets, and solid particles are discussed. Some of these applications are of special interest in the reduced gravitational field of a spacecraft.

Vibration-Induced Droplet Atomization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, M. K.; James, A.; Vukasinovic, B.; Glezer, A.

1999-01-01

Thermal management is critical to a number of technologies used in a microgravity environment and in Earth-based systems. Examples include electronic cooling, power generation systems, metal forming and extrusion, and HVAC (heating, venting, and air conditioning) systems. One technique that can deliver the large heat fluxes required for many of these technologies is two-phase heat transfer. This type of heat transfer is seen in the boiling or evaporation of a liquid and in the condensation of a vapor. Such processes provide very large heat fluxes with small temperature differences. Our research program is directed toward the development of a new, two-phase heat transfer cell for use in a microgravity environment. In this paper, we consider the main technology used in this cell, a novel technique for the atomization of a liquid called vibration-induced droplet atomization. In this process, a small liquid droplet is placed on a thin metal diaphragm that is made to vibrate by an attached piezoelectric transducer. The vibration induces capillary waves on the free surface of the droplet that grow in amplitude and then begin to eject small secondary droplets from the wave crests. In some situations, this ejection process develops so rapidly that the entire droplet seems to burst into a small cloud of atomized droplets that move away from the diaphragm at speeds of up to 50 cm/s. By incorporating this process into a heat transfer cell, the active atomization and transport of the small liquid droplets could provide a large heat flux capability for the device. Experimental results are presented that document the behavior of the diaphragm and the droplet during the course of a typical bursting event. In addition, a simple mathematical model is presented that qualitatively reproduces all of the essential features we have seen in a burst event. From these two investigations, we have shown that delayed droplet bursting results when the system passes through a resonance

Nuclear Energy and Synthetic Liquid Transportation Fuels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDonald, Richard

2012-10-01

This talk will propose a plan to combine nuclear reactors with the Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process to produce synthetic carbon-neutral liquid transportation fuels from sea water. These fuels can be formed from the hydrogen and carbon dioxide in sea water and will burn to water and carbon dioxide in a cycle powered by nuclear reactors. The F-T process was developed nearly 100 years ago as a method of synthesizing liquid fuels from coal. This process presently provides commercial liquid fuels in South Africa, Malaysia, and Qatar, mainly using natural gas as a feedstock. Nuclear energy can be used to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen as well as to extract carbon dioxide from sea water using ion exchange technology. The carbon dioxide and hydrogen react to form synthesis gas, the mixture needed at the beginning of the F-T process. Following further refining, the products, typically diesel and Jet-A, can use existing infrastructure and can power conventional engines with little or no modification. We can then use these carbon-neutral liquid fuels conveniently long into the future with few adverse environmental impacts.

Injector for liquid fueled rocket engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cornelius, Charles S. (Inventor); Myers, W. Neill (Inventor); Shadoan, Michael David (Inventor); Sparks, David L. (Inventor)

2000-01-01

An injector for liquid fueled rocket engines wherein a generally flat core having a frustoconical dome attached to one side of the core to serve as a manifold for a first liquid, with the core having a generally circular configuration having an axis. The other side of the core has a plurality of concentric annular first slots and a plurality of annular concentric second slots alternating with the first slots, the second slots having a greater depth than said first slots. A bore extends through the core for inletting a second liquid into said core, the bore intersecting the second slots to feed the second liquid into the second slots. The core also has a plurality of first passageways leading from the manifold to the first annular slots for feeding the first liquid into said first slots. A faceplate brazed to said other side of the core is provided with apertures extending from the first and second slots through said face plate, these apertures being positioned to direct fuel and liquid oxygen into contact with each other in the combustion chamber. The first liquid may be liquid oxygen and the second liquid may be kerosene or liquid hydrogen.

Droplets on porous hydrophobic surfaces perfused with gas: An air-table for droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vourdas, Nikolaos; Stathopoulos, Vassilis; Laboratory of Chemistry; Materials Technology Team

2016-11-01

Wetting phenomena on porous hydrophobic surfaces are strongly related to the volume and the pressure of gas pockets resided at the solid-liquid interface. When the porous medium is perfused with gas by means of backpressure an inherently sessile pinned droplet undergoes various changes in its shape, contact angles and mobility. This provides an alternative method for active and controlled droplet actuation, without use of electricity, magnetism, foreign particles etc. Superhydrophobicity is not a prerequisite, electrode fabrication is not needed, the liquid is not affected thermally or chemically etc. In this work we explore this method, study the pertinent underlying mechanisms, and propose some applications. The adequate backpressure for droplet actuation has been measured for various hydrophobic porous surfaces. Backpressure for actuation may be as low as some tens of mbar for some cases, thus providing a rather low-energy demanding alternative. The droplet actuation mechanism has been followed numerically; it entails depinning of the receding contact line and movement, by means of a forward wave propagation reaching on the front of the droplet. Applications in valving water plugs inside open- or closed- channel fluidics will be provided.

Hydrodynamics and PIV study in the impingement zone formed by a droplet train

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanjirakat, Anoop; Sadr, Reza; Zhang, Taolue; Muthusamy, Jayaveera; Alvarado, Jorge; Texas A; M University at Qatar Collaboration; Texas A; M University College Station Collaboration

2016-11-01

Droplet impingement is encountered in numerous technical applications, such as ink jet printing, spray cooling, and fuel injection in internal combustion engines. Even though many studies in droplet impingement were conducted in past, not many have measured the near-wall velocities in the droplet impingement zone. With the goal of gaining a better understanding of the hydrodynamics in the impingement zone, well-controlled experiments are performed in combination with micro-PIV measurements and numerical simulations. Hydrodynamics of HFE-7100 droplets generated using a piezoelectric droplet generator, impinging on a pre-wetted surface is investigated. Micro-PIV studies in the high-velocity impingement zone are performed using one-micron meter fluorescent particles dispersed in HFE-7100 along with the double exposed images. Three-dimensional and 2D-axisymmetric numerical modeling for a transient droplet crown development is performed. The interface between the gas and the liquid is modeled using a Volume of Fluid (VOF) method. Numerical simulation results obtained are observed to be in good agreement with that of the experimental observations. Supported by National Priority Research Program (NPRP) of Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), Grant No.: NPRP 6-1304-2-525.

Comparison of alternate fuels for aircraft. [liquid hydrogen, liquid methane, and synthetic aviation kerosene

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Witcofski, R. D.

1979-01-01

Liquid hydrogen, liquid methane, and synthetic aviation kerosene were assessed as alternate fuels for aircraft in terms of cost, capital requirements, and energy resource utilization. Fuel transmission and airport storage and distribution facilities are considered. Environmental emissions and safety aspects of fuel selection are discussed and detailed descriptions of various fuel production and liquefaction processes are given. Technological deficiencies are identified.

Ultrahigh throughput microfluidic platform for in-air production of microscale droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tirandazi, Pooyan; Healy, John; Hidrovo, Carlos H.

2017-11-01

In-air droplet formation inside microfluidic networks is an alternative technique to the conventional in-liquid systems for creating uniform, microscale droplets. Recent works have highlighted and quantified the use of a gaseous continuous phase for controlled generation of droplets in the Dripping regime in planar structures. Here we demonstrate a new class of non-planar droplet-based systems which rely on controlled breakup of a liquid microjet within a high speed flow of air inside a confined microfluidic flow-focusing PDMS channel. We investigate the physics of confined gas-liquid flows and the effect of geometry on the behavior of a liquid water jet in a gaseous flow. Droplet breakup in the Jetting regime is studied both numerically and experimentally and the results are compared. We show droplet production capability at rates higher than 100 KHz with droplets ranging from 15-30 μm in diameter and a polydispersity index of less than 15%. This work represents an important investigation into the Jetting regime in confined microchannels. The ability to control jet behavior, generation rate, and droplet size in gas-liquid microflows will further expand the potential applications of this system for high throughput operations in material synthesis and biochemical analysis. We acknowledge funding support from NSF CAREER Award Grant CBET-1522841.

Liquid rocket combustor computer code development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liang, P. Y.

1985-01-01

The Advanced Rocket Injector/Combustor Code (ARICC) that has been developed to model the complete chemical/fluid/thermal processes occurring inside rocket combustion chambers are highlighted. The code, derived from the CONCHAS-SPRAY code originally developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory incorporates powerful features such as the ability to model complex injector combustion chamber geometries, Lagrangian tracking of droplets, full chemical equilibrium and kinetic reactions for multiple species, a fractional volume of fluid (VOF) description of liquid jet injection in addition to the gaseous phase fluid dynamics, and turbulent mass, energy, and momentum transport. Atomization and droplet dynamic models from earlier generation codes are transplated into the present code. Currently, ARICC is specialized for liquid oxygen/hydrogen propellants, although other fuel/oxidizer pairs can be easily substituted.

Direct numerical simulation of droplet-laden isotropic turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dodd, Michael S.

Interaction of liquid droplets with turbulence is important in numerous applications ranging from rain formation to oil spills to spray combustion. The physical mechanisms of droplet-turbulence interaction are largely unknown, especially when compared to that of solid particles. Compared to solid particles, droplets can deform, break up, coalesce and have internal fluid circulation. The main goal of this work is to investigate using direct numerical simulation (DNS) the physical mechanisms of droplet-turbulence interaction, both for non-evaporating and evaporating droplets. To achieve this objective, we develop and couple a new pressure-correction method with the volume-of-fluid (VoF) method for simulating incompressible two-fluid flows. The method's main advantage is that the variable coefficient Poisson equation that arises in solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations for two-fluid flows is reduced to a constant coefficient equation. This equation can then be solved directly using, e.g., the FFT-based parallel Poisson solver. For a 10243 mesh, our new pressure-correction method using a fast Poisson solver is ten to forty times faster than the standard pressure-correction method using multigrid. Using the coupled pressure-correction and VoF method, we perform direct numerical simulations (DNS) of 3130 finite-size, non-evaporating droplets of diameter approximately equal to the Taylor lengthscale and with 5% droplet volume fraction in decaying isotropic turbulence at initial Taylor-scale Reynolds number Relambda = 83. In the droplet-laden cases, we vary one of the following three parameters: the droplet Weber number based on the r.m.s. velocity of turbulence (0.1 ≤ Werms ≤ 5), the droplet- to carrier-fluid density ratio (1 ≤ rhod/rho c ≤ 100) or the droplet- to carrier-fluid viscosity ratio (1 ≤ mud/muc ≤ 100). We derive the turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) equations for the two-fluid, carrier-fluid and droplet-fluid flow. These equations allow

Ejection of small droplet from microplate using focused ultrasound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Hiroki; Mizuno, Yosuke; Nakamura, Kentaro

2017-08-01

We discussed an ultrasonic system for single-droplet ejection from a microplate, which is one of the basic and important procedures in the noncontact handling of droplets in air. In this system, a 1.5 MHz concave transducer located below the microplate is used for chasing the liquid surface through a pulse echo method, and also for the ejection of a 1 µL single droplet by the burst of focused ultrasound. We investigated the relationship between the droplet ejection characteristics, the distance from the transducer to the surface of liquid, the material property, and the excitation condition of the focused ultrasonic transducer. It was verified that the optimal position of the transducer was off the focal point of sound pressure by ±1 mm, because the sound intensity had to be controlled to eject a single droplet. Subsequently, we confirmed experimentally that the ejected droplet volume linearly depended on the surface tension of the liquid, and that the droplet volume and ejection velocity were determined by the Webber number, Reynolds number, and Ohnesolge number. In addition, by optimizing the duration of the burst ultrasound, the droplet volume and ejection velocity were controlled.

Hypophosphites as eco-compatible fuel for membrane-free direct liquid fuel cells.

PubMed

Wang, Renhe; Wu, Mengjia; Haller, Servane; Métivier, Pascal; Wang, Yonggang; Xia, Yongyao

2018-05-07

Crossover of liquid fuel remains a severe problem for conventional direct liquid fuel cells even when polymer electrolyte membranes are applied. Herein, we report for the first time a membrane-free direct liquid fuel cell powered by alkaline hypophosphite solution. The proof-of-concept fuel cell yields a peak power density of 32 mW cm-2 under air flow at room temperature. The removal of the polymer electrolyte membrane is attributed to the high reactivity and selectivity of Pd and α-MnO2 towards the hypophosphite oxidation on anode and oxygen reduction on the cathode, respectively. The discharge products are analyzed by 31P-NMR and the Faradaic efficiencies have been calculated after discharging at 10 mA cm-2 for 20 hours. The non-toxicity of hypophosphite and membrane-free fuel cell structure provide huge potential for future applications. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Technologies That Enable Accurate and Precise Nano- to Milliliter-Scale Liquid Dispensing of Aqueous Reagents Using Acoustic Droplet Ejection.

PubMed

Sackmann, Eric K; Majlof, Lars; Hahn-Windgassen, Annett; Eaton, Brent; Bandzava, Temo; Daulton, Jay; Vandenbroucke, Arne; Mock, Matthew; Stearns, Richard G; Hinkson, Stephen; Datwani, Sammy S

2016-02-01

Acoustic liquid handling uses high-frequency acoustic signals that are focused on the surface of a fluid to eject droplets with high accuracy and precision for various life science applications. Here we present a multiwell source plate, the Echo Qualified Reservoir (ER), which can acoustically transfer over 2.5 mL of fluid per well in 25-nL increments using an Echo 525 liquid handler. We demonstrate two Labcyte technologies-Dynamic Fluid Analysis (DFA) methods and a high-voltage (HV) grid-that are required to maintain accurate and precise fluid transfers from the ER at this volume scale. DFA methods were employed to dynamically assess the energy requirements of the fluid and adjust the acoustic ejection parameters to maintain a constant velocity droplet. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the HV grid enhances droplet velocity and coalescence at the destination plate. These technologies enabled 5-µL per destination well transfers to a 384-well plate, with accuracy and precision values better than 4%. Last, we used the ER and Echo 525 liquid handler to perform a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay to demonstrate an application that benefits from the flexibility and larger volume capabilities of the ER. © 2015 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

Impact of a complex fluid droplet on wettable and non wettable surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolleddula, Daniel; Aliseda, Alberto

2008-11-01

The impact of liquid droplets is a phenomenon prevalent in many natural and industrial processes. Such events include rain drops, fuel injection, and ink-jet printing. To date, research in atomization and droplet impact has been focused on Newtonian fluids. In the coating of pharmaceutical tablets, the coating solutions contain polymers, surfactants, and large concentrations of insoluble solids in suspension which inherently exhibit non-Newtonian behavior. In this work, we will present ongoing droplet impact experiments using complex rheology fluids under a wide range of Weber and Ohnesorge numbers. Both hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces are been studied, and the effect of surface roughness has also been considered. We will describe the limits of bouncing, spreading, and splashing for these complex fluids. We will also discuss quantitative information such as spreading rates and contact angle measurements on wettable and non-wettable surfaces obtained from high speed images.

Study of the coalescence/splash threshold of droplet impact on liquid films and its relevance in assessing airborne particle release.

PubMed

Motzkus, C; Gensdarmes, F; Géhin, E

2011-10-15

Impingement of droplets on surfaces occurs in many industrial and natural processes. The study of droplet break-up is fundamental in order to determine the potential sources of airborne contamination for scenarios of hazardous liquid falls such as dripping. There are very few data in the literature describing the case of impact of millimetre-size droplets. The purposes of this work were to study experimentally particle emission during the impact of droplets on a liquid film and to assess the use of coalescence/splash relations to predict airborne particle release. The results are described using dimensionless numbers taking into account the inertial, viscosity and surface tension forces. Experiments were carried out for Weber numbers between 62 and 1754 and for Ohnesorge numbers between 2.0×10(-3) and 1.5×10(-2). New results on coalescence/splash thresholds are obtained using highly sensitive aerosol measurement and allow a prediction concerning the presence or absence of airborne particles according to a threshold relation. Moreover, we propose a modification of the Cossali et al.'s relation in order to describe the coalescence/prompt splash threshold. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Colliding droplets: A short film presentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendricks, C. D.

1981-12-01

A series of experiments were performed in which liquid droplets were caused to collide. Impact velocities to several meters per second and droplet diameters up to 600 micrometers were used. The impact parameters in the collisions vary from zero to greater than the sum of the droplet radii. Photographs of the collisions were taken with a high speed framing camera in order to study the impacts and subsequent behavior of the droplets.

John H. Dillon Medal Talk: Polymer Droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalnoki-Veress, Kari

2008-03-01

The simplicity of a liquid droplet, say a dew drop on spider silk, is both esthetically beautiful and scientifically intriguing. The interplay of surface energies, thermal motion, and confinement of the liquid, especially on small length scales can reveal interesting physics. Droplets are an ideal confining geometry because the length scales can be easily controlled and it is possible to arrange the system such that each droplet acts as an independent experiment. The talk will focus on some recent examples where we have used the droplet geometry to learn about material properties. It will become apparent in the presentation that the deviations from the ``expected'' behaviour in confined systems are far from subtle!

Chemistry in the Venus clouds: Sulfuric acid reactions and freezing behavior of aqueous liquid droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delitsky, M. L.; Baines, K. H.

2015-11-01

Venus has a thick cloud deck at 40-70 km altitude consisting of liquid droplets and solid particles surrounded by atmospheric gases. The liquid droplets are highly concentrated aqueous solutions of sulfuric acid ranging in concentration from 70-99 wt%. Weight percent drops off with altitude (Imamura and Hashimoto 2001). There will be uptake of atmospheric gases into the droplet solutions and the ratios of gas-phase to liquid-phase species will depend on the Henry’s Law constant for those solutions. Reactions of sulfuric acid with these gases will form products with differing solubilities. For example, uptake of HCl by H2SO4/H2O droplets yields chlorosulfonic acid, ClSO3H (Robinson et al 1998) in solution. This may eventually decompose to thionyl- or sulfuryl chlorides, which have UV absorbances. HF will also uptake, creating fluorosulfonic acid, FSO3H, which has a greater solubility than the chloro- acid. As uptake continues, there will be many dissolved species in the cloudwaters. Baines and Delitsky (2013) showed that uptake will have a maximum at ~62 km and this is very close to the reported altitude for the mystery UV absorber in the Venus atmosphere. In addition, at very strong concentrations in lower altitude clouds, sulfuric acid will form hydrates such as H2SO4.H2O and H2SO4.4H2O which will have very different freezing behavior than sulfuric acid, with much higher freezing temperatures (Carslaw et al, 1997). Using temperature data from Venus Express from Tellmann et al (2009), and changes in H2SO4 concentrations as a function of altitude (James et al 1997), we calculate that freezing out of sulfuric acid hydrates can be significant down to as low as 56 km altitude. As a result, balloons, aircraft or other probes in the Venus atmosphere may be limited to flying below certain altitudes. Any craft flying at altitudes above ~55 km may suffer icing on the wings, propellers, balloons and instruments which could cause possible detrimental effects (thermal

Characterization of light scattering in nematic droplet-polymer films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinugasa, Naoki; Yano, Yuichi; Takigawa, Akio; Kawahara, Hideo

1992-06-01

The optical properties of nematic droplet-polymer films were studied both in the on and off state using Lambert-Beer''s law to characterize their scattering phenomena. For the preparation of the devices, NCAP process was employed with the different diameter, distribution, shape, and density of nematic droplets. Their cell thickness and refractive indices concerning the birefringence of liquid crystals were also controlled. The results showed that the scattering phenomena of nematic droplet-polymer films were likely caused by two types of features. One, related to the surface area of nematic droplets, was the difference of the refractive indices in the interface between liquid crystals and polymer matrix. The other, related to the liquid crystal volume inside the nematic droplets, was the birefringence of liquid crystals. Considering such relations, the extinction coefficient of Lambert-Beer''s law could be described by the sum of the area in the interface multiplied by the difference of the refractive indices between two materials and the liquid crystal volume multiplied by their birefringence. Furthermore, it was found their parallel transmittance in the off state and haze ratio in the on state were well characterized by such extinction coefficient of Lambert-Beer''s law.

Linear Stability Analysis of an Acoustically Vaporized Droplet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siddiqui, Junaid; Qamar, Adnan; Samtaney, Ravi

2015-11-01

Acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV) is a phase transition phenomena of a superheat liquid (Dodecafluoropentane, C5F12) droplet to a gaseous bubble, instigated by a high-intensity acoustic pulse. This approach was first studied in imaging applications, and applicable in several therapeutic areas such as gas embolotherapy, thrombus dissolution, and drug delivery. High-speed imaging and theoretical modeling of ADV has elucidated several physical aspects, ranging from bubble nucleation to its subsequent growth. Surface instabilities are known to exist and considered responsible for evolving bubble shapes (non-spherical growth, bubble splitting and bubble droplet encapsulation). We present a linear stability analysis of the dynamically evolving interfaces of an acoustically vaporized micro-droplet (liquid A) in an infinite pool of a second liquid (liquid B). We propose a thermal ADV model for the base state. The linear analysis utilizes spherical harmonics (Ynm, of degree m and order n) and under various physical assumptions results in a time-dependent ODE of the perturbed interface amplitudes (one at the vapor/liquid A interface and the other at the liquid A/liquid B interface). The perturbation amplitudes are found to grow exponentially and do not depend on m. Supported by KAUST Baseline Research Funds.

DNS of droplet motion in a turbulent flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosso, Michele; Elghobashi, S.

2013-11-01

The objective of our research is to study the multi-way interactions between turbulence and vaporizing liquid droplets by performing direct numerical simulations (DNS). The freely-moving droplets are fully resolved in 3D space and time and all the relevant scales of the turbulent motion are simultaneously resolved down to the smallest length- and time-scales. Our DNS solve the unsteady three-dimensional Navier-Stokes and continuity equations throughout the whole computational domain, including the interior of the liquid droplets. The droplet surface motion and deformation are captured accurately by using the Level Set method. The pressure jump condition, density and viscosity discontinuities across the interface as well as surface tension are accounted for. Here, we present only the results of the first stage of our research which considers the effects of turbulence on the shape change of an initially spherical liquid droplet, at density ratio (of liquid to carrier fluid) of 1000, moving in isotropic turbulent flow. We validate our results via comparison with available expe. This research has been supported by NSF-CBET Award 0933085 and NSF PRAC (Petascale Computing Resource Allocation) Award.

Liquid Fuels and Natural Gas in the Americas Analysis Brief

EIA Publications

2014-01-01

This report examines the major energy trends and developments of the past decade in the Americas, focusing on liquid fuels and natural gas—particularly, reserves and resources, production, consumption, trade, and investment. The Americas, which include North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, account for a significant portion of global supply, demand, and trade of both liquid fuels and natural gas. Liquid fuels include all petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas liquids, biofuels, and liquids derived from other hydrocarbon sources.

POWER GENERATION FROM LIQUID METAL NUCLEAR FUEL

DOEpatents

Dwyer, O.E.

1958-12-23

A nuclear reactor system is described wherein the reactor is the type using a liquid metal fuel, such as a dispersion of fissile material in bismuth. The reactor is designed ln the form of a closed loop having a core sectlon and heat exchanger sections. The liquid fuel is clrculated through the loop undergoing flssion in the core section to produce heat energy and transferrlng this heat energy to secondary fluids in the heat exchanger sections. The fission in the core may be produced by a separate neutron source or by a selfsustained chain reaction of the liquid fuel present in the core section. Additional auxiliary heat exchangers are used in the system to convert water into steam which drives a turbine.

Controlled multistep synthesis in a three-phase droplet reactor

PubMed Central

Nightingale, Adrian M.; Phillips, Thomas W.; Bannock, James H.; de Mello, John C.

2014-01-01

Channel-fouling is a pervasive problem in continuous flow chemistry, causing poor product control and reactor failure. Droplet chemistry, in which the reaction mixture flows as discrete droplets inside an immiscible carrier liquid, prevents fouling by isolating the reaction from the channel walls. Unfortunately, the difficulty of controllably adding new reagents to an existing droplet stream has largely restricted droplet chemistry to simple reactions in which all reagents are supplied at the time of droplet formation. Here we describe an effective method for repeatedly adding controlled quantities of reagents to droplets. The reagents are injected into a multiphase fluid stream, comprising the carrier liquid, droplets of the reaction mixture and an inert gas that maintains a uniform droplet spacing and suppresses new droplet formation. The method, which is suited to many multistep reactions, is applied to a five-stage quantum dot synthesis wherein particle growth is sustained by repeatedly adding fresh feedstock. PMID:24797034

The precise and accurate production of millimetric water droplets using a superhydrophobic generating apparatus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wood, Michael J.; Aristizabal, Felipe; Coady, Matthew; Nielson, Kent; Ragogna, Paul J.; Kietzig, Anne-Marie

2018-02-01

The production of millimetric liquid droplets has importance in a wide range of applications both in the laboratory and industrially. As such, much effort has been put forth to devise methods to generate these droplets on command in a manner which results in high diameter accuracy and precision, well-defined trajectories followed by successive droplets and low oscillations in droplet shape throughout their descents. None of the currently employed methods of millimetric droplet generation described in the literature adequately addresses all of these desired droplet characteristics. The reported methods invariably involve the cohesive separation of the desired volume of liquid from the bulk supply in the same step that separates the single droplet from the solid generator. We have devised a droplet generation device which separates the desired volume of liquid within a tee-apparatus in a step prior to the generation of the droplet which has yielded both high accuracy and precision of the diameters of the final droplets produced. Further, we have engineered a generating tip with extreme antiwetting properties which has resulted in reduced adhesion forces between the liquid droplet and the solid tip. This has yielded the ability to produce droplets of low mass without necessitating different diameter generating tips or the addition of surfactants to the liquid, well-defined droplet trajectories, and low oscillations in droplet volume. The trajectories and oscillations of the droplets produced have been assessed and presented quantitatively in a manner that has been lacking in the current literature.

Low contaminant formic acid fuel for direct liquid fuel cell

DOEpatents

Masel, Richard I [Champaign, IL; Zhu, Yimin [Urbana, IL; Kahn, Zakia [Palatine, IL; Man, Malcolm [Vancouver, CA

2009-11-17

A low contaminant formic acid fuel is especially suited toward use in a direct organic liquid fuel cell. A fuel of the invention provides high power output that is maintained for a substantial time and the fuel is substantially non-flammable. Specific contaminants and contaminant levels have been identified as being deleterious to the performance of a formic acid fuel in a fuel cell, and embodiments of the invention provide low contaminant fuels that have improved performance compared to known commercial bulk grade and commercial purified grade formic acid fuels. Preferred embodiment fuels (and fuel cells containing such fuels) including low levels of a combination of key contaminants, including acetic acid, methyl formate, and methanol.

Temperature dependence of droplet breakup in 8CB and 5CB liquid crystals.

PubMed

Porter, Daniel; Savage, John R; Cohen, Itai; Spicer, Patrick; Caggioni, Marco

2012-04-01

Droplet breakup of many Newtonian fluids is well described by current experiments, theory, and simulations. Breakup in complex fluids where interactions between mesoscopic structural features can affect the flows remains poorly understood and a burgeoning area of research. Here, we report on our investigations of droplet breakup in thermotropic liquid crystals. We investigate breakup in the smectic, nematic, and isotropic phases of 4-cyano 4-octylbiphenyl (8CB) and the nematic and isotropic phases of 4-cyano 4-pentylbiphenyl (5CB). The experiment consists of varying the ambient temperature to control liquid crystalline phase and imaging breakup using a fast video camera at up to 110000 frames/s. We expand on previous work [John R. Savage et al., Soft Matter 6, 892 (2010)] that shows breakup in the smectic phase is symmetric, producing no satellite droplets, and is well described by a similarity solution for a shear-thinning power-law fluid. We show that in the nematic phase the breakup occurs in two stages. In the first stage, the breakup is symmetric and the power-law exponent for the minimum radius dependence on the time left to breakup is 1.2

Infiltration and Evaporation of Diesel and Gasoline Droplets Spilled onto Concrete Pavement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilpert, M.; Adria-Mora, B.

2015-12-01

Pollution at gas stations due to small spills that occur during refueling of customer vehicles has received little attention. We have performed laboratory experiments in order to assess the processes of evaporation and infiltration of fuel spilled onto concrete samples. Changes in mass of both spilled diesel and gasoline droplets as a function of time have been analyzed. The infiltrated mass is affected by variations in humidity, among other parameters, which influence the amount of water condensed onto the concrete. Therefore, we used a humidity data logger and statistical tools to predict the evolution of the real mass of infiltrated fuel. The infiltrated mass roughly decreases exponentially, but the difference in behavior between both fuel types is important. The percentage of evaporated mass is much larger for gasoline, while infiltration is more significant for diesel. Also, the percentage of infiltrated liquid depends on the initial droplet mass. We also developed a multiphysics model, which couples pore-scale infiltration to turbulent atmospheric transport, to explain the experimental data. In conclusion, a substantial amount of fuel could both seep into the ground to contaminate groundwater and be released to the atmosphere. More studies are needed to quantify the public health implications of the released pollutants.

Dynamics and Energetics of Deformable Evaporating Droplets at Intermediate Reynolds Numbers.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haywood, Ross Jeffrey

The behaviour of vaporizing droplets, representative of droplets present in hydrocarbon fuel sprays, has been investigated. A finite volume numerical model using a non-orthogonal, adaptive grid has been developed to examine both steady deformed and transient deforming droplet behaviour. Computations are made of the shapes of, and the velocity, pressure, temperature and concentration fields around and within n-heptane droplets evaporating in high temperature air environments at intermediate Reynolds and Weber numbers (10 <= Re <= 100, We <= 10). The numerical model has been rigorously tested by comparison with existing theoretical and numerical solutions and experimental data for problems of intermediate Reynolds number flows over spheroids, inviscid deforming droplets, viscous oscillating droplets, and transient deforming liquid droplets subjected to electrostatic fields. Computations show steady deformed droplets assuming oblate shapes with major axes perpendicular to the mean flow direction. When based on volume equivalent diameters, existing quasi-steady correlations of Nusselt and Sherwood numbers (Renksizbulut and Yuen (1983), Haywood et al. (1989), and Renksizbulut et al. (1991)) for spherical droplets are in good agreement with the numerical results. Providing they are based on actual frontal area, the computed drag coefficients are also reasonably well predicted by the existing quasi-steady drag correlation (Haywood et al. (1989), Renksizbulut and Yuen (1983)). A new correlation is developed for the total drag coefficient of quasi-steady deformed vaporizing droplets. The computed transient histories of droplets injected with an initial Reynolds number of 100 into 1000 K air at 1 and 10 atmospheres ambient pressure show strongly damped initial oscillations at frequencies within 25 percent of the theoretical natural frequency of Lamb (1932). Gas phase shear induced circulation within the droplets is responsible for the observed strong damping and promotes the

High-throughput formation and control of monodisperse liquid crystals droplets driven by an alternating current electric field in a microfluidic device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belloul, M.; Bartolo, J.-F.; Ziraoui, B.; Coldren, F.; Taly, V.; El Abed, A. I.

2013-07-01

We investigate the effect of an applied ac high voltage on a confined stable nematic liquid crystal (LC) in a microfluidic device and show that this actuation leads to the formation of highly monodisperse microdroplets with an unexpected constant mean size over a large interval of the forcing frequency F and with a droplets production frequency f ≃2F. We show also that despite the nonlinear feature of the droplets formation mechanism, droplets size, and size distribution are governed simply by the LC flow rate Qd and the forcing frequency F.

Sensitive determination of methadone in human serum and urine by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on the solidification of a floating organic droplet followed by HPLC-UV.

PubMed

Taheri, Salman; Jalali, Fahimeh; Fattahi, Nazir; Jalili, Ronak; Bahrami, Gholamreza

2015-10-01

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet was developed for the extraction of methadone and determination by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. In this method, no microsyringe or fiber is required to support the organic microdrop due to the usage of an organic solvent with a low density and appropriate melting point. Furthermore, the extractant droplet can be collected easily by solidifying it at low temperature. 1-Undecanol and methanol were chosen as extraction and disperser solvents, respectively. Parameters that influence extraction efficiency, i.e. volumes of extracting and dispersing solvents, pH, and salt effect, were optimized by using response surface methodology. Under optimal conditions, enrichment factor for methadone was 134 and 160 in serum and urine samples, respectively. The limit of detection was 3.34 ng/mmL in serum and 1.67 ng/mL in urine samples. Compared with the traditional dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, the proposed method obtained lower limit of detection. Moreover, the solidification of floating organic solvent facilitated the phase transfer. And most importantly, it avoided using high-density and toxic solvents of traditional dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of methadone in serum and urine samples of an addicted individual under methadone therapy. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Acoustic levitator for contactless motion and merging of large droplets in air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bjelobrk, Nada; Nabavi, Majid; Poulikakos, Dimos

2012-09-01

Large droplet transport in a line-focussed acoustic manipulator in terms of maximum droplet size is achieved by employing a driving voltage control mechanism. The maximum volume of the transported droplets in the order of few microliters is thereby increased by three orders of magnitude compared to the constant voltage case, widening the application field of this method significantly. A drop-on-demand droplet generator is used to supply the liquid droplets into the system. The ejected sequence of picoliter-size droplets is guided along trajectories by the acoustic field and accumulates at the selected pressure node, merging into a single large droplet. Droplet movement is achieved by varying the reflector height. This also changes the intensity of the radiation pressure during droplet movement, which in turn could atomise the droplet. The acoustic force is adjusted by regulating the driving voltage of the actuator to keep the liquid droplet suspended in air and to prevent atomisation. In the herein presented levitation concept, liquids with a wide range of surface tension (water and tetradecane were tested) can be transported over distances of several mm. The aspect ratio of the droplet in the acoustic field is shown to be a good indicator for radiation pressure intensity and is kept between 1.1 and 1.4 during droplet transport. Despite certain limitations with volatile liquids, the presented acoustic levitator concept has the potential to expand the range of analytical characterisation and manipulation methods in applications ranging from chemistry and biology.

Acoustic Excitation of Liquid Fuel Droplets and Coaxial Jets

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

would also like to acknowledge the support of the NASA Microgravity Combustion program which made possible the completion of this research and Maj...fuels exposed to different acoustic excitation conditions in a laboratory environment and during free-fall (microgravity) conditions in a NASA drop tower...then sent to two amplifiers, one for each piezo-siren. The amplifiers were a Krohn-Hite (model 7500) and a Trek (model PZD2000A), which amplified the

The study on the interdependence of spray characteristics and evaporation history of fuel spray in high temperature air crossflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, J. Y.; Chin, J. S.

1986-06-01

A numerical calculation method is used to predict the variation of the characteristics of fuel spray moving in a high temperature air crossflow, mainly, Sauter mean diameter SMD, droplet size distribution index N of Rosin-Rammler distribution and evaporation percentage changing with downstream distance X from the nozzle. The effect of droplet heat-up period evaporation process and forced convection are taken into full account; thus, the calculation model is a very good approximation to the process of spray evaporation in a practical combustor, such as ramjet, aero-gas turbine, liquid propellant rocket, diesel and other liquid fuel-powered combustion devices. The changes of spray characteristics N, SMD and spray evaporation percentage with air velocity, pressure, temperature, fuel injection velocity, and the initial spray parameters are presented.

Optical droplet vaporization of micron-sized perfluorocarbon droplets and their photoacoustic detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strohm, Eric; Rui, Min; Gorelikov, Ivan; Matsuura, Naomi; Kolios, Michael

2011-03-01

An acoustic and photoacoustic characterization of micron-sized perfluorocarbon (PFC) droplets is presented. PFC droplets are currently being investigated as acoustic and photoacoustic contrast agents and as cancer therapy agents. Pulse echo measurements at 375 MHz were used to determine the diameter, ranging from 3.2 to 6.5 μm, and the sound velocity, ranging from 311 to 406 m/s of nine droplets. An average sound velocity of 379 +/- 18 m/s was calculated for droplets larger than the ultrasound beam width of 4.0 μm. Optical droplet vaporization, where vaporization of a single droplet occurred upon laser irradiation of sufficient intensity, was verified using pulse echo acoustic methods. The ultrasonic backscatter amplitude, acoustic impedance and attenuation increased after vaporization, consistent with a phase change from a liquid to gas core. Photoacoustic measurements were used to compare the spectra of three droplets ranging in diameter from 3.0 to 6.2 μm to a theoretical model. Good agreement in the spectral features was observed over the bandwidth of the 375 MHz transducer.

A novel dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet method for determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aqueous samples.

PubMed

Xu, Hui; Ding, Zongqing; Lv, Lili; Song, Dandan; Feng, Yu-Qi

2009-03-16

A new dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet method (DLLME-SFO) was developed for the determination of five kinds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental water samples. In this method, no specific holder, such as the needle tip of microsyringe and the hollow fiber, is required for supporting the organic microdrop due to the using of organic solvent with low density and proper melting point. Furthermore, the extractant droplet can be collected easily by solidifying it in the lower temperature. 1-Dodecanol was chosen as extraction solvent in this work. A series of parameters that influence extraction were investigated systematically. Under optimal conditions, enrichment factors (EFs) for PAHs were in the range of 88-118. The limit of detections (LODs) for naphthalene, diphenyl, acenaphthene, anthracene and fluoranthene were 0.045, 0.86, 0.071, 1.1 and 0.66ngmL(-1), respectively. Good reproducibility and recovery of the method were also obtained. Compared with the traditional liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) methods, the proposed method obtained about 2 times higher enrichment factor than those in LPME. Moreover, the solidification of floating organic solvent facilitated the phase transfer. And most importantly, it avoided using high-density and toxic solvent in the traditional DLLME method. The proposed method was successfully applied to determinate PAHs in the environmental water samples. The simple and low-cost method provides an alternative method for the analysis of non-polar compounds in complex environmental water.

LIQUID AND GASEOUS FUEL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

EPA Science Inventory

The report describes the national liquid and gaseous fuel distribution system. he study leading to the report was performed as part of an effort to better understand emissions of volatile organic compounds from the fuel distribution system. he primary, secondary, and tertiary seg...

Air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction using floating organic droplet solidification for simultaneous extraction and spectrophotometric determination of some drugs in biological samples through chemometrics methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farahmand, Farnaz; Ghasemzadeh, Bahar; Naseri, Abdolhossein

2018-01-01

An air assisted liquid-liquid microextraction by applying the solidification of a floating organic droplet method (AALLME-SFOD) coupled with a multivariate calibration method, namely partial least squares (PLS), was introduced for the fast and easy determination of Atenolol (ATE), Propanolol (PRO) and Carvedilol (CAR) in biological samples via a spectrophotometric approach. The analytes would be extracted from neutral aqueous solution into 1-dodecanol as an organic solvent, using AALLME. In this approach a low-density solvent with a melting point close to room temperature was applied as the extraction solvent. The emulsion was immediately formed by repeatedly pulling in and pushing out the aqueous sample solution and extraction solvent mixture via a 10-mL glass syringe for ten times. After centrifugation, the extractant droplet could be simply collected from the aqueous samples by solidifying the emulsion at a lower than the melting point temperature. In the next step, analytes were back extracted simultaneously into the acidic aqueous solution. Derringer and Suich multi-response optimization were utilized for simultaneous optimizing the parameters of three analytes. This method incorporates the benefits of AALLME and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction considering the solidification of floating organic droplets (DLLME-SFOD). Calibration graphs under optimized conditions were linear in the range of 0.30-6.00, 0.32-2.00 and 0.30-1.40 μg mL- 1 for ATE, CAR and PRO, respectively. Other analytical parameters were obtained as follows: enrichment factors (EFs) were found to be 11.24, 16.55 and 14.90, and limits of detection (LODs) were determined to be 0.09, 0.10 and 0.08 μg mL- 1 for ATE, CAR and PRO, respectively. The proposed method will require neither a highly toxic chlorinated solvent for extraction nor an organic dispersive solvent in the application process; hence, it is more environmentally friendly.

EXPERIMENTAL LIQUID METAL FUEL REACTOR

DOEpatents

Happell, J.J.; Thomas, G.R.; Denise, R.P.; Bunts, J.L. Jr.

1962-01-23

A liquid metal fuel nuclear fission reactor is designed in which the fissionable material is dissolved or suspended in a liquid metal moderator and coolant. The liquid suspension flows into a chamber in which a critical amount of fissionable material is obtained. The fluid leaves the chamber and the heat of fission is extracted for power or other utilization. The improvement is in the support arrangement for a segrnented graphite core to permit dif ferential thermal expansion, effective sealing between main and blanket liquid metal flows, and avoidance of excessive stress development in the graphite segments. (AEC)

Development of a three-dimensional correction method for optical distortion of flow field inside a liquid droplet.

PubMed

Gim, Yeonghyeon; Ko, Han Seo

2016-04-15

In this Letter, a three-dimensional (3D) optical correction method, which was verified by simulation, was developed to reconstruct droplet-based flow fields. In the simulation, a synthetic phantom was reconstructed using a simultaneous multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique with three detectors positioned at the synthetic object (represented by the phantom), with offset angles of 30° relative to each other. Additionally, a projection matrix was developed using the ray tracing method. If the phantom is in liquid, the image of the phantom can be distorted since the light passes through a convex liquid-vapor interface. Because of the optical distortion effect, the projection matrix used to reconstruct a 3D field should be supplemented by the revision ray, instead of the original projection ray. The revision ray can be obtained from the refraction ray occurring on the surface of the liquid. As a result, the error on the reconstruction field of the phantom could be reduced using the developed optical correction method. In addition, the developed optical method was applied to a Taylor cone which was caused by the high voltage between the droplet and the substrate.

Growth and melting of droplets in cold vapors.

PubMed

L'Hermite, Jean-Marc

2009-11-01

A model has been developed to investigate the growth of droplets in a supersaturated cold vapor taking into account their possible solid-liquid phase transition. It is shown that the solid-liquid phase transition is nontrivially coupled, through the energy released in attachment, to the nucleation process. The model is based on the one developed by J. Feder, K. C. Russell, J. Lothe, and G. M. Pound [Adv. Phys. 15, 111 (1966)], where the nucleation process is described as a thermal diffusion motion in a two-dimensional field of force given by the derivatives of a free-energy surface. The additional dimension accounts for droplets internal energy. The solid-liquid phase transition is introduced through a bimodal internal energy distribution in a Gaussian approximation derived from small clusters physics. The coupling between nucleation and melting results in specific nonequilibrium thermodynamical properties, exemplified in the case of water droplets. Analyzing the free-energy landscapes gives an insight into the nucleation dynamics. This landscape can be complex but generally exhibits two paths: the first one can generally be ascribed to the solid state, while the other to the liquid state. Especially at high supersaturation, the growth in the liquid state is often favored, which is not unexpected since in a supersaturated vapor the droplets can stand higher internal energy than at equilibrium. From a given critical temperature that is noticeably lower than the bulk melting temperature, nucleation may end in very large liquid droplets. These features can be qualitatively generalized to systems other than water.

Lean direct wall fuel injection method and devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, Kyung J. (Inventor); Tacina, Robert (Inventor)

2000-01-01

A fuel combustion chamber, and a method of and a nozzle for mixing liquid fuel and air in the fuel combustion chamber in lean direct injection combustion for advanced gas turbine engines, including aircraft engines. Liquid fuel in a form of jet is injected directly into a cylindrical combustion chamber from the combustion chamber wall surface in a direction opposite to the direction of the swirling air at an angle of from about 50.degree. to about 60.degree. with respect to a tangential line of the cylindrical combustion chamber and at a fuel-lean condition, with a liquid droplet momentum to air momentum ratio in the range of from about 0.05 to about 0.12. Advanced gas turbines benefit from lean direct wall injection combustion. The lean direct wall injection technique of the present invention provides fast, uniform, well-stirred mixing of fuel and air. In addition, in order to further improve combustion, the fuel can be injected at a venturi located in the combustion chamber at a point adjacent the air swirler.

Molecular Beam Studies of Volatile Liquids and Fuel Surrogates Using Liquid MICR

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-23

Detailed discussions of the microjet technique are carried out in the following publications. Nozzle Liquid Jet Chopper Wheel Cold Collector Cold...process is shown in the picture below; heating and evaporation occur within 1 ms of fuel leaving the fuel injector . This atomization proves is often...liquid jet. This analysis leads to criteria for selecting the temperature and nozzle radius for producing stable jets in vacuum. Figure 4 depicts the

Investigation of Liquid Surface Rheology of Surfactant Solutions by Droplet Shape Oscillations: Experiments

PubMed

Tian; Holt; Apfel

1997-03-01

The experimental results of droplet shape oscillations are reported and applied to the analysis of surface rheological properties of surfactant solutions. An acoustic levitation technique is used to suspend the test drop in air and excite it into quadrupole shape oscillations. The equilibrium surface tension, Gibbs elasticity, and surface dilatational viscosity are determined from the measurements of droplet static shape under different levitation sound pressure, oscillation frequency, and free damping constant. Aqueous solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate, dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide, and n-octyl beta-d-glucopyranoside are tested with this system. The concentrations of the solutions are below the critical micelle concentration. For these solutions it is found that the surface Gibbs elasticity approaches a maximum at a moderate concentration, and its value is less than that directly calculated from the state equation of a static liquid surface. The surface dilatational viscosity is found to be in a range around 0.1 cps.

Fundamental Studies of Droplet Interactions in Dense Sprays

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-12-31

correlations for the drag coefficients, Nusselt numbers, and Sherwood numbers for hydrocarbon fuel droplets in dense sprays were obtained. 14. SUBJECYTEM...tions for the drag coefficients, Nusselt numbers, and Sherwood numbers for hydrocarbon fuel droplets in dense sprays were obtained. Nomenclature a...the drag coefficient, lift coefficient, moment coefficient, Nusselt number, Sherwood number, and vaporization rates are different from those of an

Fuel sensor-less control of a liquid feed fuel cell system under steady load for portable applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, C. L.; Chen, C. Y.; Sung, C. C.; Liou, D. H.

This study presents a novel fuel sensor-less control scheme for a liquid feed fuel cell system that does not rely on a fuel concentration sensor. The proposed approach simplifies the design and reduces the cost and complexity of a liquid feed fuel cell system, and is especially suited to portable power sources, of which the volume and weight are important. During the reaction of a fuel cell, the cell's operating characteristics, such as potential, current and power are measured to control the supply of fuel and regulate its concentration to optimize performance. Experiments were conducted to verify that the fuel sensor-less control algorithm is effective in the liquid feed fuel cell system.

Experiments on Nitrogen Oxide Production of Droplet Arrays Burning under Microgravity Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moesl, Klaus; Sattelmayer, Thomas; Kikuchi, Masao; Yamamoto, Shin; Yoda, Shinichi

The optimization of the combustion process is top priority in current aero-engine and aircraft development, particularly from the perspectives of high efficiency, minimized fuel consumption, and a sustainable exhaust gas production. Aero-engines are exclusively liquid-fueled with a strong correlation between the combustion temperature and the emissions of nitric oxide (NOX ). Due to safety concerns, the progress in NOX reduction has been much slower than in stationary gas turbines. In the past, the mixing intensity in the primary zone of aero-engine combustors was improved and air staging implemented. An important question for future aero-engine combustors, consequently, is how partial vaporization influences the NOX emissions of spray flames? In order to address this question, the combustion of partially vaporized, linear droplet arrays was studied experimentally under microgravity conditions. The influence of fuel pre-vaporization on the NOX emissions was assessed in a wide range. The experiments were performed in a drop tower and a sounding rocket campaign. The microgravity environment provided ideal experiment conditions without the disturbing ef-fect of natural convection. This allowed the study of the interacting phenomena of multi-phase flow, thermodynamics, and chemical kinetics. This way the understanding of the physical and chemical processes related to droplet and spray combustion could be improved. The Bremen drop tower (ZARM) was utilized for the precursor campaign in July 2008, which was com-prised of 30 drops. The sounding rocket experiments, which totaled a microgravity duration of 6 minutes, were finally performed on the flight of TEXUS-46 in November 2009. On both campaigns the "Japanese Combustion Module" (JCM) was used. It is a cooperative experi-ment on droplet array combustion between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and ESA's (European Space Agency) research team, working on the combustion properties of partially premixed sprays

Coding/decoding and reversibility of droplet trains in microfluidic networks.

PubMed

Fuerstman, Michael J; Garstecki, Piotr; Whitesides, George M

2007-02-09

Droplets of one liquid suspended in a second, immiscible liquid move through a microfluidic device in which a channel splits into two branches that reconnect downstream. The droplets choose a path based on the number of droplets that occupy each branch. The interaction among droplets in the channels results in complex sequences of path selection. The linearity of the flow through the microchannels, however, ensures that the behavior of the system can be reversed. This reversibility makes it possible to encrypt and decrypt signals coded in the intervals between droplets. The encoding/decoding device is a functional microfluidic system that requires droplets to navigate a network in a precise manner without the use of valves, switches, or other means of external control.

Effect of Fuel Additives on Spray Performance of Alternative Jet Fuels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kannaiyan, Kumaran; Sadr, Reza

2015-11-01

Role of alternative fuels on reducing the combustion pollutants is gaining momentum in both land and air transport. Recent studies have shown that addition of nanoscale metal particles as fuel additives to liquid fuels have a positive effect not only on their combustion performance but also in reducing the pollutant formation. However, most of those studies are still in the early stages of investigation with the addition of nanoparticles at low weight percentages. Such an addition can affect the hydrodynamic and thermo-physical properties of the fuel. In this study, the near nozzle spray performance of gas-to-liquid jet fuel with and without the addition of alumina nanoparticles are investigated at macro- and microscopic levels using optical diagnostic techniques. At macroscopic level, the addition of nanoparticles is seen to enhance the sheet breakup process when compared to that of the base fuel. Furthermore, the microscopic spray characteristics such as droplet size and velocity are also found to be affected. Although the addition of nanoscale metal particles at low weight percentages does not affect the bulk fluid properties, the atomization process is found to be affected in the near nozzle region. Funded by Qatar National Research Fund.

Durability Enhancement of a Microelectromechanical System-Based Liquid Droplet Lens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kyoo Lee, June; Park, Kyung-Woo; Kim, Hak-Rin; Kong, Seong Ho

2010-06-01

In this paper, we propose methods to enhance the durability of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based liquid droplet lens driven by electrowetting. The enhanced durability of the lens is achieved through not only improvement in quality of dielectric layer for electrowetting by minimizing concentration of coarse pinholes, but also mitigation of physical and electrostatic stresses by reforming lens cavity. Silicon dioxide layer is deposited using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, splitting the process into several steps to minimize the pinhole concentration in the oxide layer. And the stresses-reduced cavity in a form of overturned tetra-angular truncated pyramid with rounded corners, which is based on simulated results, is proposed and realized using silicon wet etching processes combined into anisotropic and isotropic etching.

Dispersion of sound in a combustion duct by fuel droplets and soot particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miles, J. H.; Raftopoulos, D. D.

1979-01-01

Dispersion and attenuation of acoustic plane wave disturbances propagating in a ducted combustion system are studied. The dispersion and attenuation are caused by fuel droplet and soot emissions from a jet engine combustor. The attenuation and dispersion are due to heat transfer and mass transfer and viscous drag forces between the emissions and the ambient gas. Theoretical calculations show sound propagation at speeds below the isentropic speed of sound at low frequencies. Experimental results are in good agreement with the theory.

An evaporation model of colloidal suspension droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sartori, Silvana; Li\\ Nán, Amable; Lasheras, Juan C.

2009-11-01

Colloidal suspensions of polymers in water or other solvents are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry to coat tablets with different agents. These allow controlling the rate at which the drug is delivered, taste or physical appearance. The coating is performed by simultaneously spraying and drying the tablets with the colloidal suspension at moderately high temperatures. The spreading of the coating on the pills surface depends on the droplet Webber and Reynolds numbers, angle of impact, but more importantly on the rheological properties of the drop. We present a model for the evaporation of a colloidal suspension droplet in a hot air environment with temperatures substantially lower than the boiling temperature of the carrier fluid. As the liquid vaporizes from the surface, a compacting front advances into the droplet faster than the liquid surface regresses, forming a shell of a porous medium where the particles reach their maximum packing density. While the surface regresses, the evaporation rate is determined by both the rate at which heat is transported to the droplet surface and the rate at which liquid vapor is diffused away from it. This regime continues until the compacting front reaches the center of the droplet, at which point the evaporation rate is drastically reduced.

Formation of Sprays From Conical Liquid Sheets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peck, Bill; Mansour, N. N.; Koga, Dennis (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

Our objective is to predict droplet size distributions created by fuel injector nozzles in Jet turbines. These results will be used to determine the initial conditions for numerical simulations of the combustion process in gas turbine combustors. To predict the droplet size distribution, we are currently constructing a numerical model to understand the instability and breakup of thin conical liquid sheets. This geometry serves as a simplified model of the liquid jet emerging from a real nozzle. The physics of this process is difficult to study experimentally as the time and length scales are very short. From existing photographic data, it does seem clear that three-dimensional effects such as the formation of streamwise ligaments and the pulling back of the sheet at its edges under the action of surface tension are important.

Impact of a heterogeneous liquid droplet on a dry surface: application to the pharmaceutical industry.

PubMed

Bolleddula, D A; Berchielli, A; Aliseda, A

2010-09-15

Droplet impact has been studied for over a hundred years dating back to the pioneering work of Worthington. In fact, much of his ingenuity contributed to modern day high speed photography. Over the past 40 years significant contributions in theoretical, numerical, and experimental work have been made. Droplet impact is a problem of fundamental importance due to the wealth of applications involved, namely, spray coating, spray painting, delivery of agricultural chemicals, spray cooling, inkjet printing, soil erosion due to rain drop impact, and turbine wear. Here we highlight one specific application, spray coating. Although most studies have focused their efforts on low viscosity Newtonian fluids, many industrial applications such as spray coating utilize more viscous and complex rheology liquids. Determining dominant effects and quantifying their behavior for colloidal suspensions and polymer solutions remains a challenge and thus has eluded much effort. In the last decade, it has been shown that introducing polymers to Newtonian solutions inhibits the rebounding of a drop upon impact, Bergeron et al. Furthermore Bartolo et al. concluded that the normal stress component of the elongational viscosity was responsible for the rebounding inhibition of polymer based non-Newtonian solutions. We aim to uncover the drop impact dynamics of highly viscous Newtonian and complex rheology liquids used in pharmaceutical coating processes. The generation and impact of drops of mm and microm size drops of coating liquids and glycerol/water mixtures on tablet surfaces are systematically studied over a range of We approximately O(1-300), Oh approximately O(10(-2)-1), and Re approximately O(1-700). We extend the range of Oh to values above 1, which are not available to previous studies of droplet impacts. Outcomes reveal that splashing and rebounding are completely inhibited and the role of wettability is negligible in the early stages of impact. The maximum spreading diameter of

Droplets size evolution of dispersion in a stirred tank

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kysela, Bohus; Konfrst, Jiri; Chara, Zdenek; Sulc, Radek; Jasikova, Darina

2018-06-01

Dispersion of two immiscible liquids is commonly used in chemical industry as wall as in metallurgical industry e. g. extraction process. The governing property is droplet size distribution. The droplet sizes are given by the physical properties of both liquids and flow properties inside a stirred tank. The first investigation stage is focused on in-situ droplet size measurement using image analysis and optimizing of the evaluation method to achieve maximal result reproducibility. The obtained experimental results are compared with multiphase flow simulation based on Euler-Euler approach combined with PBM (Population Balance Modelling). The population balance model was, in that specific case, simplified with assumption of pure breakage of droplets.

TRAJECTORY AND INCINERATION OF ROGUE DROPLETS IN A TURBULENT DIFFUSION FLAME

EPA Science Inventory

The trajectory and incineration efficiency of individual droplet streams of a fuel mixture injected into a swirling gas turbulent diffusion flame were measured as a function of droplet size, droplet velocity, interdroplet spacing, and droplet injection angle. Additional experimen...

A Burke-Schumann analysis of diffusion-flame structures supported by a burning droplet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nayagam, Vedha; Dietrich, Daniel L.; Williams, Forman A.

2017-07-01

A Burke-Schumann description of three different regimes of combustion of a fuel droplet in an oxidising atmosphere, namely the premixed-flame regime, the partial-burning regime and the diffusion-flame regime, is presented by treating the fuel and oxygen leakage fractions through the flame as known parameters. The analysis shows that the burning-rate constant, the flame-standoff ratio, and the flame temperature in these regimes can be obtained from the classical droplet-burning results by suitable definitions of an effective ambient oxygen mass fraction and an effective fuel concentration in the droplet interior. The results show that increasing oxygen leakage alone through the flame lowers both the droplet burning rate and the flame temperature, whereas leakage of fuel alone leaves the burning rate unaffected while reducing the flame temperature and moving the flame closer to the droplet surface. Solutions for the partial-burning regime are shown to exist only for a limited range of fuel and oxygen leakage fractions.

The mechanical properties of phase separated protein droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jawerth, Louise; Ijavi, Mahdiye; Patel, Avinash; Saha, Shambaditya; Jülicher, Frank; Hyman, Anthony

In vivo, numerous proteins associate into liquid compartments by de-mixing from the surrounding solution, similar to oil molecules in water. Many of these proteins and their corresponding liquid compartments play a crucial role in important biological processes, for instance germ line specification in C. elegans or in neurodegenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, despite their importance, very little is known about the physical properties of the resulting droplets as well as the physical mechanisms that control their phase separation from solution. To gain a deeper understanding of these aspects, we study a few such proteins in vitro. When these proteins are purified and added to a physiological buffer, they phase separate into droplets ranging in size from a few to tens of microns with liquid-like behavior similar to their physiological counterparts. By attaching small beads to the surface of the droplets, we can deform the droplets by manipulating the beads directly using optical tweezers. By measuring the force required to deform the droplets we determine their surface tension, elasticity and viscosity as well as the frequency response of these properties. We also measure these properties using passive micro-rheology.

Opposed-Flow Flame Spread Across Propanol Pools: Effect of Liquid Fuel Depth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Inchul; Sirignano, William A.

1999-01-01

This computational study examines the effect of liquid fuel depth on flame spread across propanol pools with and without forced, opposed air flow. The initial pool temperature is below its closed- cup flash point temperature T(sub cc); so the liquid fuel must be heated sufficiently to create a combustible mixture of fuel vapor before ignition and flame spread can occur. Furthermore, in order for the flame to spread, an approximate rule is that the liquid fuel surface temperature ahead of the flame must be heated above T(sub cc) so that a flammable mixture just above the lean limit exists ahead of the flame. The depth of a liquid fuel pool would affect the heating of the liquid fuel pool and thus the liquid fuel surface temperature ahead of the flame. It has been observed experimentally and numerically that, at normal gravity without forced gas-phase flow and with the initial pool temperature T(sub 0) in a range well below T(sub cc), the flame periodically accelerates and decelerates (pulsates) as it propagates. The depth of a liquid fuel pool would change this range of T(sub 0) since it would affect the heating of the pool.

High energy-density liquid rocket fuel performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rapp, Douglas C.

1990-01-01

A fuel performance database of liquid hydrocarbons and aluminum-hydrocarbon fuels was compiled using engine parametrics from the Space Transportation Engine Program as a baseline. Propellant performance parameters are introduced. General hydrocarbon fuel performance trends are discussed with respect to hydrogen-to-carbon ratio and heat of formation. Aluminum-hydrocarbon fuel performance is discussed with respect to aluminum metal loading. Hydrocarbon and aluminum-hydrocarbon fuel performance is presented with respect to fuel density, specific impulse, and propellant density specific impulse.

LOX droplet vaporization in a supercritical forced convective environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hsiao, Chia-Chun; Yang, Vigor

1993-01-01

Modern liquid rocket engines often use liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2) as propellants to achieve high performance, with the engine operational conditions in the supercritical regimes of the propellants. Once the propellant exceeds its critical state, it essentially becomes a puff of dense fluid. The entire field becomes a continuous medium, and no distinct interfacial boundary between the liquid and gas exists. Although several studies have been undertaken to investigate the supercritical droplet behavior at quiescent conditions, very little effort has been made to address the fundamental mechanisms associated with LOX droplet vaporization in a supercritical, forced convective environment. The purpose is to establish a theoretical framework within which supercritical droplet dynamics and vaporization can be studied systematically by means of an efficient and robust numerical algorithm.

Methanol Droplet Combustion in Oxygen-Inert Environments in Microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nayagam, Vedha; Dietrich, Daniel L.; Hicks, Michael C.; Williams, Forman A.

2013-01-01

The Flame Extinguishment (FLEX) experiment that is currently underway in the Combustion Integrated Rack facility onboard the International Space Station is aimed at understanding the effects of inert diluents on the flammability of condensed phase fuels. To this end, droplets of various fuels, including alkanes and alcohols, are burned in a quiescent microgravity environment with varying amounts of oxygen and inert diluents to determine the limiting oxygen index (LOI) for these fuels. In this study we report experimental observations of methanol droplets burning in oxygen-nitrogen-carbon dioxide and oxygen-nitrogen-helium gas mixtures at 0.7 and 1 atmospheric pressures. The initial droplet size varied between approximately 1.5 mm and 4 mm to capture both diffusive extinction brought about by insufficient residence time at the flame and radiative extinction caused by excessive heat loss from the flame zone. The ambient oxygen concentration varied from a high value of 30% by volume to as low as 12%, approaching the limiting oxygen index for the fuel. The inert dilution by carbon dioxide and helium varied over a range of 0% to 70% by volume. In these experiments, both freely floated and tethered droplets were ignited using symmetrically opposed hot-wire igniters and the burning histories were recorded onboard using digital cameras, downlinked later to the ground for analysis. The digital images yielded droplet and flame diameters as functions of time and subsequently droplet burning rate, flame standoff ratio, and initial and extinction droplet diameters. Simplified theoretical models correlate the measured burning rate constant and the flame standoff ratio reasonably well. An activation energy asymptotic theory accounting for time-dependent water dissolution or evaporation from the droplet is shown to predict the measured diffusive extinction conditions well. The experiments also show that the limiting oxygen index for methanol in these diluent gases is around 12% to

Flow-induced voltage generation by moving a nano-sized ionic liquids droplet over a graphene sheet: Molecular dynamics simulation.

PubMed

Shao, Qunfeng; Jia, Jingjing; Guan, Yongji; He, Xiaodong; Zhang, Xiaoping

2016-03-28

In this work, the phenomenon of the voltage generation is explored by using the molecular dynamics simulations, which is performed by driving a nano-sized droplet of room temperature ionic liquids moving along the monolayer graphene sheet for the first time. The studies show that the cations and anions of the droplet will move with velocity nonlinearly increasing to saturation arising by the force balance. The traditional equation for calculating the induced voltage is developed by taking the charge density into consideration, and larger induced voltages in μV-scale are obtained from the nano-size simulation systems based on the ionic liquids (ILs) for its enhanced ionic drifting velocities. It is also derived that the viscosity acts as a reduction for the induced voltage by comparing systems composed of two types of ILs with different viscosity and temperature.

Laser-induced fluorescence imaging of acetone inside evaporating and burning fuel droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shringi, D. S.; Shaw, B. D.; Dwyer, H. A.

2009-01-01

Laser-induced fluorescence was used to visualize acetone fields inside individual droplets of pure acetone as well as droplets composed of methanol or 1-propanol initially mixed with acetone. Droplets were supported on a horizontal wire and two vaporization conditions were investigated: (1) slow evaporation in room air and (2) droplet combustion, which leads to substantially faster droplet surface regression rates. Acetone was preferentially gasified, causing its concentration in droplets to drop in time with resultant decreases in acetone fluorescence intensities. Slowly vaporizing droplets did not exhibit large spatial variations of fluorescence within droplets, indicating that these droplets were relatively well mixed. Ignition of droplets led to significant variations in fluorescence intensities within droplets, indicating that these droplets were not well mixed. Ignited droplets composed of mixtures of 1-propanol and acetone showed large time-varying changes in shapes for higher acetone concentrations, suggesting that bubble formation was occurring in these droplets.

Liquid-fueled SOFC power sources for transportation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myles, K. M.; Doshi, R.; Kumar, R.; Krumpelt, M.

Traditionally, fuel cells have been developed for space or stationary terrestrial applications. As the first commercial 200-kW systems were being introduced by ONSI and Fuji Electric, the potentially much larger, but also more challenging, application in transportation was beginning to be addressed. As a result, fuel cell-powered buses have been designed and built, and R&D programs for fuel cell-powered passenger cars have been initiated. The engineering challenge of eventually replacing the internal combustion engine in buses, trucks, and passenger cars with fuel cell systems is to achieve much higher power densities and much lower costs than obtainable in systems designed for stationary applications. At present, the leading fuel cell candidate for transportation applications is, without question, the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). Offering ambient temperature start-up and the potential for a relatively high power density, the polymer technology has attracted the interest of automotive manufacturers worldwide. But the difficulties of fuel handling for the PEFC have led to a growing interest in exploring the prospects for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) operating on liquid fuels for transportation applications. Solid oxide fuel cells are much more compatible with liquid fuels (methanol or other hydrocarbons) and are potentially capable of power densities high enough for vehicular use. Two SOFC options for such use are discussed in this report.

Process for preparing a liquid fuel composition

DOEpatents

Singerman, Gary M.

1982-03-16

A process for preparing a liquid fuel composition which comprises liquefying coal, separating a mixture of phenols from said liquefied coal, converting said phenols to the corresponding mixture of anisoles, subjecting at least a portion of the remainder of said liquefied coal to hydrotreatment, subjecting at least a portion of said hydrotreated liquefied coal to reforming to obtain reformate and then combining at least a portion of said anisoles and at least a portion of said reformate to obtain said liquid fuel composition.

Theoretical and Experimental Investigations on Droplet Evaporation and Droplet Ignition at High Pressures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ristau, R.; Nagel, U.; Iglseder, H.; Koenig, J.; Rath, H. J.; Normura, H.; Kono, M.; Tanabe, M.; Sato, J.

1993-01-01

The evaporation of fuel droplets under high ambient pressure and temperature in normal gravity and microgravity has been investigated experimentally. For subcritical ambient conditions, droplet evaporation after a heat-up period follows the d(exp 2)-law. For all data the evaporation constant increases as the ambient temperature increases. At identical ambient conditions the evaporation constant under microgravity is smaller compared to normal gravity. This effect can first be observed at 1 bar and increases with ambient pressure. Preliminary experiments on ignition delay for self-igniting fuel droplets have been performed. Above a 1 s delay time, at identical ambient conditions, significant differences in the results of the normal and microgravity data are observed. Self-ignition occurs within different temperature ranges due to the influence of gravity. The time dependent behavior of the droplet is examined theoretically. In the calculations two different approaches for the gas phase are applied. In the first approach the conditions at the interface are given using a quasi steady theory approximation. The second approach uses a set of time dependent governing equations for the gas phase which are then evaluated. In comparison, the second model shows a better agreement with the drop tower experiments. In both cases a time dependent gasification rate is observed.

Directional transport of droplets on wettability patterns at high temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Shuai; Yin, Shaohui; Chen, Fengjun; Luo, Hu; Tang, Qingchun; Song, Jinlong

2018-01-01

Directional transport of liquid has attracted increasing interest owing to its potential of application in lab-on-a-chip, microfluidic devices and thermal management technologies. Although numerous strategies have been developed to achieve directional transport of liquid at low temperature, controlling the directional transport of liquid at high temperature remains to be a challenging issue. In this work, we reported a novel strategy in which different parts of droplet contacted with surface with different wettability patterns, resulting in a discrepant evaporative vapor film to achieve the directional transport of liquid. The experimental results showed that the state of the liquid on wettability patterned surface gradually changed from contact boiling to Leidenfrost state with the increase of substrate temperature Ts, and liquid on superhydrophilic surface was in composite state of contact boiling and Leidenfrost when Ts was higher than 200 °C. Inspired by the different evaporation states of droplet on the wettability boundary, controlling preferential motion of droplets was observed at high temperature. By designing a surface with wettability pattern on which superhydrophobic region and superhydrophilic region are alternately arranged, a controlled directional transport of droplet can be achieved at high temperature.

40 CFR 1066.970 - Refueling test for liquid fuels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 33 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Refueling test for liquid fuels. 1066... POLLUTION CONTROLS VEHICLE-TESTING PROCEDURES Evaporative Emission Test Procedures Evaporative and Refueling Emission Test Procedures for Motor Vehicles § 1066.970 Refueling test for liquid fuels. Except as described...

Phase Transformation of Droplets into Particles and Nucleation in Atmospheric Pressure Discharges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iqbal, M. M.; Stallard, C. P.; Dowling, D. P.; Turner, M. M.

2013-09-01

We investigate the mechanism of phase transformation of liquid precursor droplets into nano-particulates in an atmospheric pressure discharge (APD). This phase transformation is possible when the solid to a liquid mass ratio of slurry droplet reaches a threshold value. The behaviour of phase transformation of a single slurry droplet of HMDSO is described by developing a numerical model under the saturation condition of evaporation. It is observed from the temporal evolution of inner radius (Ri) of a single slurry droplet that its value approaches zero before the entire shifting of a liquid phase and which explains with an expansion in the crust thickness (Ro - Ri) . The solid traces of nano-particles are observed experimentally on the surface coating depositions because the time for transferring the slurry droplet of HMDSO into solid state is amplified with an increment in the radii of droplets and the entire phase transition occurs within residence time for the nano-sized liquid droplets. The GDE coupled with discharge plasma is numerically solved to describe the mechanism of nucleation of nano-sized particles in APD plasma under similar conditions of the experiment. The growth of nucleation in APD plasma depends on the type of liquid precursor, such as HMDSO, TEOS and water, which is verified with a sharp peak in the nucleation rate and saturation ratio. Science Foundation Ireland under Grant No. 08/SRC/I1411.

Magnetically focused liquid drop radiator

DOEpatents

Botts, Thomas E.; Powell, James R.; Lenard, Roger

1986-01-01

A magnetically focused liquid drop radiator for application in rejecting rgy from a spacecraft, characterized by a magnetizable liquid or slurry disposed in operative relationship within the liquid droplet generator and its fluid delivery system, in combination with magnetic means disposed in operative relationship around a liquid droplet collector of the LDR. The magnetic means are effective to focus streams of droplets directed from the generator toward the collector, thereby to assure that essentially all of the droplets are directed into the collector, even though some of the streams may be misdirected as they leave the generator. The magnetic focusing means is also effective to suppress splashing of liquid when the droplets impinge on the collector.

Magnetically focused liquid drop radiator

DOEpatents

Botts, T.E.; Powell, J.R.; Lenard, R.

1984-12-10

A magnetically focused liquid drop radiator for application in rejecting energy from a spacecraft, characterized by a magnetizable liquid or slurry disposed in operative relationship within the liquid droplet generator and its fluid delivery system, in combination with magnetic means disposed in operative relationship around a liquid droplet collector of the LDR. The magnetic means are effective to focus streams of droplets directed from the generator toward the collector, thereby to assure that essentially all of the droplets are directed into the collector, even though some of the streams may be misdirected as they leave the generator. The magnetic focusing means is also effective to suppress splashing of liquid when the droplets impinge on the collector.

Specificity Switching Pathways in Thermal and Mass Evaporation of Multicomponent Hydrocarbon Droplets: A Mesoscopic Observation.

PubMed

Nasiri, Rasoul; Luo, Kai H

2017-07-10

For well over one century, the Hertz-Knudsen equation has established the relationship between thermal - mass transfer coefficients through a liquid - vapour interface and evaporation rate. These coefficients, however, have been often separately estimated for one-component equilibrium systems and their simultaneous influences on evaporation rate of fuel droplets in multicomponent systems have yet to be investigated at the atomic level. Here we first apply atomistic simulation techniques and quantum/statistical mechanics methods to understand how thermal and mass evaporation effects are controlled kinetically/thermodynamically. We then present a new development of a hybrid method of quantum transition state theory/improved kinetic gas theory, for multicomponent hydrocarbon systems to investigate how concerted-distinct conformational changes of hydrocarbons at the interface affect the evaporation rate. The results of this work provide an important physical concept in fundamental understanding of atomistic pathways in topological interface transitions of chain molecules, resolving an open problem in kinetics of fuel droplets evaporation.

High-speed ethanol micro-droplet impact on a solid surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujita, Yuta; Kiyama, Akihito; Tagawa, Yoshiyuki

2016-11-01

Recently, droplet impact draws great attention in the fluid mechanics. In previous work, micro-droplet impact on a solid surface at velocities up to 100 m s-1 was studied. However the study was only on water micro-droplets. In this study, we experimentally investigate high-speed impact of ethanol micro-droplets in order to confirm the feature about maximum spreading radius with another liquid. A droplet is generated from a laser-induced high-speed liquid jet. The diameter of droplets is around 80 μm and the velocity is larger than 30 m s-1. The surface tension of ethanol is 22.4 mNm-1 and density is 789 kgm-3. Weber number ranges We >1000. By using a high-speed camera, we investigate the deformation of droplets as a function of Weber number. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP26709007.

Effect of liquid droplets on turbulence in a round gaseous jet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mostafa, A. A.; Elghobashi, S. E.

1986-01-01

The main objective of this investigation is to develop a two-equation turbulence model for dilute vaporizing sprays or in general for dispersed two-phase flows including the effects of phase changes. The model that accounts for the interaction between the two phases is based on rigorously derived equations for turbulence kinetic energy (K) and its dissipation rate epsilon of the carrier phase using the momentum equation of that phase. Closure is achieved by modeling the turbulent correlations, up to third order, in the equations of the mean motion, concentration of the vapor in the carrier phase, and the kinetic energy of turbulence and its dissipation rate for the carrier phase. The governing equations are presented in both the exact and the modeled formes. The governing equations are solved numerically using a finite-difference procedure to test the presented model for the flow of a turbulent axisymmetric gaseous jet laden with either evaporating liquid droplets or solid particles. The predictions include the distribution of the mean velocity, volume fractions of the different phases, concentration of the evaporated material in the carrier phase, turbulence intensity and shear stress of the carrier phase, droplet diameter distribution, and the jet spreading rate. The predictions are in good agreement with the experimental data.

Electrowetting on polymer dispersed liquid crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Shih-Kang; Chiu, Cheng-Pu; Lin, Jing-Wei

2009-04-01

Polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) is used as a dielectric layer in electrowetting. By applying voltage between a liquid droplet and the electrode underlying PDLC, electrowetting occurs at the liquid/PDLC interface accompanied with electro-optic responses of the reoriented LC droplets embedded in PDLC. Two basic experiments investigating the electrowetting by sessile water droplets and the electro-optic effects through squeezed water droplets were design and performed. The basic functions of a liquid lens and droplet manipulations, including transporting, splitting, and merging, were demonstrated.

Jumping liquid metal droplet in electrolyte triggered by solid metal particles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tang, Jianbo; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049; Wang, Junjie

2016-05-30

We report the electron discharge effect due to point contact between liquid metal and solid metal particles in electrolyte. Adding nickel particles induces drastic hydrogen generating and intermittent jumping of a sub-millimeter EGaIn droplet in NaOH solution. Observations from different orientations disclose that such jumping behavior is triggered by pressurized bubbles under the assistance of interfacial interactions. Hydrogen evolution around particles provides clear evidence that such electric instability originates from the varied electric potential and morphology between the two metallic materials. The point-contact-induced charge concentration significantly enhances the near-surface electric field intensity at the particle tips and thus causes electricmore » breakdown of the electrolyte.« less

Droplets on liquid surfaces: Dual equilibrium states and their energy barrier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shabani, Roxana; Kumar, Ranganathan; Cho, Hyoung J.

2013-05-01

Floating aqueous droplets were formed at oil-air interface, and two stable configurations of (i) non-coalescent droplet and (ii) cap/bead droplet were observed. General solutions for energy and force analysis were obtained for both configurations and were shown to be in good agreement with the experimental observations. The energy barrier obtained for transition from configuration (i) to configuration (ii) was correlated to the droplet release height and the probability of non-coalescent droplet formation.

Cyclic variations of fuel-droplet distribution during the early intake stroke of a lean-burn stratified-charge spark-ignition engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleiferis, P. G.; Hardalupas, Y.; Taylor, A. M. K. P.; Ishii, K.; Urata, Y.

2005-11-01

Lean-burn spark-ignition engines exhibit higher efficiency and lower specific emissions in comparison with stoichiometrically charged engines. However, as the air-to-fuel (A/F) ratio of the mixture is made leaner than stoichiometric, cycle-by-cycle variations in the early stages of in-cylinder combustion, and subsequent indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), become more pronounced and limit the range of lean-burn operation. Viable lean-burn engines promote charge stratification, the mixture near the spark plug being richer than the cylinder volume averaged value. Recent work has shown that cycle-by-cycle variations in the early stages of combustion in a stratified-charge engine can be associated with variations in both the local value of A/F ratio near the spark plug around ignition timing, as well as in the volume averaged value of the A/F ratio. The objective of the current work was to identify possible sources of such variability in A/F ratio by studying the in-cylinder field of fuel-droplet distribution during the early intake stroke. This field was visualised in an optical single-cylinder 4-valve pentroof-type spark-ignition engine by means of laser-sheet illumination in planes parallel to the cylinder head gasket 6 and 10 mm below the spark plug. The engine was run with port-injected isooctane at 1500 rpm with 30% volumetric efficiency and air-to-fuel ratio corresponding to both stoichiometric firing (A/F=15, Φ =1.0) and mixture strength close to the lean limit of stable operation (A/F=22, Φ =0.68). Images of Mie intensity scattered by the cloud of fuel droplets were acquired on a cycle-by-cycle basis. These were studied in order to establish possible correlations between the cyclic variations in size, location and scattered-light intensity of the cloud of droplets with the respective variations in IMEP. Because of the low level of Mie intensity scattered by the droplets and because of problems related to elastic scattering on the walls of the combustion

Evaluation of Liquid Fuel Field Space Heaters: Standard Military, Developmental and Foreign

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-10-01

least 15 kg/kg, (2) to react as much fuel as possible by the flameless combustion reaction, and (3) to maintain gas temperatures not higher than 1000...as there is enough oxygen there to support combustion . As the fuel flow increases, the flames move up until at maximum flow only flameless ...HEATING FIELD HEATING COMBUSTION COMBUSTION (LIQUID FUELS) HEATERS TENT HEATERS LIQUID FUELS FUELS LIQUIDS OXYGEN tS»TRACT rCoaltnu* an rmrormm