Droplet evaporation in a turbulent atmosphere at elevated pressure - Experimental data

This paper reports new experimental data on the effect of turbulence on the vaporization of n-heptane at elevated pressure and room temperature. Isotropic turbulence generated in the central volume of a spherical vessel was obtained by a set of eight fan blades. Turbulence characterization demonstrated that turbulence is isotropic and homogeneous within the 40 mm volume in the center of the vessel. The vaporization of n-heptane droplet was examined by varying turbulence intensity via fan speeds and ambient pressure inside the chamber up to 21 atm whereas ambient temperature was kept nearly constant at room temperature. Results showed that turbulence becomes more effective as ambient pressure rises. The present data revealed that the previously proposed correlation between the droplet vaporization rate and turbulent Reynolds number still holds, and the present data extended its applicability over a wider range of flow conditions. (C) 2012 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.