Multi-phase numerical study of evaporation of suspended biodiesel droplets

The paper presents a multi-phase numerical model to simulate evaporation of a transient spherical liquid fuel droplet. Variable thermo-physical properties in both liquid- and vapor-phases, as functions of temperature and species concentrations, are considered. The influence of suspension bead has been considered in the model. The model has been validated against the experimental data available in literature. The validated model is used to study the vaporization characteristics of biodiesel fuel droplets such as jatropha metyl ester (JME), karanja methyl ester (KME) and palm methyl ester (PME) at atmospheric pressure. The effects of convection velocity and the presence of bead on evaporation characteristics are studied systematically. Surface regression rate and droplet lifetime have been predicted and analyzed. Results show that the presence of bead increases the liquid temperature and internal circulation inside the liquid. The maximum change in droplet lifetime due to presence of bead has been found to be less than 5% of total droplet lifetime.