The dynamics of head-on collision of unequal-size droplets were experimentally and theoretically investigated, with emphasis on identifying distinct collision outcomes and interpreting the size-ratio dependence. A unified regime diagram in terms of bouncing, permanent coalescence, and separation after coalescence was identified for hydrocarbon and water droplets in the parameter space of the size ratio and a collision Weber number. Experimental results show that the transition Weber number, Web-c, that separates the bouncing and permanent coalescence regimes, weakly depends on the size ratio, while the transition Weber number, Wec-s, that separates permanent coalescence and separation regimes, significantly increases with the size ratio. A theoretical model based on energy balance and scaling analysis was developed to explain the size-ratio dependence of Wec-s. The theoretical results show good agreement with the experimental data for tetradecane and decane droplets, with a moderate discrepancy for water droplets.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

A family of hydrophobic borohydride-rich ionic liquids was developed, which exhibited the shortest ignition delay times of 1.7 milliseconds and the lowest viscosity (10 mPa s) of hypergolic ionic fluids, demonstrating their great potential as faster-igniting rocket fuels to replace toxic hydrazine derivatives in liquid bipropellant formulations.

The head-on collision, merging and internal mixing dynamics of two unequal-sized droplets were experimentally studied and interpreted, using water, n-decane and n-tetradecane to identify the distinguishing effects of surface tension and liquid viscosity on the merging and mixing patterns. It is shown that, upon merging of water and n-decane droplets, mushroom-like jets of dissimilar characteristics develop within the merged mass for small and large values of the impact Weber number (We), and that such jets are not developed for intermediate values of We. Furthermore, such jet-like mixing patterns were not observed for droplets of n-tetradecane, which has smaller surface tension and larger viscosity as compared to water. A regime nomogram relating the Ohnesorge and symmetric Weber numbers is constructed, providing a unified interpretation of the internal mixing patterns. Numerical simulations based on an improved volume-of-fluid method and an adaptive mesh refinement algorithm provide auxiliary diagnoses of the flow fields and the observed phenomena.

No abstract

Measurements of laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths of n-butanol-air premixed mixtures was made over a wide range of equivalence ratios at initial temperatures of 413, 443, and 473 K and initial pressures of 0.1 and 0.25 MPa using the high-speed schlieren photography and outwardly propagating flame. Effects of laminar flame thickness, thermal expansion ratio, and flame Lewis number on flame stability response were studied. Schlieren photos of flame propagation are recorded. The results show that laminar burning velocities of n-butanol-air premixed mixtures are increased with the increase of initial temperature, and they decrease with the increase of initial pressure. Markstein lengths are decreased with the increase of the equivalence ratio, and they decrease with the increase of initial temperature, and all these indicate that the flame instability is increased with the increase of equivalence ratio, the decrease of initial pressure, and the increase of initial temperature.