Fuels dispersed with engineered nanoparticle additives, or nanofuels, are desirable for the vastly different combustion properties such as combustion rate and ignition delay they exhibit compared to base fuels. The stability of such nanofuels over time and under different particle loadings is a very important parameter to consider before they can be put into practical use. Many techniques exist today to analyze suspension stability, which have been developed to analyze water-based nanofluids. Sometimes these techniques can be expensive, and/or require specialized equipment, and/or require a method that is invasive and disturbs the suspension. Present research uses a non-contact, non-invasive, low-cost experimental setup to analyze suspension stability over long periods of time. Nanofuels made from carbon-based nanomaterials (acetylene black, multiwalled carbon nanotubes) and metal oxide nanomaterials (copper oxide, aluminum oxide) with hydrocarbon fuels (canola biodiesel, petrodiesel) have been prepared and their settling rates have been analyzed over the period of three days. It is found that metal oxides go through several metastable states as they settle. The effect of initial concentration and liquid column height is shown. It is hoped that present research showcases the positive traits of the presented technique and will spark further interest in nanofuel stability. Number of words: 198
Recent studies have shown that adding polymeric additives to hydrocarbon-based fuels can lead to suppression of their splashing behavior, as well as enhance their burning rates. However, there is a lack of objective data on polymeric additives settling times in these fuels. Choosing Dodecane as a representative of diesel-based fuels, present research experimentally investigates the settling behavior of polymeric additives (graphene) when mixed in with Dodecane, and the effects of various surfactants on such behavior. Methodology for experimental setup, data collection and data analysis is presented. Various concentrations of additives and surfactants are analyzed, and trends for settling times are shown.
The combustion of liquid fuels emulsified with water have long generated interest in the internal combustion engine research community. Typically, these fuels consist of small quantities of water emulsified with ultrasonification or other mechanical methods into a pure or multicomponent hydrocarbon fuel. These emulsion fuels promise significant advantages over base liquid fuels, such as better fuel economy, colder combustion temperatures, less NOx emissions, and so on. However, a significant practical disadvantage of these fuels is that they are prone to phase separation after they have been prepared. Till date, an objective but economical method of identifying the various degrees of phase separation has not been identified. Present research presents such a method and shows its utilization in analyzing the stability of water and hydrocarbon fuel emulsions over time without the addition of chemical stabilizers. It is expected that present research will pave the way in establishing this method to study the stability of other specialized multicomponent fluids.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.