Collision outcome of a water drop on the surface of a deep diesel fuel pool

Abstract

This study investigated the collision of water drops with diesel fuel. The target liquid was selected not only because this interaction is commonly observed in many fires but also because diesel fuel exhibits similar viscosity to heavy oils on fire. Investigated collision phenomena include water drop disintegration, cavity development, droplet ejection from the underside of the cavity, droplet ejection from the liquid (diesel fuel) crown rim, and formation of water-in-diesel compound drops. Results suggest that the number of water droplets from the disintegrated water drop increases non-linearly with increased Weber number. At a Weber number of 700, the number of water droplets reached a maximum while their size was minimized.