Simulation and experimental validation of a methanol burner

This paper presents a computational fluid dynamics model of a methanol burner. Special emphasis was placed on the study of the liquid atomization and combustion process. Linearized Instability Sheet Atomization (LISA model) was employed to simulate the fuel atomization process. Predictions of droplet diameters, droplet trajectories, temperatures and gas concentrations are presented and compared with an experimental database presented by Widmann and Presser in their work a benchmark experimental database for multiphase combustion model input and validation. The predicted and simulated data were found to be in good agreement, however some discrepancies in the amount of unburned species were found probably related with the mechanism of combustion employed.