Group combustion of staggeringly arranged heptane droplets at various Reynolds numbers, oxygen mole-fractions, and separation distances

The group combustion of interacting heptanes liquid droplets are numerically simulated by solving two dimensional unsteady laminar Navier–Stokes equations. The unsteady computations for the time-varying vaporization of multi-droplets are carried out with parameters of the Reynolds number (Re), the separation distance (S) between the droplets, and the oxygen mole-fraction. The n-heptane droplets initially at T0 = 300 K are in hot air of 10 atm at Tg = 1250 K. Multi-droplets are staggeringly arranged at a separation distance ranging from 4 to 15 droplet radius. The Reynolds number, based on the droplet diameter and free stream velocity, is varied from Re = 10 to 50. The oxygen mole-fraction of the surrounding air is changed from 15% to 90%. The time variations of the flame structure, the combustion characteristics, and the burning rates are presented and discussed. These results indicated that the staggered arrangement of the multi-droplets induced combustion characteristics distinct from those of a single droplet. The burning rate of the interacting droplets in the staggered arrangement exhibited a relatively strong dependence on the Re, S, and oxygen mole-fraction. The burning rate of the interacting multi-droplets, non-dimensionalized by that of a single droplet, was found as a function of S and Re.