Numerical study on the effects of experimental parameters on evaporation characteristic of a droplet

Abstract The simulation is used to research the effect of experimental parameters on evaporation characteristics of n-butanol-dodecane blends. These experimental parameters include droplet diameter, wire diameter, junction diameter, ambient temperature and n-butanol concentration. The equilibrium temperature (Tequ) slowly increases with time for the case with a thermocouple and it is nearly unchanged without a thermocouple. The change of droplet diameter at location 1# (D1#, location 1# is the beginning of droplet motion) has little impact on Tequ for the case without a thermocouple. With increasing D1#, the average evaporation rate (Kave) increases with a thermocouple and it is nearly constant without a thermocouple. Both Kave and Tequ firstly increase and then decrease with increasing wire diameter (Dwir) or junction diameter (Djun). From 600 to 800 K, Kave is the maximum when Dwir is 0.10 mm. The maximum is at Djun of 0.3 mm for 800 K and it is at 0.4 mm for 600 and 700 K. The change of Dwir or Djun has little effects on T2#, which is the droplet temperature at the location of 2# (location 2# is the end of droplet motion). Both T2# and Kave decrease with increasing n-butanol concentration. An obvious transition can be found for Kave when the mass fraction of n-butanol ranges from 12.5% to 25%. The normalized evaporation rate is reasonably predicted using a polynomial model.