A Numerical Study of the Multi-Component Effects on the Combustion and Evaporation of Biofuels and Blends

The study shows that the evaporation of the fuel affects the ignition behavior and combustion quality. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the evaporation and mixing processes is essential for further improvement in engine performance. A multi-component droplet evaporation model, as efficient as a traditional zero-dimensional model, yet preserving the correct description of the underlying physical process is developed in this study. The continuous thermodynamics formulation is used, for which the fuel (or liquid mixture) is described using a probability distribution function. The variation of composition in both liquid and vapor phases is represented by tracing the changes of the probability distribution function parameters. In the present study, the gamma distribution is used to represent the fuel fractions, and, the composition is tracked by tracing the mean and standard deviation of the distribution function. Finite diffusion, internal circulation, surface regression and high pressure effects are all accounted for. The model is shown to reproduce in a satisfactorily manner, experimental measurements adopted from the literature. The model is applied to predict the evaporation of single component (distribution) and multi-component droplets. The results show that the proposed model predicts the important distillation characteristics of practical fuel, which cannot be reproduced by a single component model.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Cheng, Way Lee

Contributors dc:contributor

• Chia-Fon F. Lee

• Engineering, Mechanical

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3455700

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/83943