Liquid fuel cloud detonation and droplet lifetime

The structures and mechanisms of aerosolized liquid-fuel cloud detonations are studied in a detonation facility using simultaneous high-speed optical diagnostics. The characteristic length scale of the droplet lifetime in liquid fuel detonations is not well predicted by established breakup and evaporation models, whereas it captured by calculations of the evaporation time of the droplet cloud. Detonation research has mostly focused on gaseous fuels with limited investigations of purely liquid fueled detonations. This research explores the characteristic length scales of aerosolized liquid fuel droplets’ lifetime showing it does not scale with established breakup and evaporation models. It scales well with the evaporation time of child droplet clouds, highlighting the significance.