Multicomponent Evaporation Characteristics of Biodiesel Sprays

Abstract

The vapor mass fraction distribution of the multicomponent surrogate of diesel and biodiesel fuel is studied using multicomponent evaporation model at engine-relevant conditions. The numerical model is validated with experimental liquid tip penetration and vapor penetration for diesel and biodiesel. The vapor distribution for a multicomponent surrogate is significantly different than that of single-component fuel. The tetradecane, single-component surrogate for diesel has different vapor mass distribution unlike in multicomponent diesel fuel. The spatial mass fraction distribution profile of biodiesel is found to be the function of volatility differential of the pure components and their proportion in the composition. The vapor mass fraction distribution for biodiesel of palm and soybean is found to be similar to that of their single-component surrogate due to comparable volatility of components of these biodiesels. However, methyl laurate in coconut biodiesel has volatility differential with other components and also has a significant share of 40% to 50% in the coconut biodiesel composition. The change in percentage of methyl laurate in coconut composition is found to have strong impact on vapor distribution. The vapor mass fraction distribution is observed to be affected by the change in the biodiesel composition specifically volatile component.