Micro-explosion modeling of biofuel-diesel blended droplets

Cai Shen, Way Lee Cheng, Chia Fon Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Recently, with the increasing interest on some potential alternative substitutes of petroleum fuels such as biodiesel and butanol, more and more researches are focused on the field of bio-fuels because they are renewable and friendly to the environment and can possibly reduce domestic demand on foreign petroleum. Bio-fuels are generally used in the commercial market by mixing with petroleum-based diesel or gasoline. Since the volatilities and boiling points of ethanol/butanol and diesel/biodiesel fuels are significantly different, micro-explosion can be expected in the blend mixture. In this study, a numerical model of micro-explosion including bubble generation, bubble expansion, and final breakup for multi-component bio-fuel droplets is proposed. From the simulated results of droplet characteristics at the onset of micro-explosion, it is concluded that micro-explosion is possible under engine operation condition for ethanol/butanol-diesel/biodiesel fuel blends. There exists an optimal droplet size and ambient condition for the occurrence of micro-explosion.

Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalSAE Technical Papers
StatePublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes
EventSAE 2011 World Congress and Exhibition - Detroit, MI, United States
Duration: Apr 12 2011Apr 14 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Automotive Engineering
  • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
  • Pollution
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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