Detailed computation of unsteady droplet dynamics

In this study, a detailed time-dependent calculation of the lifetime of a fuel droplet is presented. The calculation includes fluid flow, heat transfer, and mass transfer in both the gas and liquid phases as the droplet radius changes with time. For a starting gas phase Reynolds number of 100, the transport processes are initialy dominated by convection and then become conduction and diffusion controlled during the latter part of the droplet lifetime. A comparison between the calculated local drag and heat transfer and the estimates which would be obtained using available correlations shows that there is a very large deviation and, that the correlations will lead to incorrect results.