Shock-induced behavior in micron-sized water aerosols

We have developed a suite of tools for studying aerosols behind shock waves. A Mie-extinction particle sizing diagnostic and a computational model, along with a specially designed square-section shock tube were developed to study the time-history of micrometer-sized aerosols behind shock waves. These tools are critically needed to pursue the use of shock tubes to study the combustion behavior of low-vapor-pressure fuels. While the facility is designed to study reactive systems, we began by measuring the behavior of water aerosols in the range of 1-10 mu m behind shock waves with temperatures between 450 and 600 K and pressures between 0.64 and 1.1 atm. From these data we determined evaporation rates and found a correlation that provides the noncontinuum evaporation rate in terms of the d(2) evaporation rate and a correction function. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.