Phenomenology of electrostatically charged droplet combustion in normal gravity

Experimental findings are provided on the effect of electrostatically charging a fuel on single-burning droplet combustion in normal gravity. It was established that significant modification of the flame morphology and the droplet burning time could be achieved, solely by the droplet charge, without the application of external electric fields. Negative charging of the droplets of mixtures of isooctane with either ethanol or a commercially available anti-static additive generated intense motion of the flame and abbreviated the droplet burning time by as much, as 40% for certain blend compositions. Positive charging of the droplets generated almost spherical flames, because electrostatic attraction toward the droplets countered the effect of buoyancy. By comparing combustion of droplets of the same conductivity but different compositions, coupling of electrostatics with combustion chemistry was established. (C) 2008 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.