On the burning of single drops of fuel in a oxidizing atmosphere

Abstract

A simplified model for the process of steady burning of a stationary droplet of fuel in an oxidizing atmosphere has been examined. Explicit expressions have been obtained for the burning rate of the fuel droplet, for the temperature at the flame front, and for the radius of the combustion surface. The principal assumptions on which our analysis is based are: the flame front is established at a spherical surface surrounding the drop; the rates of delivery of fuel and oxygen to this surface are in stoichiometric proportions; the rates of reaction at the flame front are fast compared to the rates of delivery of combustible gases. Our analysis is an extension and generalization of the work of G. A. E. Godsave. We are able to delete several of Godsave's restrictive assumptions by use of an efficient method for formulating the problem in which only integrated forms appear for the expressions of conservation of mass and energy. Our theoretical formulas provide a satisfactory correlation of Godsave's experimental results.