Micro-explosion of emulsion droplets with nanoparticles at high temperature

TL;DR

This study experimentally demonstrates that nanoparticles, especially carbon ones, significantly enhance the micro-explosion of emulsion droplets, potentially improving combustion efficiency and emissions reduction.

Contribution

It provides new experimental insights into how nanoparticles influence micro-explosion phenomena in emulsion droplets, highlighting the role of carbon nanoparticles.

Findings

Nanoparticles increase micro-explosion strength and probability.

Carbon nanoparticles are particularly effective in promoting micro-explosion.

Higher water and nanoparticle content facilitate micro-explosion.

Abstract

Compared with traditional fuels, emulsified fuels can improve fuel atomization and combustion, and nanoparticles as additives have the potential to enhance combustion and reduce emissions. Previous studies on micro-explosion mainly considered emulsion droplets, but the role of nanoparticles in emulsion droplets is still unclear. In this study, we experimentally investigate the micro-explosion of emulsion droplets with nanoparticles via high-speed photography, digital image processing, optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the presence of nanoparticles can greatly improve the strength and probability of micro-explosion, particularly for carbon nanoparticles. This is mainly because nanoparticles can agglomerate during the evaporation of emulsion droplets, facilitate the absorption of radiation energy, inhibit the diffusion of superheated vapor, and ultimately promote micro-explosion. The effects of nanoparticle mass fraction and water content are also investigated, and the results show that the increase of nanoparticles and water can facilitate micro-explosion.