Characterizing polydispersity in counterflow spray flames

Counterflow spray flames offer a canonical representation of combustion-physical phenomena that are of relevance to practical applications. An important feature of the spray is the polydisperse character of the droplet distribution arising from the atomization. To examine the effect of polydispersed droplet disribution on the combustion, multi-dimensional counterflow simulations in liminar and turbulent regimes are performed using a Lagrangian particle-tracking approach. The results are compared with existing analytical models for polydisperse counterflow spray flames along with characterizing the effect of droplet distribution on the flame structure. Regimes based on the standard deviation of the droplet distribution in comparison to the Sauter Mean diameter are identified at various strain rates relative to extinction.