Characteristics of arrays of spray diffusion flames

A mathematical model is formulated to describe the characteristics of an array of laminar, polydisperse spray diffusion flames. A sectional method is utilized to describe the spray of droplets. Under certain simplifying assumptions the reduced governing equations are solved numerically for arrays of four and six spray flames. The computed results point to the strong coupling between geometric, spray and flow parameters of the system, that are called into play in the subtle interaction between adjacent flames. It is shown that the role of the spray can be critical, especially if there is (partial) blockage of different fuel feeds and/or distortion of fuel-spray patterns brought on by slight spray nozzle-lip imperfections, causing a non-uniform supply of droplets and strong asymmetries in the hot combustion region.