An Experimental Study of Effect of Water on Ignition and Combustion Characteristics of Single Droplets of Glycerol

The effect of water on the ignition and combustion characteristics of single droplets of glycerol was studied experimentally. Distilled water was added into a pure glycerol at concentrations ranging from 5% to 20% v/v. The single droplets of glycerol with and without water addition were suspended on the tip of a silicon fibre, and ignited and combusted in air at 1023K. The ignition and combustion processes of the single droplets were recorded using a CCD camera. The droplet size, burning rate, ignition delay time, burnout time, and total combustion time were determined. It was found that the burning rate and the ignition delay time of glycerol droplets increased with increasing water concentration. However, the addition of water in the glycerol resulted in shorter burnout times and had negligible effect on the total combustion time of the glycerol droplets.