Evaporation of a moving liquid droplet: Solutions for intermediate Reynolds numbers

Abstract In this paper, we have examined the quasi-steady evaporation of an n-heptane droplet moving in the intermediate Reynolds number regime (Re = O(100)). The droplet environment is taken to consist of its own vapor and air. The ambient pressure is taken to be one atmosphere. The droplet trajectory and hence the instantaneous terminal velocity of the droplet have been determined by a balance of the drag and body forces. Variable thermophysical properties, liquid phase motion and heating, and the effect of variations in droplet size have been included in this investigation. A numerical procedure that is based on the hybrid difference scheme has been employed. We provide histories of droplet radius, mass, velocity, Reynolds number and liquid heating fraction. The total drag, friction drag, pressure drag, and evaporation drag histories are also individually predicted.