Laser Attenuation Measurements of Soot Volume Fractions During Reduced-Gravity Combustion of Heptane and Heptane/Hexadecane Droplets

Results from reduced-gravity experiments on combustion of heptane/hexadecane mixture droplets and heptane droplets are presented. Initial droplet diameters were about 1 mm, and initial hexadecane mass fractions in the droplets were 0.6. The droplets were burned in air at 0.1 MPa. Attenuation of the beam from a diode laser was used to gain information on average soot volume fractions in the vicinities of the droplets. Results indicate that...