Abstract
Understanding gel fuel combustion behavior is pivotally important for future engineering practice. This study experimentally investigated the combustion behavior of non-metallized and metallized gel droplets. Pure ethanolmethylcellulose gel was used to represent non-metallized gel. Mixed ethanol-methylcellulose gel with 10% aluminum (Al) powder was used to represent metallized gel. Gel droplet combustion experiments were conducted at an initial ambient temperature of approximately 700 (±20) °C under an air convective condition. The initial diameter of droplets used for combustion experiments was 2.25 ± 0.11 mm. Observations revealed different combustion behaviors of nonmetallized and metallized gel droplets. The combustion of metallized gel droplets exhibited a particular phenomenon: an Al agglomeration period before combustion ceased. This finding suggests that adding aluminum powder in ethanolmethylcellulose gel might reduce the droplet ignition delay time and might increase the droplet burning time, thereby allowing more energy to be released during combustion.
