Modeling the Impact of Kerosene Droplet Distributions Using the Rosin-Rammler Method in HVOF Thermal Spray via CFD

Authors

  • Issa Alkasim Mohammed Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Alasmarya Islamic University, Zliten, Libya.
  • Mustafa Ahmed Alhaleeb Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Alasmarya Islamic University, Zliten, Libya.
  • Roubeen Omar Bani Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Alasmarya Islamic University, Zliten, Libya.
  • Khaled Ali Abed Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Alasmarya Islamic University, Zliten, Libya.

Keywords:

Rosin-Rammler Distribution, Thermal Spray, Kerosene Combustion, Droplet Dynamics, CFD Simulation

Abstract

This study numerically investigates the influence of droplet size distribution on the kerosene flame characteristics relevant to thermal spray processes, using the ANSYS Fluent solver coupled with (SST) k-ω turbulence, EDM combustion, and P-1 radiation models. We simulated droplet behavior using the Lagrangian Discrete Phase Model (DPM). We compared nine distinct size distributions: six utilizing the Rosin-Rammler (R-R) distribution (varying Mean Diameter and Spread Parameter n) against three Uniform Distributions as a baseline. The simulation results exhibited strong agreement with experimental and published thermal data primarily for the finer R-R distributions (Cases 1 and 2). This superior performance is consistent with the literature indicating that kerosene droplets ≤3 μm transition almost entirely to the vapor phase immediately upon injection. Analysis indicated that Mean Diameter is the dominant factor: smaller mean diameter led to rapid vaporization and confined high-temperature zones, while larger mean diameter delayed combustion, leading to flame extension outside the chamber. Furthermore, the polydisperse R-R sprays resulted in a more stable flame structure compared to the Uniform cases, which produced localized evaporation and excessively sharp thermal gradients. These findings underscore the necessity of accurately modeling the inherent size variability of atomized fuel for optimizing thermal spray flame efficiency and confinement.

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Published

2026-02-03

Issue

Vol. 3 (2025)

Section

Track Six: Engineering and Applied Sciences

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Mohammed, I. A., Alhaleeb, M. A., Bani, R. O., & Abed, K. A. (2026). Modeling the Impact of Kerosene Droplet Distributions Using the Rosin-Rammler Method in HVOF Thermal Spray via CFD. The Annual Scientific Conference for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students, Alasmarya Islamic University, 3, 6. 1-19. https://conf.asmarya.edu.ly/index.php/scupgs/article/view/1002

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