Optical investigation on spray, combustion and flame structure of n-hexanol/diesel/biodiesel blended fuels in a constant volume chamber

作者：Feng Zhou, Xinjia Huang, Xiongbo Duan, Jianqin Fu, Jingping Liu · 发表于：Applied Thermal Engineering · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127408 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Advanced Combustion Engine Technologies、Biodiesel Production and Applications、Combustion and flame dynamics

Compared with short-chain alcohol fuels, n-hexanol possesses a relatively long carbon chain and a high lower heating value. Thus, it is regarded as a promising oxygenated renewable fuel for diesel engines. Adding n-hexanol to diesel fuel to create an n-hexanol–diesel–biodiesel blend significantly impacts the fuel spray and flame structure during the combustion process. In this study, the diesel–soybean oil blend fuels with 20% n-hexanol (SH20) content were experimentally tested and compared with the addition of 40% soybean oil to diesel (S40). The results indicated that SH20 presents significantly smaller liquid penetration distance and spray area than that of S40. Additionally, the liquid spray penetration of SH20 was significantly higher than that S40, and the spray characteristics were significantly improved. Furthermore, the addition of a quantitative amount of n-hexanol not only reduced the spatial integrated natural luminosity but also more significantly influenced flame characteristics compared with the addition of only 40% soybean oil to diesel fuel under all conditions. This indicates that n-hexanol as a fuel component has considerable potential for reducing soot generation and emissions. These experimental results benefit to promote the long carbon chain alcohol fuels utilization and application as the oxygenated renewable fuels in the transportation section for further reducing soot and other toxic emissions, and thereby reducing the dependence on traditional fossi...