Experimental determination of the retention time of reduced temperature of gas–vapor mixture in trace of water droplets moving in counterflow of combustion products

We have experimentally studied temporal variation of the temperature of gas–vapor mixture in the trace of water droplets moving in the counterflow of high-temperature combustion products. The initial gas temperature was within 500–950 K. The water droplet radius in the aerosol flow varied from 40 to 400 $\mu$m. The motion of water droplets in the counterflow of combustion products in a 1-m-high hollow quartz cylinder with an internal diameter of 20 cm was visualized by optical flow imaging techniques (interferometric particle imaging, shadow photography, particle tracking velocimetry, and particle image velocimetry) with the aid of a cross-correlation complex setup. The scale of temperature decrease in the mixture of combustion products and water droplets was determined for a pulsed (within 1 s) and continuous supply of aerosol with various droplet sizes. Retention times of reduced temperature (relative to the initial level) in trace of water droplets (aerosol temperature trace) are determined. A hypothesis concerning factors responsible for the variation of temperature in the trace of droplets moving in the counterflow of combustion products is experimentally verified.