THE SPHERICAL DROPLET IN GASEOUS CARRIER STREAMS: REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS

This paper considers the thermodynamic and kinematic behaviour of a droplet in gaseous carrier flow. After reviewing the known (continuum-type and free-molecule type) laws of heat, mass and momentum exchange between two phases, several comprehensive expressions with multi-range validity are synthesized. In addition, a new mathematic model is developed to predict the change rate of droplet size, surface temperature and velocity. The model infers that a close analogy of heat, mass and momentum transfer is maintained at all Knudsen (Kn) numbers at any carrier density and almost any droplet size.