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Generation, ignition and combustion of molten aluminum spray towards energy conversion

Ni, Xiamin LU ; Wu, Zhiyong LU orcid ; Wang, Weitian LU ; Zhang, Kailun LU ; Ni, Hu LU ; Wang, Yu LU orcid ; Berrocal, Edouard LU ; Alden, Marcus LU and Li, Zhongshan LU (2026) In Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 42.
Abstract
Towards high-efficiency energy conversion using bulk aluminum, this work presents an investigation on the generation, ignition, and combustion of molten aluminum sprays. A novel dual-gas atomization method integrated with inductive heating was developed to produce aluminum sprays at pressures below 0.5 MPa, yielding droplets with a mean size of 180 µm. Finer droplets within the spray were successfully ignited by the post-flame flow of a premixed fuel-rich hydrogen/oxygen (H₂/O₂) flame under ambient conditions, exhibiting strong luminosity and combustion temperatures exceeding 2700 K. In-situ optical diagnostics and ex-situ microscopic analyses of the intermediate products revealed key features of the spray combustion process, including the... (More)
Towards high-efficiency energy conversion using bulk aluminum, this work presents an investigation on the generation, ignition, and combustion of molten aluminum sprays. A novel dual-gas atomization method integrated with inductive heating was developed to produce aluminum sprays at pressures below 0.5 MPa, yielding droplets with a mean size of 180 µm. Finer droplets within the spray were successfully ignited by the post-flame flow of a premixed fuel-rich hydrogen/oxygen (H₂/O₂) flame under ambient conditions, exhibiting strong luminosity and combustion temperatures exceeding 2700 K. In-situ optical diagnostics and ex-situ microscopic analyses of the intermediate products revealed key features of the spray combustion process, including the formation of a core-shell structure of aluminum encapsulated in alumina, aluminum vapor ejection, and the coalescence and breakup of burning droplets. These findings provide insights into low-pressure aluminum spray formation and multi-droplet spray combustion, offering guidance for the design of metal-fuel-based power systems. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Aluminum, Spray, Droplets, Ignition, Combustion
in
Proceedings of the Combustion Institute
volume
42
article number
106235
pages
7 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105044841590
ISSN
1540-7489
DOI
10.1016/j.proci.2026.106235
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
63218dd1-cd63-4785-bb1f-706b115fbd47
date added to LUP
2026-08-09 06:10:49
date last changed
2026-08-10 08:58:08
@article{63218dd1-cd63-4785-bb1f-706b115fbd47,
  abstract     = {{Towards high-efficiency energy conversion using bulk aluminum, this work presents an investigation on the generation, ignition, and combustion of molten aluminum sprays. A novel dual-gas atomization method integrated with inductive heating was developed to produce aluminum sprays at pressures below 0.5 MPa, yielding droplets with a mean size of 180 µm. Finer droplets within the spray were successfully ignited by the post-flame flow of a premixed fuel-rich hydrogen/oxygen (H₂/O₂) flame under ambient conditions, exhibiting strong luminosity and combustion temperatures exceeding 2700 K. In-situ optical diagnostics and ex-situ microscopic analyses of the intermediate products revealed key features of the spray combustion process, including the formation of a core-shell structure of aluminum encapsulated in alumina, aluminum vapor ejection, and the coalescence and breakup of burning droplets. These findings provide insights into low-pressure aluminum spray formation and multi-droplet spray combustion, offering guidance for the design of metal-fuel-based power systems.}},
  author       = {{Ni, Xiamin and Wu, Zhiyong and Wang, Weitian and Zhang, Kailun and Ni, Hu and Wang, Yu and Berrocal, Edouard and Alden, Marcus and Li, Zhongshan}},
  issn         = {{1540-7489}},
  keywords     = {{Aluminum; Spray; Droplets; Ignition; Combustion}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Proceedings of the Combustion Institute}},
  title        = {{Generation, ignition and combustion of molten aluminum spray towards energy conversion}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2026.106235}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.proci.2026.106235}},
  volume       = {{42}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}