Heavy oil is a common fuel for industrial furnaces, boilers,
marines and diesel engines. Previous studies showed that the
combustion of heavy oil involves not only the complete burning
of volatile matters but also the bum-out of coke residues [1-3].
Detailed knowledge about heavy oil combustion therefore requires
an understanding of the different burning stages of heavy oil
droplets in the bumer. This in turn, demands knowledge about the
single droplet evaporation and combustion characteristics. This
study measured the temperature and size histories of heavy oil
(C glass) droplets burning in microgravity to elucidate the
various stages that occur during combustion. The elimination of
the gravity-induced gas convection in microgravity allows the
droplet combustion to be studied in greater detail. Noting that
the compositions of heavy oil are various, we also tested the
fuel blends of a diesel light oil (LO) and a heavy oil residue
(HOR). Ikegami, M., Xu, G., Ikeda, K., Honam, S., Nagaishi, H.,
Dietrich, D.L.,