Validation of All-Pressure Fluid-Drop Model

A report presents a computational study of the subcritical and supercritical behaviors of a drop of heptane surrounded by nitrogen. The subject matter is basically same as that of the report described in the preceding article, except that the Lewis-number issue is not addressed in detail; however, this article presents the full set of equations which lack in the former. As in the preceding case, the results of the computations are compared with data from microgravity experiments on drops of heptane evaporating in nitrogen at temperatures and pressures in the sub- and supercritical regimes, and conclusions are drawn regarding the accuracy of (1) the mathematical model used in the present study and (2) the limitation on accuracy of a traditional model (known as the d2 law) at supercritical pressures. The conclusions stated in the report are essentially a subset of the conclusions stated in the report described in the preceding article.