Experimental investigation of the evaporation behavior of urea-water-solution droplets exposed to a hot air stream

The behavior of droplets of urea-water-solution (UWS) evaporating under the influence of a hot stream of air was investigated experimentally, under temperatures ranging from 100°C to 400°C. The droplets were suspended on a glass microfiber to minimize the influence of heat conduction, through the fiber, on the evaporation rate of the droplet. The flow rate of air, under all experimental conditions, was measured and these data were used to estimate the average velocity of air around the droplet. Experiments were also conducted on droplets of pure water and the results were compared. The initial mass fraction of urea, in the solution, did not appear to have a significant effect on the evaporation constant, but it did affect a few essential aspects of the evaporation behavior. The evaporation of water droplets was in accordance with the d² law at all temperatures, whereas the evaporation of UWS droplets was ambient-temperature dependent.