Microexplosive fragmentation of a group of inhomogeneous fuel droplets

We have experimentally studied the process of microexplosive fragmentation of two-component (diesel fuel–water) liquid droplets heated in a high-temperature gas medium. The experiment involved a group of 10–30 droplets falling down in a tubular muffle furnace. The delay times of microexplosion were studied and it was established that integral characteristics of the process significantly depend on the relative arrangement of droplets in the group. Limiting distances between droplets (within an average initial droplet radius of 8–10) are established for which the microexplosion characteristics are close to those observed in experiments with single droplets.