Experimental study on electrospray of ethanol-water mixtures with different concentrations by high-speed imaging

Due to the vast and diverse applications of electrospray in various aspects of human life, this subject has always been of interest to researchers. This article discusses the experimental investigation of the electrospray process for the ethanol-water mixture with three different concentrations of 70%, 96%, and 99.9%. In this article, first, different electrospray modes for 70% ethanol, based on high-speed images, are defined and explained. For three concentrations of 70%, 96%, and 99.9% of the ethanol-water mixture, the Taylor cone angle and the jet diameter at the onset and end of the stable electrospray region have been calculated. For this purpose, high-speed imaging and processing of the resulting images have been utilized. The cone angle and the diameter of the jet exiting from the cone for the three fluids have been calculated for all onset and end points of the stable electrospray region for flow rates ranging from 0.1 to 1 mL/h. The average jet diameter for all points of the stable region for 70%, 96%, and 99.9% ethanol fluids is equal to 34.43, 33.78, and 31.70 microns, respectively. Additionally, the average cone angle for all points of the stable region is 87.26°, 85.80°, and 84.13° for ethanol fluids, 70%, 96%, and 99.9%, respectively. Therefore, the highest cone angle and jet diameter values correspond to 70% ethanol, and the lowest values correspond to 99.9% ethanol.