| 摘要 |
A method and apparatus for vaporizing liquid fuel. The apparatus includes at least one capillary flow passage (12), the at least one capillary flow passa ge having an inlet end and an outlet end; a fluid control valve (18) for placin g the inlet end of the at least one capillary flow passage (12) in fluid communication with the liquid fuel source and introducing the liquid fuel in a substantially liquid state; a heat source (20) arranged along the at least o ne capillary flow passage (12), the heat source operable to heat the liquid fue l in the at least one capillary flow passage to a level sufficient to change a t least a portion thereof from the liquid state to a vapor state and deliver a stream of substantially vaporized fuel from the outlet end of the at least o ne capillary flow passage; and means for cleaning deposits (18, 20, 26) formed during operation of the apparatus. The flow passage can be a capillary tube heated by a resistance heater or a section of a tube heated by passing electrical energy therethrough. The liquid fuel can be supplied to the flow passage at any desired pressure depending on the required mass flow rate for the application. The vaporized fuel can be mixed with air to form an aerosol having a mean droplet size of 25 ~pm or less to minimize ignition energy of the fuel-air mixture, promote fuel flow in an air stream, and combust the liquid fuel efficiently and cleanly. |
