Numerical Solution of the Flowfield in an Aluminized Gel Fuel Ramjet

The flowfield of an aluminized Gel Fuel Ramjet combustor has been studied and solved numerically. A theoretical model of the combustor, which considers the pulsatile combustion of the gel fuel droplets in combination with the aluminum particles combustion has been developed. The model was solved numerically using the CFD code FLUENT and a parametric investigation was conducted. Gelled kerosene droplets and the aluminum particles were injected discretely to the burner flowfield. The gel droplet burning mechanism was modeled by modification of the droplet vaporization pressure with droplet lifetime and the aluminum particles were added separately from the fuel droplets downstream from the fuel injection. The current research results indicate that despite the pulsatile burning mechanism of the organic gellant-based gel kerosene droplets, the calculated temperature field in the combustor was found to be rather smooth. In general, the periodic burning of the gel droplets slightly lowers the combustor temperature.

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