Simulating Turbulence and Mixing in Supersonic Combustors Using Hybrid RANS/LES

Simulation results are presented for non-reacting flow within a supersonic cavity flameholder. The freestream is air at Mach 2. A case is simulated with no fuel injection and with ethylene fuel injected through holes located on the back face of the cavity. The simulations correspond to a series of experiments for which particle image velocimetry measurements of two velocity components were made within the cavity. The flow within the cavity is computed using unsteady hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes/large-eddy simulation. A thorough grid resolution study is presented in which the resolution required to resolve the flow within the cavity is determined. The influence of the level of turbulence within the oncoming boundary layer is examined and found to significantly affect the velocity field and mixing within the cavity. The effect of the side walls is investigated by comparing simulations of the full-width duct to simulations of a partial-width duct that uses periodic boundary conditions. Differences in resolved turbulence kinetic energy and mixing are seen between the full-width and partial width simulations. The results of the simulations are also compared to the velocity measurements from the experiments, and the hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes/large-eddy simulation results are found to compare reasonably well with the experiment in most locations. Improved agreement with fluctuating velocity components is found when the simulation results are filtered to a resolution corresponding to the resolution of the velocity measurement technique.

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