Large-eddy simulation of supercritical fluid flow and combustion

The present study focuses on the modeling and simulation of injection, mixing, and combustion of real fluids at supercritical conditions. The objectives of the study are: (1) to establish a unified theoretical framework that can be used to study the turbulent combustion of real fluids; (2) to implement the theoretical framework and conduct numerical studies with the aim of improving the understanding of the flow and combustion dynamics at conditions representative of contemporary liquid-propellant rocket engine operation; (3) to identify the key design parameters and the flow variables which dictate the dynamics characteristics of swirl- and shear- coaxial injectors.;The theoretical and numerical framework is validated by simulating the Sandia Flame D. The calculated axial and radial profiles of velocity, temperature, and mass fractions of major species are in reasonably good agreement with the experimental measurements. The conditionally averaged mass fraction profiles agree very well with the experimental results at different axial locations.;The validated model is first employed to examine the flow dynamics of liquid oxygen in a pressure swirl injector at supercritical conditions. Emphasis is placed on analyzing the effects of external excitations on the dynamic response of the injector. The high-frequency fluctuations do not significantly affect the flow field as they are dissipated shortly after being introduced into the flow. However, the lower-frequency fluctuations are amplified by the flow. As a result, the film thickness and the spreading angle at the nozzle exit fluctuate strongly for low-frequency external excitations.;The combustion of gaseous oxygen/gaseous hydrogen in a high-pressure combustion chamber for a shear coaxial injector is simulated to assess the accuracy and the credibility of the computer program when applied to a sub-scale model of a combustor. The predicted heat flux profile is compared with the experimental and numerical studies. The predicted heat flux profile agrees very well with the experimental data.;The steady flamelet model and the flamelet/progress-variable have been used to study the LOX/methane flame stabilized by a splitter plate. Results show that the flame is always anchored in the recirculation zone that is immediately after the splitter plate. Turbulence is not strong enough to extinguish the non-premixed flame. The flame stabilization is found to be achieved through the recirculation zone and the vortex shedding processes in the near field of the splitter plate. The flamelet-progress-variable case further confirms that the artificially quenched flame can be re-established as long as the quenching distance is within the mean recirculation zone. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).