A compressible two-phase flow framework for Large Eddy Simulations of liquid-propellant rocket engines

Abstract

Atomization of liquid jets is a key feature of many propulsion systems, such as jet engines, internal combustion engines or liquid-propellant rocket engines (LRE). As it controls the characteristics of the spray, atomization has a great influence on the complex interaction between phenomena such as evaporation, turbulence, acoustics and combustion. In this context, Computational Fluid Dynamics is a promising way to bring better understanding of dynamic phenomena involving atomization, such as e.g. high-frequency combustion instabilities in LRE. However the unsteady simulation of primary atomization in reactive compressible two-phase flows is very challenging, due to the variety of the spatial and temporal scales, as well as to the high density, velocity and temperature gradients which require robust and efficient numerical methods. To address this issue, a numerical strategy is proposed in this paper, which is able to describe the dynamics of the whole chain of mechanisms from the liquid injection to its atomization and combustion. Primary atomization is modeled by a coupling between a homogeneous diffuse interface model and a kinetic-based Eulerian model for the spray. This strategy is successfully applied to the unsteady simulation of an operating point of the Onera’s Mascotte test bench, representative of one coaxial injector of LRE operating under subcritical conditions. The dynamics of the liquid core is retrieved and the flame shape as well as Sauter mean diameters are in good agreement with experimental results. These results demonstrate the ability of the strategy to deal with the harsh conditions of cryogenic combustion, and provide a promising framework for future studies of combustion instabilities in LRE.