Implementation and assessment of a low-dissipative OpenFOAM solver for compressible multi-species flows

Abstract

An ever-increasing number of engineering problems regard the numerical simulation of fluid flows with high-density ratio, shock wave onset, and different chemical species. In such conditions, obtaining reliable results depends on the ability of the numerical algorithm to offer a stable and robust time and space discretization of the governing equations while simultaneously limiting the numerical diffusivity.This work presents the extension and the assessment of a low-dissipative Navier–Stokes solver for compressible, multi-specie flows. We first studied the Richtmyer–Meshkov instability to test the code on fluid flows involving shock waves and species interactions for ideal gas. Then, we simulated a benchmark case regarding a cryogenic coaxial injector often used in rocket engines to explore the solver’s capability in representing high-Reynolds-number supercritical flows of multi-species real gases with large density gradients. Finally, we studied the flow in complex geometries like a high-pressure gasoline injector for propulsion application. The results demonstrate the capability of the present approach in the cases investigated.