Mach number effects on the global mixing modes induced by ramp injectors in supersonic flows

Abstract

AbstractModern injectors for supersonic combustors (hypermixers) augment the fuel–air mixing rate by energizing the perturbation in the mixing layer. From an instability point of view, the increased perturbation growth is linked to the increased complexity of the equilibrium base flow when compared to the axisymmetric mixing layer. Common added features are streamwise vortex streaks, oblique recompression shocks and Prandtl–Meyer expansions. One of the main effects of such distortions of the mean flow is to transform the instability responsible for the creation of fine scales from a local amplified mode to a global self-sustained fluctuation. The focus of the present research is on the flow distortion induced by flushed ramps for free-stream Mach numbers in the range 2.5–3.5. The principal mean flow features are the recirculation region due to the recompression of the flow after the ramp, the shear layer over the recirculation region and the vortex streaks propagating from the ramp corners. A global three-dimensional stability analysis and three-dimensional direct numerical simulations of small perturbations of the mean flow are performed. The growth and energy distribution of the dominant and subdominant fluctuations supported by the three-dimensional steady laminar base flow are computed. The main results are the growth rates of the self-sustained varicose and sinuous modes and their correlation to the variation in the free-stream Mach number. The complex three-dimensional wavemaker is investigated by evaluating the three-dimensional eigenfunctions of the direct and adjoint modes, and the effects of the axial vorticity generated by the ramp corners are discussed.