Numerical simulation of a Rotating Detonation with a realistic injector designed for separate supply of gaseous hydrogen and oxygen

Abstract

This paper presents numerical results for a Rotating Detonation (RD) propagating in a layer of combustible mixture, created by injection of gaseous hydrogen and oxygen. 3D Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of a reacting flow have been performed in a domain of planar geometry in order to eliminate possible effects of the chamber curvature. First, the results for a 2D case with uniformly distributed premixed injection are presented to characterize the RD propagation under the most idealized conditions. Then a 3D concept is introduced for the injector composed of a series of injection elements. The RD propagation is simulated under the conditions of premixed and separate injection of the propellants at globally stoichiometric proportions. The case of separate propellant injection is the most realistic one. The computational results, represented by instantaneous and averaged flowfields, are analyzed to characterize the flowfield and the conditions of RD propagation. This analysis allows identifying the effects due to two major factors: the injection through discrete holes with respect to the distributed one and the separate propellant feeding with respect to the premixed one. Macroscopic quantities, such as the RD propagation speed, mean chamber pressure, average parameters of the mixture, and mixing efficiency are evaluated and compared in order to characterize the studied effects.