Numerical Simulation of Transient Combustion and the Acoustic Environment of Obstacle Vortex-Driven Flow

Abstract

Solid fuel combustion in a chamber does not necessarily occur at a constant rate and may show fluctuations due to variables such as varying burning rates, chamber pressure, and residual combustion. These variables can cause the fuel to burn disproportionately. The acoustic environment of obstacle vortex-driven flow due to transient combustion with pressure oscillations in a solid fuel chamber is numerically investigated in the present study. Solid fuel combustion is considered transient, and flow characteristics of the present problem are governed by large eddies shed from an obstacle. Since unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulations are not appropriate to compute the present flow phenomenon, therefore, a detached eddy simulation (DES) is performed to precisely predict the flow behavior. Simulation of steady-state combustion is carried out to validate the numerical results with available experimental data from the literature. The simulation of transient combustion shows that if the combustion frequency is close to the chamber’s modal frequency of the chamber, its amplitude increases greatly and creates an acute acoustic environment. This will result in fuel savings. The amplitude of pressure oscillation up to 18% and 5% of mean pressure are evident at the first and second mode of forced oscillation frequencies respectively. Interestingly, it is also found that pressure oscillation always occurs at inlet mass flux disturbance frequency and not between the disturbance and natural frequency of the chamber. As a result, it is evident that the combustion process or chamber configuration could be modified to ensure that both frequencies are far away enough to interact and create both a harsh acoustic environment and sufficient fuel to burn disproportionately.