Aeronautical Combustion Research Articles

Reacting Flow Prediction of the Low-Swirl Lifted Flame in an Aeronautical Combustor With Angular Air Supply

Abstract The development of lean-burn combustion systems is of paramount importance for reducing the pollutant emissions of future aero engine generations. By tilting the burners of an annular combustor in circumferential direction relative to the rotational axis of the engine, the potential of increased combustion stability is opened up due to an enhanced exhaust gas recirculation between adjacent flames. The innovative gas turbine combustor concept, called the short helical combustor (SHC), allows the main reaction zone to be operated at low equivalence ratios. To exploit the higher stability of the fuel-lean combustion, a low-swirl lifted flame is implemented in the staggered SHC burner arrangement. The objective is to reach ultralow NOx emissions by complete evaporation and extensive premixing of fuel and air upstream of the lean reaction zone. In this work, a modeling approach is developed to investigate the characteristics of the lifted flame in an enclosed single-burner configuration, using the gaseous fuel methane. It is demonstrated that by using the large eddy simulation method, the shape and liftoff height of the flame are adequately reproduced by means of the finite-rate chemistry approach. For the numerical prediction of the lean lifted flame in the SHC arrangement, the focus is on the interaction of adjacent burners. It is shown that the swirling jet flow is deflected toward the sidewall of the staggered combustor dome, which is attributed to the asymmetrical confinement. Since the stabilization mechanism of the low-swirl flame relies on outer recirculation zones, the upstream transport of hot combustion products back to the flame base is studied by the variation of the combustor confinement ratio. It turns out that increasing the combustor size amplifies the exhaust gas recirculation along the sidewall, and increases the temperature of recirculating burned gases. This study emphasizes the capability of the proposed lean-burn combustor concept for future aero engine applications.

Scaling of Lean Aeronautical Gas Turbine Combustors

Abstract A numerical procedure is presented for the scaling of lean aeronautical gas turbine combustors to different thrust classes. The procedure considers multiple operating points and aims for a self-similar flow field with respect to a reference configuration. The developed scaling approach relies on an optimization-based workflow which involves automated geometry and numerical grid generation, unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) simulations, and postprocessing of the reacting flow field. Kriging is applied as a metamodel to identify new sets of parameters for combustor geometry generation. A generic lean-burn high-pressure aeronautical combustor has been designed to serve as a first verification test case with reactive flow characteristics comparable to real combustion chambers. The burner geometry is parameterized by 23 free parameters which are altered within the scaling process. The definition of a suitable scaling function is essential for the success of the scaling approach. A scaling function based on pressure loss, axial location of heat release, pilot air split, and the temperature profile at the combustor exit is proposed. The developed procedure is tested and applied for the scaling of an internally-staged lean combustor to a lower thrust class considering multiple operating points simultaneously. In total, 65 different combustor variants have been evaluated by the scaling procedure. Simulations were performed for each of these configurations at takeoff, approach, and idle operating conditions. The final combustor configuration, scaled to a lower thrust class, shows good agreement to the reference configuration in terms of the scaling targets and reasonably resembles the emission indices. Integrating the scaling procedure into the design process of future combustion systems could reduce the required design iterations and thereby contribute to significantly reduced development times and costs.

Numerical assessment of Diffuse-Interface method for air-assisted liquid sheet simulation

This study presents the implementation and validation of a second-order accurate solver for the 4-equation multi-fluid method in a cell-vertex context, to handle aeronautical air-assisted liquid sheet configurations. Validations include Laplace tests, droplets oscillations, and a two-dimensional configuration reminiscent of an aeronautical airblast injector. Promising results are obtained in the last case, especially when the pressure is increased, as relevant for aeronautical applications. Being fully compatible of the reactive flow formulation of the cell-vertex solver AVBP, this study paves the way to future monolithic simulations of airblast injectors for aeronautical combustion chambers, including both the multi-phase and the reactive regions.

Uncertainty quantification analysis of Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulation of spray swirling jets undergoing vortex breakdown

The computational fluid dynamics-based design of next-generation aeronautical combustion chambers is challenging due to many geometrical and operational parameters to be optimized and several sources of uncertainty that arise from numerical modeling. The present work highlights the potential benefits of exploiting Bayesian uncertainty quantification at the preliminary design stage. A prototypical configuration of an acetone/air spray swirling jet is investigated through an Eulerian–Lagrangian method under non-reactive conditions. Two direct numerical simulations (DNSs) provide reference data, coping with different vortex breakdown states. Consequently, a set of Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations is conducted. Polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) is adopted to propagate the uncertainty associated with the spray dispersion model and the turbulent Schmidt number, delivering confidence intervals and the sensitivity of the output variance to each uncertain input. Consequently, the most significant sources of modeling uncertainty may be identified and eventually removed via a calibration procedure, thus making it possible to carry out a combustion chamber optimization process that is no longer affected by numerical biases. The uncertainty quantification analysis in the current study demonstrates that the spray dispersion model slightly affects the fuel vapor spatial distribution under vortex breakdown flow conditions, compared with the output variance induced by the selection of the turbulent Schmidt number. As a result, additional high-fidelity experimental and numerical campaigns should exclusively address the development of an ad hoc model characterizing the spatial distribution of the latter in the presence of vortex breakdown phenomenology, discarding any effort to improve the spray dispersion formulation.

Heat Release Rate from a Two-Phase Kerosene/Air Flame Using Chemiluminescence

An experimental method based on chemiluminescent measurements is developed to determine the heat release rate produced by a two-phase flow kerosene/air flame. This quantity is known to be proportional to the air mass flow rate and the equivalence ratio. Experimental studies are carried out downstream of a liquid fuel injector used in aeronautical combustion chambers. The chemiluminescent spectra of the flame are analyzed for different air mass flow rates and equivalence ratios ranging from 0.4 to 0.71 in the steady-state flame configuration. The broadband background emission due to emission (where indicates an electronically excited specie) and soot radiation is first evaluated. Then, the analysis of the chemiluminescent emission from , , and indicates that the may be used to determine both the instantaneous equivalence ratio and the air mass flow rate. An example of the application of this method to measure fluctuations in the heat release rate induced by acoustic excitation of the flame is shown.

Large eddy simulation study of the impact of an obstacle on cooling properties of a multiperforated liner

Large eddy simulations are performed to investigate the impact of a solid obstacle on the flow around a multiperforated plate typical of aeronautical combustion chambers. The reference configuration is a perforated plate with approximately 200 holes immersed between a cold vein and hot vein at a typical operating point of helicopter combustors. The micro-jet Reynolds number is of the order of 4000, while the blowing and momentum ratios are close to 4 and 8, respectively. A variant configuration is considered that features an additional cylindrical obstacle located in the cold vein and mimicking a spark plug. The study reveals that, downstream of the obstacle, the cooling effectiveness of the plate is reduced by approximately 40 % compared with the reference case, mainly due to the absence of perforation at the obstacle location. The mass flow rate within the holes in the wake produced by the obstacle is reduced by 7 %, which is likely to locally influence the plate cooling. The reduction is attributed to the wake's pressure loss and its impact on the discharge coefficient. Additionally, the cooling effectiveness outside the wake shows a 5 % increase that can be linked to the mass flow rate increase within corresponding holes.

Flashback-induced flame shape transition in a two-stage LPP aeronautical combustor

Large-Eddy Simulations were performed to study the flashback-induced flame shape transition of a lean premixed M flame in a staged liquid-fuelled aeronautical lean-burner, as observed experimentally. The BIMER combustor is a Lean Premixed Prevapourised (LPP) burner composed of two stages, each with its own injector and swirler: the main outer stage, called multipoint, uses jet-in-crossflow injection to achieve the LPP regime, while the central stage, called pilot, uses a pressure swirl injector to create a hollow cone spray to stabilise the flame. During LPP operation, this M flame presents a strong acoustic activity, promoting a periodic flashback of its leading edge. When, aiming to stabilise the flame, the pilot injection is increased and the multipoint injection decreased, the oscillating leading edge (due to the longitudinal acoustic perturbations) attaches to the pilot spray, changing the flame into a Tulip shape. Two phenomena were identified as being the most relevant causes of this flame shape transition. First, the leading edge position and the thermoacoustic instability amplitude are directly linked to the combustion chamber final temperature. The higher the temperature in the chamber, the more upstream the leading edge stabilises, and the higher the acoustic oscillation amplitude, both increasing the risk of a successful flashback. Second, the injection regime with high pilot injection allows the leading edge to attach to the pilot spray, as the flame only transitions when the pilot spray is sufficiently high. The higher the pilot fuel flow, the higher the amount of fuel sprayed in the critical region where the flame might attach for a transition to the Tulip shape. Therefore, as the change in injection regime is the main mechanism lean staged burners use to reduce emissions while increasing operability, this works shows that an M flame is unsuitable to such burners with similar aerodynamic topology and properties.

Large Eddy Simulation of a Reacting Kerosene Spray in Hot Vitiated Cross-Flow

The evaporation and combustion characteristics of a kerosene spray injected perpendicularly into a cross-flow of high-temperature vitiated air is investigated. This fundamental flow configuration has wider implications for the future development of ultra-low emission aeronautical combustors, particularly with respect to technologies involving MILD combustion. Large eddy simulations with a Eulerian–Lagrangian framework are performed to investigate the spray evolution and the characteristics of the reaction zone for a range of conditions. For the closure of turbulence-chemistry interactions at the sub-grid scales, a transported probability density function approach solved by the Eulerian stochastic fields method is applied. A configuration based on the use of airblast atomisation is assessed first and compared with experimental observations. The effect of the atomiser air-to-liquid mass flow ratio is studied in greater detail, both in terms of the resulting gas-phase properties and the droplet evaporation process. Then, the effect of ambient pressure on the global spray flame behaviour is examined. For this part of the study, no atomising air is included in the simulation to separate the effects of ambient pressure on the spray from the interaction with the air jet. Analysis of the flame and spray properties at cross-flow operating pressures of 1 atm, 2 bar and 4 bar highlights the strong coupling between the reacting flow and droplet evaporation characteristics, which are highly affected by the penetration of the spray into a flow field characterised by relatively large gradients of temperature. The results reported in this work provide fundamental understanding for the development of novel low-emission combustion technologies and demonstrate the feasibility of applying large eddy simulation with detailed chemistry for the investigation of reacting aviation fuel sprays in hot vitiated cross-flow.

Comparison of a finite volume and two Lattice Boltzmann solvers for swirled confined flows

A finite volume and two Lattice–Boltzmann unsteady, flow solvers using LES (Large Eddy Simulation) were compared in a swirling flow configuration, typical of aeronautical combustion chambers. Numerical results were validated against experimental data collected at EM2C laboratory by comparing pressure losses, mean and RMS velocity profiles on multiple planes and axial velocity spectra. Meshes and the overall numerical setups were individually adjusted for each code to obtain the targeted accuracy before comparing CPU efficiencies.Results confirm that the three LES codes provide high fidelity results, much better than usual RANS especially in terms of RMS data. The analysis of CPU performances shows that LBM (Lattice–Boltzmann Method) solvers are faster than the finite volume solver, even if CPU efficiencies remains of the same order of magnitude. In addition, strong scaling tests from 36 to 900 cores show that the finite volume solver scales more efficiently than the LBM codes, specially when the number of grid points per core is not sufficient.

1‐kHz hybrid femtosecond/picosecond coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering thermometry of turbulent combustion in a representative aeronautical test rig

AbstractThe study of complex reactive flows met in aeronautical engines is an experimental challenge that requires the development of noninvasive and precise measurement techniques. Coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) is a standard spectroscopic technique used for temperature measurements, which provides unmatched reliability and accuracy at high repetition rate thanks to its recent adaptation to femtosecond temporal regime. This paper reports the first demonstration of hybrid fs/ps‐CARS thermometry in a representative aeronautical combustor (ONERA MICADO test bench, Reynolds number ≈105). Single‐shot N2 CARS spectra have been recorded at 1 kHz, allowing temperature follow up, statistical and frequency (0.1–500 Hz) analysis of CH4/air flame at 0.34‐MPa total pressure. The achieved results demonstrate the ability of the technique to be applied in representative engines conditions and its maturity for semi‐industrial applications.

Large Eddy Simulation of a Turbulent Spray Burner Using Thickened Flame Model and Adaptive Mesh Refinement

Abstract The accurate simulation of two-phase flow combustion is crucial for the design of aeronautical combustion chambers. In order to gain insight into complex interactions between a flame, a flow, and a liquid phase, the present work addresses the combustion modeling for the large eddy simulation (LES) of a turbulent spray jet flame. The Eulerian–Lagrangian framework is selected to represent the gaseous and liquid phases, respectively. Chemical processes are described by a reduced mechanism, and turbulent combustion is modeled by the thickened flame model (TFM) coupled to the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR). The TFM-AMR extension on the dispersed phase is successfully validated on a laminar spray flame configuration. Then, the modeling approach is evaluated on the academic turbulent spray burner, providing a good agreement with the experimental data.

Combustion for aircraft propulsion: Progress in advanced laser-based diagnostics on high-pressure kerosene/air flames produced with low-NOx fuel injection systems

The challenges in designing high-performance aeronautical combustion systems have not changed significantly over the years, but the increase of stringent regulations and the need to tackle rising fuel prices require new sophisticated analysis processes. To address this concern, the theme of this study was cast in terms of the ability of improving the performances of advanced non-intrusive instrumentation in high-pressure turbulent reactive two-phase flows to enhance the combustion efficiency and reduction of pollutants of new innovative low-NOx injection systems fed with liquid kerosene. In the first part, a Lean Premixed injection system designed for helicopter engines was first studied using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), Phase Doppler Anemometry (PDA) and Planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of OH, kerosene vapor and NO. These diagnostics were applied individually or in combination for custom-made solutions for accessing to detailed information on the spatial distributions of velocity, droplets size, OH, kerosene and NO molar fractions in pressure conditions ranging from 0.4 to 1.8 MPa. Complementary large-Eddy simulations of these flames were performed using the PCM-FPI tabulated chemistry approach in conjunction with a polydisperse Euler–Lagrangian approach. Comparison of simulations with experiments highlighted the importance of the size distribution of the droplets injected into the flow on the mutual predictions of the aerodynamic field, the structure of the flame and its anchorage point as well as the spatial distribution of the fuel and OH species. The second part of this work was aimed to study the advantages and limitations of the chirped probe pulse femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CPP fs-CARS) diagnostic for performing time-series of single-shot temperature measurements on an aircraft multi-point injection system developing two-phase flames under realistic pressure conditions.

Validation Strategy of Reduced-Order Two-Fluid Flow Models Based on a Hierarchy of Direct Numerical Simulations

Whereas direct numerical simulation (DNS) have reached a high level of description in the field of atomization processes, they are not yet able to cope with industrial needs since they lack resolution and are too costly. Predictive simulations relying on reduced order modeling have become mandatory for applications ranging from cryotechnic to aeronautic combustion chamber liquid injection. Two-fluid models provide a good basis in order to conduct such simulations, even if recent advances allow to refine subscale modeling using geometrical variables in order to reach a unified model including separate phases and disperse phase descriptions based on high order moment methods. The simulation of such models has to rely on dedicated numerical methods and still lacks assessment of its predictive capabilities. The present paper constitutes a building block of the investigation of a hierarchy of test-cases designed to be amenable to DNS while close enough to industrial configurations, for which we propose a comparison of two-fluid compressible simulations with DNS data-bases. We focus in the present contribution on an air-assisted water atomization using a planar liquid sheet injector. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons with incompressible DNS allow us to identify and analyze strength and weaknesses of the reduced-order modeling and numerical approach in this specific configuration and set a framework for more refined models since they already provide a very interesting level of comparison on averaged quantities.

Effect of the Swirl Intensity of Pilot Inner Swirler on the Combustion Stability of a Lean Staged Injector With a Prefilm Atomizer

Abstract Lean staged combustion can reduce the NOx emissions by prevaporizing and premixing fuel with air, which is considered the state-of-the-art solution strategy in achieving low emission in aeronautical combustors. However, lean premixed combustion is subjected to combustion stability problems, which restrict the ground and altitude operation limits of the commercial engine. In this work, the effect of the swirl intensity of pilot inner swirler on combustion stability of a lean staged injector is experimentally and numerically studied. The lean staged injector is piloted by a dual swirler prefilm atomizer. The swirl intensity of the pilot inner swirler is varied by parameterizing the vane angle as +20 deg, −20 deg, and −35 deg, with −20 deg selected as the baseline with a counterswirling design. A single sector model combustor is designed, and the nonreacting flow field and fuel concentration distributions are measured by particle image velocimetry (PIV) and kerosene planar laser induced fluorescence (kerosene-PLIF) techniques. The alteration of swirl direction from counterswirling to coswirling induces a negligible effect on flow structures, but the spray distribution changes from a solid pattern to a hollow pattern. The increase in the pilot inner swirl intensity causes a shrunk cyclone recirculation zone (CRZ) and a reduction of kerosene concentration in the central region. The influences of the pilot inner swirler angle on combustion stability are evaluated. The ignition and lean blow-out (LBO) results show that the baseline injector exhibits excellent combustion stability, while the coswirling design holds the highest ignition and LBO fuel–air ratio (FAR). In order to find out the physical mechanisms dominating the ignition and LBO processes, nonreacting numerical simulations are conducted to provide information regarding the flow structures and kerosene concentrations at ignition limits. Moreover, the ignition sequences are redefined as the radial flame propagation phase, the axial flame propagation phase, and the flame stabilization phase. The comparison of kerosene concentration along the radial and axial propagation routes concludes that the fuel enrichment in the two processes improves the ignition performance. On the other hand, the Karlovitz number of flame anchoring points in the flame rooting region is calculated to evaluate the flame stabilization characteristics. The results indicate that promoting the number of flame anchoring points and their radial range benefits the LBO performance.

Hybrid Eulerian-Lagrangian method for soot modelling applied to ethylene-air premixed flames

Soot formation has become an important issue in the design of gas turbine combustors due to its environmental impact and its contribution to radiative heat transfer in the combustion chamber. However, efficient and accurate prediction of soot particles formation, growth, oxidation and interaction in gas turbine combustors is still an open field in computational fluid dynamics. The present approach proposes to combine a reduced gas-phase chemistry, a sectional model for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and a Lagrangian description of soot particles dynamics. The Lagrangian description has been chosen for its ability to simulate the evolution of the particle size distribution. A numerical procedure is proposed to minimise its CPU cost. This approach was successfully applied to the simulation of steady laminar premixed ethylene-air flames at three fuel equivalence ratios, which constitutes a prerequisite towards its use in an aeronautical combustion chamber.

Including analytically reduced chemistry (ARC) in CFD applications

Reacting numerical simulations today are often based on either fitted global reaction schemes, comprised of a few empirical reactions, or pre-tabulated laminar flame solutions computed with detailed chemistry. Although both methods can accurately predict global quantities such as laminar flame speed and burnt gas composition, they have significant limitations. In particular, neither are able to directly and adequately describe the complexity of pollutant chemistry. In the context of reducing harmful emissions of the next generation of aeronautical combustors, however, including these needed additional kinetic details in combustion simulations is becoming essential. Direct integration of detailed chemistry in accurate turbulent combustion models is not a viable option in the foreseeable future, because of excessive computational demands and numerical stiffness. In this context, Analytically Reduced Chemistry (ARC) represents an attractive compromise between accuracy and efficiency, and is already employed in relatively complex Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) and Large Eddy Simulations (LES). ARCs are knowledge-based compact mechanisms retaining only the most relevant kinetic information as extracted directly, and without fitting, from detailed chemical models using specialized reduction techniques (important species identification through graph search, lumping of species with similar features, short-living species identification, etc.). In recent years, several multi-step efficient and automated reduction tools have been developed, enabling the easy generation of ARCs with minimum input and knowledge from the user. The main objective of this paper is to present a review of ARCs for fuels ranging from methane to aviation kerosene surrogates, recently derived with such a multi-step automated reduction tool: YARC. Information about the applicability and range of validity of each derived mechanism are given, along with further references. Each one was specifically derived to be convenient to use in CFD; in particular, the stiffness was regarded as a key factor and the final number of transported species never exceeds thirty. In a final section, the great potential of the methodology is illustrated in a multi-phase, reactive LES application where the fuel is a real multi-component transportation fuel. To that end, an ARC based on a Jet A described by the novel Hybrid Chemistry (HyChem) approach is coupled with the Dynamically Thickened Flame LES (DTFLES) model and directly integrated into the LES solver AVBP. A Lagrangian spray description is used. Results are compared to experimental data in terms of temperature and major species (CO2, H2O, CO, NO) mass fractions, leading to very satisfying results.

Numerical and Experimental Investigation on an Effusion-Cooled Lean Burn Aeronautical Combustor: Aerothermal Field and Emissions

Lean burn combustion is increasing its popularity in the aeronautical framework due to its potential in reducing drastically pollutant emissions (NOx and soot in particular). Its implementation, however, involves significant issues related to the increased amount of air dedicated to the combustion process, demanding the redesign of injection and cooling systems. Also, the conditions at the combustor exit are a concern, as high turbulence, residual swirl, and the impossibility to adjust the temperature profile with dilution holes determine a harsher environment for nozzle guide vanes. This work describes the final stages of the design of an aeronautical effusion-cooled lean burn combustor. Full annular tests were carried out to measure temperature profiles and emissions (CO and NOx) at the combustor exit. Different operating conditions of the ICAO cycle were tested, considering Idle, Cruise, Approach, and Take-off. Scale-adaptive simulations with the flamelet generated manifold (FGM) combustion model were performed to extend the validation of the employed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology and to reproduce the experimental data in terms of radial temperature distribution factor (RTDF)/overall temperature distribution factor (OTDF) profiles as well as emission indexes (EIs). The satisfactory agreement paved the way to an exploitation of the methodology to provide a deeper understanding of the flow physics within the combustion chamber, highlighting the impact of the different operating conditions on flame, spray evolution, and pollutant formation.

Vitiated High Karlovitz n-decane/air Turbulent Flames: Scaling Laws and Micro-mixing Modeling Analysis

Turbulent flames with high Karlovitz numbers have deserved further attention in the most recent literature. For a fixed value of the Damkohler number (ratio between an integral mechanical time and a chemical time), the increase of the Karlovitz number (ratio between a chemical time and a micro-mixing time) by an order of magnitude implies the increase of the turbulent Reynolds number by two orders of magnitude (Bray, Symp. (Int.) Combust. 26, 1–26 1996). In the practice of real burners featuring a limited range of variation of their turbulent Reynolds number, high Karlovitz combustion actually goes with a drastic reduction of the Damkohler number. Within this context, the relation between the dilution by burnt gases and the apparition of high Karlovitz flames is discussed. Basic scaling laws are reported which suggest that the overall decrease of the burning rate due to very fast mixing can indeed be compensated by the energy brought to the reaction zone by burnt gases. To estimate the validity of these scaling laws, in particular the response of the quenching Karlovitz versus the dilution level with a vitiated stream, the micro-mixing rate is varied in a multiple-inlet canonical turbulent and reactive micro-mixing problem. A reduced n-decane/air chemical kinetics is used, which has been derived from a more detailed scheme using a combination of a directed relation graphs analysis with a Genetic Algorithm. The multiple-inlet canonical micro-mixing problem includes liquid fuel injection and dilution by burnt gases, both calibrated from conditions representative of an aeronautical combustion chamber. The results confirm the possibility of reaching, with the help of a vitiated mixture, very high Karlovitz combustion before quenching occurs.

On the Combination of Large Eddy Simulation and Phenomenological Soot Modeling to Calculate the Smoke Index From Aero-Engines Over a Large Range of Operating Conditions

Nowadays, models predicting soot emissions are neither able to describe correctly fine effects of technological changes on sooting trends nor sufficiently validated at relevant operating conditions to match design office quantification needs. Yet, phenomenological descriptions of soot formation, containing key ingredients for soot modeling exist in the literature, such as the well-known Leung et al. model (Combust Flame 1991). However, when blindly applied to aeronautical combustors for different operating conditions, this model fails to hierarchize operating points compared to experimental measurements. The objective of this work is to propose an extension of the Leung model over a wide range of condition relevant of gas turbines operation. Today, the identification process can hardly be based on laboratory flames since few detailed experimental data are available for heavy-fuels at high pressure. Thus, it is decided to directly target smoke number values measured at the engine exhaust for a variety of combustors and operating conditions from idling to take-off. A large eddy simulation approach is retained for its intrinsic ability to reproduce finely unsteady behavior, mixing, and intermittency. In this framework, The Leung model for soot is coupled to the thickened flame model (TFLES) for combustion. It is shown that pressure-sensitive laws for the modeling constant of the soot surface chemistry are sufficient to reproduce engine emissions. Grid convergence is carried out to verify the robustness of the proposed approach. Several cases are then computed blindly to assess the prediction capabilities of the extended model.

Large-Eddy Simulation of Kerosene Spray Ignition in a Simplified Aeronautic Combustor

The current work presents the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of a kerosene spray ignition phase in a simplified aeronautical combustor for which detailed experimental data are available. The carrier phase is simulated using an unstructured multi-species compressible Navier-Stokes solver while the dispersed liquid phase is modeled with a Lagrangian approach. An energy deposition model neglecting the presence of a plasma phase in the very first instants of the energy deposition process, a reduced kinetic scheme and a simplified spray injection model are combined to achieve both a reasonable computational expense and a satisfactory overall accuracy. Following a brief description of the validation of these models, non reactive gaseous and two-phase flow LES’s of the target combustor are performed. Excellent agreement with experiments is observed for the non reactive gaseous simulations. The dispersed phase velocity fields are also well reproduced while discrepancies appear for the spatial size distribution of the particles. Finally, numerical snapshots of a successful ignition phase are shown and discussed.