PhD defense - T. Schmitt

Large Eddy Simulation of supercritical-pressure turbulent combustion

Delivered by INP Toulouse
Speciality: Fluid dynamics

June 19, 2009 - CERFACS

In cryogenic engines combustion chambers, pressure exceeds the propellants critical pressure. Molecular interactions are generally no longer negligible and fluid behavior deviates from that of a perfect gas. The objective of this thesis is to develop a Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) tool to study combustion and dynamics in realistic geometries of rocket engines. The use of the Peng-Robinson equation of state, in conjunction with a generalized treatment of thermodynamics and appropriate transport coefficients, allows the CERFACS' LES code AVBP to handle reactive systems at supercritical pressure. Change of the thermodynamics in AVBP necessarily leads to an adaptation of boundary conditions treatment and numerical schemes. The tool is validated on a mono-species configuration at supercritical pressure, and a reactive single coaxial injector, representative of a rocket injector. Results are in good agreement with experiments and provide encouraging perspectives for future studies, such as multi-injector configurations and high-frequency combustion instabilities.