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

Afaque Ahmed Bhutto, Khanji Harijan (), Mukkarum Hussain, Syed Feroz Shah and Laveet Kumar
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Afaque Ahmed Bhutto: Department of Basic Science and Related Studies, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro 76062, Pakistan
Khanji Harijan: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro 76062, Pakistan
Mukkarum Hussain: Department of CFD, Institute of Space Technology, Karachi 75270, Pakistan
Syed Feroz Shah: Department of Basic Science and Related Studies, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro 76062, Pakistan
Laveet Kumar: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro 76062, Pakistan

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 16, 1-11

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.

Keywords: solid fuel; numerical simulation; transient combustion; combustion instability; fuel savings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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