Performance of supersonic model combustors with staged injections of supercritical aviation kerosene

Supersonic model combustors using two-stage injections of supercritical kerosene were experimentally investigated in both Mach 2.5 and 3.0 model combustors with stagnation temperatures of approximately 1,750 K. Supercritical kerosene of approximately 760 K was prepared and injected in the overall equivalence ratio range of 0.5-1.46. Two pairs of integrated injector/flameholder cavity modules in tandem were used to facilitate fuel-air mixing and stable combustion. For single-stage fuel injection at an upstream location, it was found that the boundary layer separation could propagate into the isolator with increasing fuel equivalence ratio due to excessive local heat release, which in turns changed the entry airflow conditions. Moving the fuel injection to a further downstream location could alleviate the problem, while it would result in a decrease in combustion efficiency due to shorter fuel residence time. With two-stage fuel injections the overall combustor performance was shown to be improved and kerosene injections at fuel rich conditions could be reached without the upstream propagation of the boundary layer separation into the isolator. Furthermore, effects of the entry Mach number and pilot hydrogen on combustion performance were also studied.

Characteristics of compressible flow of supercritical kerosene

In this paper, compressible flow of aviation kerosene at supercritical conditions has been studied both numerically and experimentally. The thermophysical properties of supercritical kerosene are calculated using a 10- species surrogate based on the principle of extended corresponding states （ECS）. Isentropic acceleration of supercritical kerosene to subsonic and supersonic speeds has been analyzed numerically. It has been found that the isentropic relationships of supercritical kerosene are significantly dif- ferent from those of ideal gases, A two-stage fuel heating and delivery system is used to heat the kerosene up to a tem- perature of 820 K and pressure of 5.5 MPa with a maximum mass flow rate of 100 g/s. The characteristics of supercritical kerosene flows in a converging-diverging nozzle （Laval nozzle） have been studied experimentally. The results show that stable supersonic flows of kerosene could be established in the temperature range of 730 K-820 K and the measurements in the wall pressure agree with the numerical calculation.

Engine performance analysis and optimization of a dual-mode scramjet with varied inlet conditions

A dual-mode scramjet can operate in a wide range of flight conditions. Higher thrust can be generated by adopting suitable combustion modes. Based on the net thrust, an analysis and preliminary optimal design of a kerosene-fueled parameterized dual-mode scramjet at a cru- cial flight Mach number of 6 were investigated by using a modified quasi-one-dimensional method and simulated annealing strategy. Engine structure and heat release distrib- utions, affecting the engine thrust, were chosen as analytical parameters for varied inlet conditions （isolator entrance Mach number： 1.5-3.5）. Results show that different opti- mal heat release distributions and structural conditions can be obtained at five different inlet conditions. The highest net thrust of the parameterized dual-mode engine can be achieved by a subsonic combustion mode at an isolator entrance Mach number of 2.5. Additionally, the effects of heat release and scramjet structure on net thrust have been discussed. The present results and the developed analytical method can provide guidance for the design and optimization of high-performance dual-mode scramjets.

Large Eddy Simulation of Stratified Turbulent Channel Flow with a Dynamic Subgrid Scale Model

In this paper, large eddy simulation coupled with a dynamic subgrid scale (SGS) model is used to study turbulent channel flows with heat transfer. Some fundamental flow behaviors are discussed. Based on our calculated results, the dynamic SGS model can reasonably predict some main characteristics of stratified turbulent channel flows. Our results are also in good agreement with theoretical analyses and previous calculated results.