SIMULATION AND MODELING OF AN ACOUSTICALLY FORCED MODEL ROCKET INJECTOR

Abstract

A numerical and experimental study was performed to assess the capability of the Loci-CHEM CFD solver in simulating dynamic interaction between hydrogen-oxygen turbulent diffusion flames and periodic pressure waves. Previous experimental studies involving a single-element shear-coaxial model injector revealed an unusual flame-acoustic interaction mechanism affecting combustion instability characteristics. To directly compare the simulation and experiments, various models in the present solver were examined and additional experiments conducted. A customized mesh and corresponding boundary conditions were designed and developed, closely approximating the experimental setup. Full 3-D simulations were conducted using a hybrid RANS/LES framework with appropriate chemistry and turbulence models. The results were compared for both reacting and non-reacting flows that were excited at various forcing frequencies representing both resonant and non-resonant behaviors. Although a good qualitative agreement was obtained for the most part, there was a significant discrepancy in simulating the flame-acoustic interaction behavior observed under non-resonant forcing conditions.