Dynamic Characteristics of Transverse Fuel Injection and Combustion Flow-Field inside a Scramjet Engine Combustor

A comprehensive numerical analysis has been carried out for both non-reacting and reacting flows in a scramjet engine combustor with and without a cavity. The theoretical formulation treats the complete conservation equations of chemically reacting flows with finite-rate chemistry of hydrogen-air. Turbulence closure is achieved by means of a k-$\omega$ two-equation model. The governing equations are discretized using a MUSCL-type TVD scheme, and temporally integrated by a second-order accurate implicit scheme. Transverse injection of hydrogen is considered over a broad range of injection pressure. The corresponding equivalence ratio of the overall fuel/air mixture ranges from 0.167 to 0.50. The work features detailed resolution of the flow and flame dynamics in the combustor, which was not typically available in most of the previous studies. In particular, the oscillatory flow characteristics are captured at a scale sufficient to identify the .underlying physical mechanisms. Much of the flow unsteadiness is related not only to the cavity, but also to the intrinsic unsteadiness in the flow-field. The interactions between the unsteady flow and flame evolution may cause a large excursion of flow oscillation. The roles of the cavity, injection pressure, and heat release in determining the flow dynamics are examined systematically.