Steady and unsteady flow characteristics of dual cavity in strut injection scramjet combustor

This study aims to understand the flow performance of a dual wall-mounted cavities in a strut-injector mounted scramjet combustor for steady-state and transient reacting conditions. Conventionally, two-dimensional Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes approach is adopted to compute the steady flow, whereas the current research employs Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation for predicting the unsteady flow characteristics as well. The calculated flow patterns, density, pressure, and temperature fields of dual cavities are compared with shadowgraph and wall pressure measurements from DLR experiments. The dual cavities position substantiates to explore the interplay between wave propagation and shear layer mixing characteristics. Employing a dual cavities arrangement accelerates toward the complete combustion relative to the baseline model. The combustion zone widens in the lateral direction as the dual cavities shift the shock train downstream of the strut injector owing to intense shock shear layer interactions. These cavities' existence significantly modifies the dominating frequencies and affects the strength of the diverging section's coherent flow structures. & COPY; 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigates the flow performance of a dual wall-mounted cavities in a strut-injector mounted scramjet combustor under steady-state and transient reacting conditions. The research compares two-dimensional Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes approach and Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation for computing the steady and unsteady flow characteristics. The results show that the dual cavities arrangement accelerates complete combustion and modifies the flow structures due to intense shock shear layer interactions.