A DES method applied to a Backward Facing Step reactive flow

Hybrid Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes-Large Eddy Simulation is a trend which is becoming of common use in aerodynamics but has seldom been employed to simulate reactive flows. Such methods, like the Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (DDES) presented in this article, have been created to treat near wall flows with a RANS approach while switching to LES in the separated flow region. It is indeed an affordable solution to simulate complex and unsteady compressible flows and to have access to accurate skin friction and wall thermal fluxes. In order to validate this technique in combustion, we chose a simple and well documented Backward Facing Step combustor. To account for turbulent combustion a Dynamic Thickened Flame was used. The results obtained on this case show a good agreement with the experimental database and are of the same quality as LES in the separated region for both inert and reactive flows. To cite this article: B. Sainte-Rose et al., C. R. Mecanique 337 (2009). (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS on behalf of Academie des sciences.