This study aims at investigating the effect of a multistrut-based hydrogen injector in a scramjet combustor underreacting case. The numerical analysis is carried out using two-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the Shear Stress Transport k − ω turbulence model in contention to comprehend the flow physics during scramjet combustion. The three major parameters, such as the shock wave pattern, wall pressures, and static temperature across the combustor, are validated with the reported experimental results. The results comply with the range, indicating that the adopted simulation method for single strut injection can be extended for other investigations. It is noticed that with multistrut injectors, as hydrogen jet pressure increases in the supersonic flow field, the jet penetration rate in the lateral direction of the flow and the total pressure loss as compared with the baseline injection pressure conditions has increased. The supersonic flow characteristics are determined based on the flow properties, combustion efficiency, mixing efficiency, and total pressure loss. Compared with the single-strut output of a scramjet combustor, multistruts inclusion increased the combustion efficiency by almost 18%, the mixing efficiency attained the maximum with 16% fewer lengths. The total pressure loss in single-strut is 14% lower than that of multistrut.
A detailed numerical analysis on a scramjet combustor is carried out by introducing an innovative shaped strut in place of the conventional strut. The design of newly added strut aids in generating intense vorticity which helps in efficient mixing of fuel and oxidizer. The air from the isolator enters the combustor at Mach 2.0, whereas fuel enters from the trailing edge of the strut sonically. In this study the flow dynamics with finite volume approach on commercial software Ansys-Fluent 20.0 to solve the two-dimensional Reynolds average Navier Stokes equation (RANS) with compressible fluid flow by considering the density-based solver with SST k-ε turbulent model. The species transport model with volumetric reaction and finite rate/eddy dissipation turbulence chemistry interaction is adopted to study the combustion phenomena and validated with the experimental results, and it is found that the interaction of the shear shock layer enhances the mixing rate by intensifying turbulence. The modified strut injector’s mixing efficiency is compared to the base strut and observed that with a 40% reduction in length, the modified strut injection technique exhibited a mixing efficiency of >95%. The combustion efficiency is then estimated streamwise, and the plot follows the same pattern as the mixing efficiency with fuel burns down completely when x = 150 mm for the modified strut whereas x = 200 mm for the base strut. This can compact the combustion chamber and increases the thrust-to-weight ratio. So, the innovative strut adopted can improvise the combustion efficiency.
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