Investigation of Centrifugal Force and Reynolds Number Effects on Combustion Processes.

摘要

Tests in a combustion centrifuge have demonstrated that increased buoyancy produced by centrifugal force can be used to increase flamespeeds significantly over turbulent flamespeed, which controls combustion rates in conventional burners. A model has been developed that predicts the flamespreading rate at various burner conditions. In addition, a second model, based on classical heat transfer correlations, has been developed to predict with reasonable accuracy the extinction limits of flames at very high centrifugal force values. The effects of Reynolds number on turbulent flamespeeds and on limiting bubble sizes in gravitational fields have also been measured. Testing of a subscale swirl augmentor has confirmed the validity of the experimental model and it has been used to design a full-scale augmentor for advanced versions of an Air Force turbofan engine. The swirl augmentor is predicted to reduce the fuel consumption and increase the stability of the engine.