Numerical Investigation of Cavity-Vane Interactions within the Ultra Combat Combustor

摘要

A numerical analysis and design optimization of the Ultra Compact Combustor (UCC) has been conducted. The UCC is a combustor designed to incorporate high-g loadings to increase flame propagation speed while reducing flame length, thereby helping to significantly reduce the size of a combustor. Since real experimental tests are expensive and construction time is prohibitive to test many different design configurations, CFD modeling of the UCC is used to speed up the design optimization process while reducing the overall costs. The r 1461962s have been validated by comparison to data from recent experimental tests. The use of periodic sections and grid independence were validated as well. Modifications to the physical configuration were then modeled using CFD. The shortening of the cavity was found to reduce the harmful emissions in the exhaust. Increasing the angle to 45 deg. and 55 deg. of the air inlets further improved the emissions by increasing the residence time of the fuel particles in the cavity. Aerodynamically improving the vane reduced the pressure loss of the combustor by up to 25%. The increased vane height was an initial step in scaling up the UCC to operational configurations. Of the models in this research, the most improved configuration was found to be the 45 deg. air inlet on the shortest cavity.