Numerical investigation on implication of dual cavity on combustion characteristics in strut based scramjet combustor

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy 2019-12, Vol.44 (60), p.32080-32094
• Main Authors: Suneetha, Lakka, Randive, Pitambar, Pandey, K.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Combustion efficiency; Dual cavity; Mixing length
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.10.064

The present study investigates the implication of a dual cavity on combustion and mixing characteristics of strut based combustor numerically. A scramjet combustor with and without cavity are considered to evaluate the influence of cavity on combustion characteristics. Moreover, the effect of spacing between the cavities on combustion performance is also discussed. A separate study is carried out to understand the interplay of the Mach number and the spacing between the cavities on combustion characteristics. Our study reveals that the introduction of a dual cavity in scramjet combustor enhances the mixing and improves combustion performance. Further, it is found that the mixing length is lesser and the penetration height is more when a dual cavity is employed in a combustor. It can also be observed that the size of the recirculation region is found to be larger for the combustor with dual cavity among all configurations at the spacing S2 = 12.7 mm. Further, the combustion efficiency and fuel penetration height are found to be maximum at Mach 2.5 with a spacing S2 = 12.7 mm. •Implication of dual cavity on combustion characteristics in scramjet is studied.•Interplay of Mach number and spacing on flow physics in scramjet is discussed.•Shortest mixing length is observed when dual cavity is used.