Numerical Simulation of a Three-Dimensional Flame / Shock Wave

Interaction (AIAA Paper 98-3210)

Christopher J, Roy *
Jack R. Edwards^
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

Abstract need to store both fuel and oxidizer. with the lat-
ter generally comprising up to 65% of the vehi-
cle's takeoff weight1, thereby greatly decreasing
A three-dimensional Navier-Stokes solver for
payload capacity. Airbreathing vehicles, on the
chemically-reacting flows is used to study the other hand, have the potential for larger relative
structure of a supersonic hydrogen-air flame sta-
payload capacities since they use external air as
bilized in a Mach 2.4 rectangular cross-section
the oxidizer in the combustion process. In ad-
wind tunnel. The numerical model utilizes a
dition, airbreathing vehicles can be designed to
9-species, 21-reaction hydrogen oxidation mech-
employ horizontal landing and take-off, resulting
anism and employs a k-e / assumed PDF ap-
in much faster mission turn around times.
proach for turbulence-chemistry closure. Results
are presented for a configuration examined ex- Below Mach 5, ramjets are often employed. In
perimentally by Huh and Driscoll in which the these, the air stream is slowed down to subsonic
effects of wedge-generated shock waves on flame values before entering the combustor. Above
stability were determined. Computed pitot and Mach 5, the high static temperatures generated
static pressure calculations are compared with by the compression process cause the air to dis-
experimental measurements, and axial density sociate into atomic nitrogen and oxygen, with
gradient contour plots are compared with ex- a significant amount of the flow energy used to
perimental Schlieren photographs. The highly break the molecular bonds. At such high Mach
three-dimensional structure of the flame is de- numbers, it is thus necessary to employ a super-
scribed in detail, and stabilization mechanisms sonic combusting ramjet (scramjet), where com-
are proposed. bustion takes places at supersonic conditions.
Scramjets contain a number of complex flow fea-
tures, including shocks, expansion fans, bound-
Introduction ary layers, shear layers, compressible turbulence,
reaction fronts, and regions of both supersonic
and subsonic flow. The understanding of the in-
Hypersonic vehicles will play an important role teractions among these features is a key in the
in air and space transportation in the 21st cen- development of viable scramjet engines.
tury. Current orbital launch vehicles rely pri-
marily on rocket engines, which suffer from the Experimental data on supersonic combustion
'Research Assistant, Department of Mechanical and is scarce due to the difficulty of simulatir high
Aerospace Engineering, Campus Box 7910, NCSU, enthalpy conditions in ground-based combustion
Raleigh, NC 27695; cjroy@animate.mae.ncsu.edu; (919) facilities. Vitiated air as generated during a pre-
515-5250; Student Member AIAA combustion process is often used to simulate the
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and
high enthalpy air flow entering a supersonic com-
Aerospace Engineering, Campus Box 7910, NCSU,
Raleigh, NC 27695; edwards@animate.mae.ncsu.edu; bustor. This method leads to the presence of sig-
(919) 515-5264; Senior Member AIAA nificant amounts of water vapor in the air stream