Combustion instabilities are a major concern in the design of Liquid Rocket Engines (LREs) and gas turbines. During this PhD work, several directions were explored to understand and mitigate their effects. First, more efficient and robust numerical methods for their prediction in complex combustors were designed. In this matter, a novel type of modal expansion, named a frame expansion and comparable to the classical Galerkin expansion, was introduced to build more accurate acoustic Low-Order Models (LOMs), able to account for the full geometrical complexity of industrial combustors. In particular, the frame expansion is able to accurately represent the acoustic velocity field near non-rigid-wall boundaries, a crucial ability that the Galerkin method lacks. An entire class of novel numerical methods, based on the frame expansion, were then designed and combined with the state-space formalism to build acoustic networks of complex systems. The second ingredient in the prediction of thermoacoustic instabilities is the flame dynamics modeling. This work dealt with this problem, in the specific case of a cryogenic coaxial jet-flame characteristic of a LRE. Flame dynamics driving phenomena were identified thanks to three-dimensional Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of the Mascotte experimental test rig where both reactants (CH4 and O2) are injected in transcritical conditions. Several LES with harmonic modulation of the fuel inflow at various frequencies and amplitudes were performed in order to evaluate the flame response to acoustic oscillations and compute a Flame Transfer Function (FTF). The stabilization of this flame in the near-injector region, which is of primary importance on the overall flame dynamics, was also investigated thanks to multi-physics two-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS), where a conjugate heat transfer problem is resolved at the injector lip.
The combustion instability is investigated computationally for a multi-injector rocket engine using the flamelet progress variable (FPV) model. A C++ code is developed based on OpenFOAM 4.0 to apply the combustion model. Flamelet tables are generated for methane/oxygen combustion at the background pressure of $200$ bar using a 12-species chemical mechanism. A power law is determined for rescaling the reaction rate for the progress variable to address the pressure effect. The combustion is also simulated by the one-step-kinetics (OSK) method for comparison with the FPV approach. A study of comb…
The present paper deals with the numerical study of high pressure LOx/H2 or LOx/hydrocarbon combustion for propulsion systems. The present research effort is driven by the continued interest in achieving low cost, reliable access to space and more recently, by the renewed interest in hypersonic transportation systems capable of reducing time-to-destination. Moreover, combustion at high pressure has been assumed as a key issue to achieve better propulsive performance and lower environmental impact, as long as the replacement of hydrogen with a hydrocarbon, to reduce the costs related to ground …
Gas turbine combustion chambers contain numerous smallscale features that help to dampen acoustic waves and alter the acoustic mode shapes. This damping helps to alleviate problems such as thermoacoustic instabilities. During computational fluid dynamics simulations (CFD) of combustion chambers, these small-scale features are often neglected as the corresponding increase in the mesh cell count augments significantly the cost of simulation while the small physical size of these cells can present problems for the stability of the solver. In problems where acoustics are prevalent and critical to …
A computational model is developed to assist the design of the first hybrid rocket engine of the McGill Rocket Team, using liquid nitrous oxide as an oxidizer and solid paraffin wax as a fuel. The model is developed in three phases: In the first phase, a steady-state model which neglects transient performance decrease of the hybrid engine is considered. The steady-state model considers: a constant oxidizer mass flow rate; a combustion chamber in chemical equilibrium; a one-dimensional isentropic nozzle; and a one-dimensional constant-thrust rocket ascent. The steady-state model is used to cond…
Neural networks (NN) are implemented as sub-grid flame models in a large-eddy simulation of a single-injector liquid-propellant rocket engine with the aim to replace a look-up table approach. The NN training process presents an extraordinary challenge. The multi-dimensional combustion instability problem involves multi-scale lengths and characteristic times in an unsteady flow problem with nonlinear acoustics, addressing both transient and dynamic-equilibrium behaviors, superimposed on a turbulent reacting flow with very narrow, moving flame regions. Accurate interpolation between the points o…
In practical combustion systems, the high nonlinearity of the turbulent combustion process can result in unexpected behavior even for nominal operating conditions. This includes flame flashback in premixed gas turbines, engine unstart in scramjets, and failure of engines to ignite at high altitudes. Many of these events have catastrophic consequences. Hence, understanding the nature of such irregular excursions of combustion systems is important to ensure robust operation. The focus of this work is to identify the sources of such rare excursions from a dynamical systems perspective. Specifical…
We analyze the data of purposeful rupture experiments with LOx and LH2 tanks, the Hydrogen-Oxygen Vertical Impact (HOVI) tests that were performed to clarify the ignition mechanisms, the explosive power of cryogenic H2/Ox mixtures under different conditions, and to elucidate the puzzling source of the initial formation of flames near the intertank section during the Challenger disaster. We carry out a physics-based analysis of general explosions scenarios for cryogenic gaseous H2/Ox mixtures and determine their realizability conditions, using the well-established simplified models from the det…
Perturbations in a non-normal system can grow transiently even if the system is linearly stable. If this transient growth is sufficiently large, it can trigger self-sustained oscillations from small initial disturbances. This has important practical consequences for combustion-acoustic oscillations, which are a continual problem in rocket and aircraft engines. Balasubramanian and Sujith (Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2008, 594, 29-57) modelled an infinite-rate chemistry diffusion flame in an acoustic duct and found that the transient growth in this system can amplify the initial energy by a fact…
The accurate prediction of small scales in underresolved flows is still one of the main challenges in predictive simulations of complex configurations. Over the last few years, data-driven modeling has become popular in many fields as large, often extensively labeled datasets are now available and training of large neural networks has become possible on graphics processing units (GPUs) that speed up the learning process tremendously. In fact, the successful application of deep neural networks in fluid dynamics, such as for underresolved reactive flows, is still challenging. This work advances …
The high cost of high-resolution computational fluid/flame dynamics (CFD) has hindered its application in combustion related design, research and optimization. In this study, we propose a new framework for turbulent combustion simulation based on the deep learning approach. An optimized deep convolutional neural network (CNN) inspired from a U-Net architecture and inception module is designed for constructing the framework of the deep learning solver, named CFDNN. CFDNN is then trained on the simulation results of hydrogen combustion in a cavity with different inlet velocities. After training,…
To effectively simulate the combustion of hydrocarbon-fueled supersonic engines, such as rocket-based combined cycle (RBCC) engines, a detailed mechanism for chemistry is usually required but computationally prohibitive. In order to accelerate chemistry calculation, an artificial neural network (ANN) based methodology was introduced in this study. This methodology consists of two different layers: self-organizing map (SOM) and back-propagation neural network (BPNN). The SOM is for clustering the dataset into subsets to reduce the nonlinearity, while the BPNN is for regression for each subset. …
Axisymmetric simulations of a liquid rocket engine are performed using a delayed detached-eddy-simulation (DDES) turbulence model with the Compressible Flamelet Progress Variable (CFPV) combustion model. Three different pressure instability domains are simulated: completely unstable, semi-stable, and fully stable. The different instability domains are found by varying the combustion chamber and oxidizer post length. Laminar flamelet solutions with a detailed chemical mechanism are examined. The $β$ Probability Density Function (PDF) for the mixture fraction and Dirac $δ$ PDF for both the press…
Distributed combustion, often associated with the low-oxygen condition, offers ultra-low NOX emission. However, it was recently achieved without combustion air dilution or internal flue gas recirculation, using a distinct approach called Mixture Temperature-Controlled combustion. Here, the fuel-air stream is cooled at the inlet to delay ignition and hence foster homogeneous mixture formation. The aim of this numerical study aims to understand the operation of this combustion concept better and present a robust framework for distributed combustion modeling in a parameter range where such operat…
Stanford University（斯坦福大学）；SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory（SLAC国家加速器实验室）；Technical University of Munich（慕尼黑工业大学）
In this investigation, we outline a data-assisted approach that employs random forest classifiers for local and dynamic combustion submodel assignment in turbulent-combustion simulations. This method is applied in simulations of a single-element GOX/GCH4 rocket combustor; a priori as well as a posteriori assessments are conducted to (i) evaluate the accuracy and adjustability of the classifier for targeting different quantities-of-interest (QoIs), and (ii) assess improvements, resulting from the data-assisted combustion model assignment, in predicting target QoIs during simulation runtime. Res…
Spectral effects of radiating gases on the ignition in a multiswirl staged model combustor using full-spectrum k distribution method -- A Large Eddy Simulation Investigation
The accurate and robust simulation of transcritical real-fluid effects is crucial for many engineering applications, such as fuel injection in internal combustion engines, rocket engines and gas turbines. For example, in diesel engines, the liquid fuel is injected into the ambient gas at a pressure that exceeds its critical value, and the fuel jet will be heated to a supercritical temperature before combustion takes place. This process is often referred to as transcritical injection. The largest thermodynamic gradient in the transcritical regime occurs as the fluid undergoes a liquid-like to a…
Under rocket-relevant conditions, real-gas effects and thermodynamic non-idealities are prominent features of the flow field. Experimental investigations indicate that phase separation can occur depending on the operating conditions and on the involved species in the multicomponent flow. During the past decades, several research groups in the rocket combustion community have addressed this topic. In this contribution we employ a high-fidelity thermodynamic framework comprising real-gas and multicomponent phase separation effects to investigate liquid oxygen-methane and liquid oxygen-hydrogen f…
Stanford University（斯坦福大学）；SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory（SLAC国家加速器实验室）
Many practical combustion systems such as those in rockets, gas turbines, and internal combustion engines operate under high pressures that surpass the thermodynamic critical limit of fuel-oxidizer mixtures. These conditions require the consideration of complex fluid behaviors that pose challenges for numerical simulations, casting doubts on the validity of existing subgrid-scale (SGS) models in large-eddy simulations of these systems. While data-driven methods have shown high accuracy as closure models in simulations of turbulent flames, these models are often criticized for lack of physical …
In lean premixed combustors, flame stabilization is an important operational concern that can affect efficiency, robustness and pollutant formation. The focus of this paper is on flame lift-off and re-attachment to the nozzle of a swirl combustor. Using time-resolved experimental measurements, a data-driven approach known as cluster-based reduced order modeling (CROM) is employed to 1) isolate key flow patterns and their sequence during the flame transitions, and 2) formulate a forecasting model to predict the flame instability. The flow patterns isolated by the CROM methodology confirm some o…
Large eddy simulation (LES) has become the de-facto computational tool for modeling complex reacting flows, especially in gas turbine applications. However, readily usable general-purpose LES codes for complex geometries are typically academic or proprietary/commercial in nature. The objective of this work is to develop and disseminate an open source LES tool for low-Mach number turbulent combustion using the OpenFOAM framework. In particular, a collocated-mesh approach suited for unstructured grid formulation is provided. Unlike other fluid dynamics models, LES accuracy is intricately linked …
Flame-wall interaction of thermodiffusively unstable hydrogen/air flames -- Part II: Parametric variations of equivalence ratio, temperature, and pressure
Combustion in automotive and aerospace applications employing diesel, gas turbine and liquid rocket engines is preceded by injection and mixing of fuel and oxidizer at high pressures, often exceeding mixture critical values. Experimental observations indicate that the jets injected at supercritical pressures exhibit significantly different dynamics than the jets at subcritical conditions, owing to the lack of distinct liquid and gas phases in supercritical state. As a result, the averaged flow quantities such as the potential core length, jet spatial growth rate and velocity decay profiles dif…
Accurate simulations of high-pressure transcritical fuel sprays are essential for the design and optimization of next-generation gas turbines, internal combustion engines, and liquid propellant rocket engines. Most important and challenging is the accurate modelling of complex real-gas effects in high-pressure environments, especially the hybrid subcritical-to-supercritical mode of evaporation during the mixing of fuel and oxidizer. In this paper, we present a novel modeling framework for high-fidelity simulations of reacting and non-reacting transcritical fuel sprays. In this method, the high…
Global instabilities in swirling flows can significantly alter the flame and flow dynamics of swirl-stabilized flames, such as those in modern power generation gas turbine engines. In this study, we characterize the interaction between the precessing vortex core (PVC), which is the consequence of a global hydrodynamic instability, and thermoacoustic instabilities, which are the result of a resonant coupling between combustor acoustics and the unsteady heat release rate of combustion. This characterization is performed using experimental data obtained from a model gas turbine combustor system e…
Thermoacoustic instabilities in gas turbines and aeroengine combustors falls within the category of complex systems. They can be described phenomenologically using nonlinear stochastic differential equations, which constitute the grounds for output-only model-based system identification. It has been shown recently that one can extract the governing parameters of the instabilities, namely the linear growth rate and the nonlinear component of the thermoacoustic feedback, using dynamic pressure time series only. This is highly relevant for practical systems, which cannot be actively controlled du…
Reduced-order models of flame dynamics can be used to predict and mitigate the emergence of thermoacoustic oscillations in the design of gas turbine and rocket engines. This process is hindered by the fact that these models, although often qualitatively correct, are not usually quantitatively accurate. As automated experiments and numerical simulations produce ever-increasing quantities of data, the question arises as to how this data can be assimilated into physics-informed reduced-order models in order to render these models quantitatively accurate. In this study, we develop and test a physi…
A time-lag and linear regression-based framework is developed and its performance is assessed for predicting temporally resolved spray number of droplets using flame chemiluminescence and a sparse number of droplets data. Separate pressure, interferometric laser imaging for droplet sizing, shadowgraphy, and flame chemiluminescence are performed for the spray characterization. Simultaneous 10 kHz flame chemiluminescence and 0.2 Hz Mie scattering measurements are performed for the purposes of the framework development and the number of droplets prediction. Both methane and/or Jet A-1 are used in…
