Supercritical combustion of gas-centered liquid-swirl coaxial injectors for staged-combustion engines

The combustion characteristics of gas-centered, liquid-swirl coaxial injectors typically used in oxidizer-rich staged combustion cycle engines are numerically investigated at supercritical conditions. Turbulence closure is achieved using large-eddy-simulation techniques, and turbulence/chemistry interaction is modeled by a steady laminar flamelet approach. Gaseous oxygen (GOX) at 687.7 K is injected into the center post while kerosene at 492.2 K is delivered tangentially into the outer coaxial annulus. The operating pressure is 25.3 MPa. Detailed flow structures and flame dynamics are explored. The entire flowfield can be divided into four regimes: propellant injection, flame initialization, flame development, and intensive combustion. The diffusion-dominated flame is anchored in the wake of the GOX post and further enhanced in the downstream taper region. The surface of the coaxial annulus and taper is covered by fuel-rich mixtures and thus protected from thermal flux in the flame zone. Effects of the recess length (from the end of GOX post to the entrance of taper region) on the flow and flame evolution are investigated in depth. The efficiency of propellant mixing and subsequent combustion is found to increase with increasing recess length. The kerosene film is nearly depleted before the exit of the recess region for cases with long recess length, and the flame spreads upwards in the taper region for cases with reduced recess length due to insufficient mixing between GOX and kerosene. In a fully recessed injector without fuel shielding, the injected kerosene behaves like a liquid jet in a crossflow. Two recirculating zones containing fuel-rich mixtures are formed between the injection slit and the headend. A broad flame region is established at the exit of the recess region. In a non-recessed injector, the occurrence of combustion is delayed to the taper region. The flame resides along the taper surface and the injector faceplate, with most of GOX convecting downstream unburned. Results obtained from the present study can also be used to characterize combustion responses to local flow oscillations.