Igniter jet dynamics in solid fuel ramjets

The dynamics of a two dimensional plane jet injected at the base of a step, parallel to the wall, in backward facing step flow geometry is numerically studied. The objective of this work is to gain insight into the dynamics of the igniter flow field in solid fuel ramjet motors. Solid fuel ramjets operate by ingestion of air and subsequent combustion with a solid fuel grain such as polyethylene. The system of governing equations is solved with a finite volume approach using a structured grid in which the AUSM+ scheme is used to calculate the convective fluxes. The Spalart and Allmaras turbulence model is used in these simulations. Experimental data have been used to validate the flow solver and turbulence model simulation results. The comparison of the numerical results and experimental data has validated the use of the adopted turbulence model for the study of this type of problem. A special attention is paid to the igniter jet exit location. It is shown that the wall jet igniter, issuing from the base of the step, drastically changes the structure of recirculating region of backward facing step flow and produces large and damaging shear stress on the fuel surface. Moving the igniter jet exit location to the top of the backward facing step changes the flow field favorably, by reducing the fuel surface shear stress by an order of magnitude and maintaining the recirculating region behind the step, which can provide proper residence time for the fuel–air mixture chemical reactions.