Investigation of the influence of swirl on a confined coannular swirl jet

Large Eddy Simulations are used to model a turbulent confined coannular combustor and examine the effects of swirl on the flow field and mixing. Three separate simulations with relatively high mesh resolutions and different swirl numbers have been carried out using a finite volume method on a Cartesian non-uniform structured grid. A localised dynamic Smagorinsky model is used to parameterize the sub-grid scale turbulence. The snapshots of the axial and swirl velocities and velocity vector fields show the complex flow patterns developing with increased swirl number and the rapid decay of axial momentum. Precessing vortex cores (PVC) were identified for all three cases and the mean axial velocity plots indicate that the upstream extremity of the vortex breakdown bubble shifts towards the inlet as the swirl number increases. The calculated power spectra indicate the distinct precession frequency for high swirl number. Probability density functions of axial velocity showed the changes of their distributions from approximately Gaussian to non-Gaussian with increased swirl number. The swirl has a large effect on the rate of decay of the axial velocity throughout the domain, whereas only has a significant effect on the decay of swirl velocity in the near field close to the jet inlet. The relation between swirl number and the axial extent of the recirculation zone is approximately linear. Radial plots of mean passive scalar and its variance also demonstrate an increase in the rate of mixing with increasing swirl number.