DPM Spray in a Combustion Chamber

Combustion Chamber by DPM Spray, CFD Simulation ANSYS Fluent Training

Description

This project simulates a combustion chamber incorporating the Discrete Phase Model (DPM) using ANSYS Fluent, with the 3D geometry built in SpaceClaim and the mesh generated in ANSYS Meshing. The mesh was initially constructed using tetrahedral elements, then converted into a polyhedral mesh within Fluent itself. Given the nature of this problem, the simulation was run using a transient solver to capture the time-dependent development of the spray and combustion process.

Methodology

This project simulates a gas turbine combustion chamber — a configuration commonly used in jet engine applications — using the Discrete Phase Model alongside the Species Transport model. The effect of injecting sprayed benzene combusting particles is captured using the Eddy-Dissipation combustion approach together with its volumetric sub-model, with the Species Transport model enabled to represent the combustion reaction itself. Both airflow and fuel enter the domain through their respective inlet boundaries at a velocity of 3 m/s, with turbulence resolved using the SST k-omega model and the energy equation enabled to capture temperature variation as combustion progresses.

Conclusion

Results include contours of temperature and chemical species mass fraction, along with particle track visualizations. The benzene fuel reaches the nozzle as sprayed particles and is carried into the combustion chamber at high velocity, where combustion occurs within the nozzle before the resulting high-speed, high-temperature flow enters the chamber itself. The accompanying animation reveals that the flame front advances more slowly than the fuel penetration, with the injected fuel outpacing the flame as it moves through the domain.