TY - GEN
T1 - Comparison between numerically simulated and experimentally measured flowfield quantities behind a pulsejet
AU - Geng, Tao
AU - Zheng, Fei
AU - Kuznetsov, Andrey V.
AU - Roberts, William L.
AU - Paxson, Daniel E.
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - Pulsed combustion is receiving renewed interest as a potential route to higher performance in air breathing propulsion systems. Pulsejets offer a simple experimental device with which to study unsteady combustion phenomena and validate simulations. Previous computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation work focused primarily on the pulsejet combustion and exhaust processes. This paper describes a new inlet sub-model which simulates the fluidic and mechanical operation of a valved pulsejet head. The governing equations for this submodel are described. Sub-model validation is provided through comparisons of simulated and experimentally measured reed valve motion, and time averaged inlet mass flow rate. The updated pulsejet simulation, with the inlet sub-model implemented, is validated through comparison with experimentally measured combustion chamber pressure, inlet mass flow rate, operational frequency, and thrust. Additionally, the simulated pulsejet exhaust flowfield, which is dominated by a starting vortex ring, is compared with particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) measurements on the bases of velocity, vorticity, and vortex location. The results show good agreement between simulated and experimental data. The inlet sub-model is shown to be critical for the successful modeling of pulsejet operation. This sub-model correctly predicts both the inlet mass flow rate and its phase relationship with the combustion chamber pressure. As a result, the predicted pulsejet thrust agrees very well with experimental data.
AB - Pulsed combustion is receiving renewed interest as a potential route to higher performance in air breathing propulsion systems. Pulsejets offer a simple experimental device with which to study unsteady combustion phenomena and validate simulations. Previous computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation work focused primarily on the pulsejet combustion and exhaust processes. This paper describes a new inlet sub-model which simulates the fluidic and mechanical operation of a valved pulsejet head. The governing equations for this submodel are described. Sub-model validation is provided through comparisons of simulated and experimentally measured reed valve motion, and time averaged inlet mass flow rate. The updated pulsejet simulation, with the inlet sub-model implemented, is validated through comparison with experimentally measured combustion chamber pressure, inlet mass flow rate, operational frequency, and thrust. Additionally, the simulated pulsejet exhaust flowfield, which is dominated by a starting vortex ring, is compared with particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) measurements on the bases of velocity, vorticity, and vortex location. The results show good agreement between simulated and experimental data. The inlet sub-model is shown to be critical for the successful modeling of pulsejet operation. This sub-model correctly predicts both the inlet mass flow rate and its phase relationship with the combustion chamber pressure. As a result, the predicted pulsejet thrust agrees very well with experimental data.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77957833244&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:77957833244
SN - 9781563479434
T3 - 44th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit
BT - 44th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit
T2 - 44th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit
Y2 - 21 July 2008 through 23 July 2008
ER -