Spatial structural characteristics of a combustion flow field in an ethylene-fueled supersonic combustor with a rear-wall-expansion cavity

A hybrid large eddy simulation (LES)/assumed subgrid probability density function (PDF) closure model was employed to investigate the structural characteristics of the combustion flow field in an ethylene-fueled supersonic combustor with a rear-wall-expansion cavity. The wall pressure distribution from numerical simulation was compared with experimental data, and the numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental data. The spatial distribution characteristics of combustion heat release in the flow field are obtained from the simulation results. The reaction heat release zone is mainly distributed in the cavity. The cavity shear layer forms a concentrated reaction zone that produces a large amount of chemical heat release, thus further maintaining local stable combustion and forming a flame base. The front part of the cavity shear layer has the highest temperature in the whole flow field. There is still excess fuel reaching the cavity rear wall and producing a certain intensity of reaction. In addition, a dispersed small flame intermittently forms in the downstream near-wall region. The premixed combustion mode dominates the cavity recirculation zone, while the combustion in the downstream region evidently shows a non-premixed mode.