Numerical simulation of aerothermal characteristics in gas turbine combustors with complex geometries

A method is presented for calculating steady three-dimensional two-phase turbulent reactive flows with curved irregular boundaries. The gas phase equations are solved in an Eulerian frame of reference by a numerical technique based on the finite volume approach, while the equations describing droplet motion, evaporation, and burning are treated in a Lagrangian frame of reference. Turbulent transport is described by the standard k-epsilon model. The combustion model utilizes a conserved scalar formulation and an assumed shape probability density function to account for chemistry-turbulence interaction. The numerical scheme employs structured non-orthogonal grids, a node-centered variable arrangement, and Cartesian velocity components. A special interpolation procedure is used to avoid checkerboard oscillations due to pressure-velocity coupling, and a low diffusive and bounded scheme is introduced to approximate the convective terms in the transport equations. The capabilities of the numerical procedure are demonstrated by simulating an annular combustion chamber for which experimental results were available. The agreement between calculation and experiments ranges from fair to good.