Thermal Analyses of Active-Cooled Strut in RBCC Engine

Abstract

Fuel-injection strut is an efficient way to increase the depth of fuel penetration and strengthen the mixing process of hot gas in supersonic combustor. With a validated numerical model, this article analyzed the effects of leading edge's radius, wall thickness and mass flow distribution on cooling efficiency of fuel-injection strut and proposed an optimizing strategy for active-cooled strut. Results showed that the larger radius of leading edge not only decreased the heat flux on the leading edge, but also has a negative effect on the aerodynamic performance of strut; and a thinner wall could enhance the cooling efficiency and uniformize the temperature distribution of the wedge; furthermore, the flow distribution of inlet coolant had a significant impact on the heat transfer and flow processes, an optimized way of flow distribution was obtained by comparing three different ways of distribution.

Keywords

• strut
• active-cooling
• numerical simulation
• flow distribution