Plasma Actuation for the Turbulent Mixing of Fuel Droplets and Oxidant Air in an Aerospace Combustor

Abstract

In order to explore plasma-assisted turbulent mixing in aerospace engines, the dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuation for the turbulent mixing of fuel droplets and oxidant air in a ramjet combustor was studied using computational fluid dynamics. A two-way coupling of turbulent air and discrete droplets was realized by Eulerian–Lagrangian simulation, and the dielectric barrier discharge plasma action on flow was modeled by body force. The results show that the plasma actuation can rearrange the recirculation zone behind the evaporative V-groove flameholder, and the main mechanism of actuation is to increase the local momentum of the fluid; the actuation dimension, actuation intensity, and actuation position of the dielectric barrier discharge plasma have strong effects on the turbulent mixing of fuel droplets and oxidant air; and a relatively optimal turbulent mixing can be achieved by adjusting the actuation parameters.

Keywords

• plasma actuation
• turbulent mixing
• fuel droplets
• aerospace combustor
• dielectric barrier discharge