Turbulence Quantification in Supercritical Nitrogen Injection: An Analysis of Turbulence Models
Abstract
In Liquid Rocket Engines, higher combustion efficiencies come at the cost of the propellants exceeding their critical point conditions and entering the supercritical domain. The term fluid is used because, under these conditions, there is no longer a clear distinction between a liquid and a gas phase. The non-conventional behavior of thermophysical properties makes the modeling of supercritical fluid flows a most challenging task. In the present work, a RANS computational method following an incompressible but variable density approach is devised on which the performance of several turbulence models is compared in conjunction with a high accuracy multi-parameter equation of state. Also, a suitable methodology to describe transport properties accounting for dense fluid corrections is applied. The results are validated against experimental data, becoming clear that there is no trend between turbulence model complexity and the quality of the produced results. For several instances, one- and two- equation turbulence models produce similar and better results than those of Large Eddy Simulation (LES). Finally, considerations about the applicability of the tested turbulence models in supercritical simulations are given based on the results and the structural nature of each model.
Keywords: Supercritial fluids, RANS turbulence modeling, Liquid rocket engines
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