Characterization of the Inlet Combustion Air in NIST's Reference Spray Combustion Facility: Effect of Vane Angle and Reynolds Number.
Characterization of the Inlet Combustion Air in NIST's
Reference Spray Combustion Facility: Effect of Vane
Angle and Reynolds Number.
(1533 K)
Widmann, J. F.; Charagundla, S. R.; Presser, C.
NISTIR 6458; 24 p. January 2000.
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
(NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161.
Telephone:
1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000;
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Order number: PB2000-102877
Keywords:
combustion; Reynolds number; turbulence; fluid
mechanics; numerical analysis; validation; computational
fluid dynamics
Abstract:
The airflow through a 12-vane cascade swirl generator is
examined numerically to characterize the inlet
combustion air in the reference spray combustion
facility at NIST. A three-dimensional model is used to
simulate the aerodynamics in the swirl generator that
imparts the desired degree of angular momentum to the
air in the annulus leading into the reactor. A
parametric study is presented in which the effects of
the vane angle and Reynolds number are examined.
Reynolds numbers ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 and vane
angles ranging from 30 deg to 60 deg are investigated.
For a vane angle of 50 deg, which is the current
operating condition of the swirl generator, a
recirculation zone develops at the exit of the annulus
for Reynolds number, Re = 9500. The Renormalization
Group method (RNG) k-e turbulence model is used to model
the transport, production, and dissipation of turbulence
due to its superior performance (relative to the
standard k-e turbulence model) for this type of flow.
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