Vincent Terrapon

Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Simulations of the HyShot II Scramjet

The internal flow in the HyShot II scramjet is investigated through numerical simulations. A computational infrastructure to solve the compressible Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations on unstructured meshes is introduced. A combustion model based on tabulated chemistry is considered to incorporate detailed chemical– kinetics mechanics while retaining a low computational cost. Both nonreactive and reactive simulations have been performed, and results are compared with ground test measurements obtained at DLR, German Aerospace Center. Different turbulence models were tested, and the dependence on the mesh is assessed through grid refinement. The comparison with experimental data shows good agreement, although the computed heat fluxes at the wall are higher thanmeasurements for the reactive case. A sensitivity analysis on the turbulent Schmidt and Prandtl numbers shows that the choice of these parameters has a strong influence on the results. In particular, variations of the turbulent Prandtl number lead to large changes in the heat flux at the walls. Finally, the inception of thermal choking is investigated by increasing the equivalence ratio, whereby a normal shock is created locally and moves upstream, leading to a large increase in the maximum pressure. Nevertheless, a large portion of the flow is still supersonic.

On the mechanism of elasto-inertial turbulence

Elasto-inertial turbulence (EIT) is a new state of turbulence found in inertial flows with polymer additives. The dynamics of turbulence generated and controlled by such additives is investigated from the perspective of the coupling between polymer dynamics and flow structures. Direct numerical simulations of channel flow with Reynolds numbers ranging from 1000 to 6000 (based on the bulk and the channel height) are used to study the formation and dynamics of elastic instabilities and their effects on the flow. The flow topology of EIT is found to differ significantly from Newtonian wall-turbulence. Structures identified by positive (rotational flow topology) and negative (extensional/compressional flow topology) second invariant Qa isosurfaces of the velocity gradient are cylindrical and aligned in the spanwise direction. Polymers are significantly stretched in sheet-like regions that extend in the streamwise direction with a small upward tilt. The Qa cylindrical structures emerge from the sheets of high polymer extension, in a mechanism of energy transfer from the fluctuations of the polymer stress work to the turbulent kinetic energy. At subcritical Reynolds numbers, EIT is observed at modest Weissenberg number (Wi, ratio polymer relaxation time to viscous time scale). For supercritical Reynolds numbers, flows approach EIT at large Wi. EIT provides new insights on the nature of the asymptotic state of polymer drag reduction (maximum drag reduction), and explains the phenomenon of early turbulence, or onset of turbulence at lower Reynolds numbers than for Newtonian flows observed in some polymeric flows.

An Efficient Flamelet-based Combustion Model for Supersonic Flows

A combustion model based on a Flamelet/Progress Variable approach for high-speed ows is introduced. In the proposed formulation, the temperature is computed from the transported total energy and tabulated species mass fractions. The combustion is thus modeled by 3 additional scalar equations and a chemistry table that is computed in a pre-processing step. This approach is very ecient and allows the use of complex chemical mechanisms. An approximation is also introduced to eliminate costly iteration steps during the temperature calculation. To better account for compressibility eects, the source term for the progress variable is rescaled with the pressure. The model is tested in both RANS and LES computations of a hydrogen jet in a supersonic transverse ow. Comparison with experimental measurements shows good agreement, particularly in the LES case. It is also found that the disagreement between RANS results and experimental data is mostly due to the mixing model deciencies used in RANS.

Radiation Modeling of a Hydrogen Fueled Scramjet

against a three-dimensional ray tracing method. The radiative species considered are H2O and OH. The radiative heat ux is on the order of 10 kW/m 2 , which is 0.1-0.2% of the total convective wall heat ux. Flow cooling due to radiation is found to be on the order of 2 K. Sensitivity analysis shows that radiation is highly dependent on chamber size, temperature, pressure and radiative species mole fraction. Variations in these factors can explain the dierences between previous analyses in the literature that studied hypothetical engines and the current work that models an existing scramjet.

Characterizing the operability limits of the HyShot II scramjet through RANS simulations

Experimental and flight data for hypersonic air-breathing vehicles are both difficult and extremely expensive to obtain, motivating the use of computational tools to enhance our understanding of the complex physics involved. One of the major difficulties in simulating this regime is the interaction between combustion and turbulence, both of which are intrinsically complex processes. This work represents a first attempt at addressing assumptions introduced by physical models representing the turbulent reacting flow on the resulting predictions of the scramjet performance. A combustion model for high-speed flows is introduced and tested for the HyShot II vehicle. A reduced order chemistry model is then derived to investigate the effect of certain chemistry modeling assumptions within the combustion model. These models are used to investigate the unstart of the engine due to thermal choking by increasing the fuel flow rate. It is shown that an abrupt change occurs where a normal shock forms and moves upstream accompanied by a large region of subsonic flow. Additionally scalar metrics are described which are used as early indicators of unstart, to formulate safe operating limits for the scramjet engine.

On the role of pressure in elasto-inertial turbulence

The dynamics of elasto-inertial turbulence is investigated numerically from the perspective of the coupling between polymer dynamics and flow structures. In particular, direct numerical simulations of channel flow with Reynolds numbers ranging from 1000 to 6000 are used to study the formation and dynamics of elastic instabilities and their effects on the flow. Based on the splitting of the pressure into inertial and polymeric contributions, it is shown that the polymeric pressure is a non-negligible component of the total pressure fluctuations, although the rapid inertial part dominates. Unlike Newtonian flows, the slow inertial part is almost negligible in elasto-inertial turbulence. Statistics on the different terms of the Reynolds stress transport equation also illustrate the energy transfers between polymers and turbulence and the redistributive role of pressure. Finally, the trains of cylindrical structures around sheets of high polymer extension that are characteristics of elasto-inertial turbulence are shown to be correlated with the polymeric pressure fluctuations.

Numerical predictions of the performance in flight of an air-breathing hypersonic vehicle: HyShot II

The uncertainties inherent to the operating conditions of the Hyshot II scramjet flight test are assessed. In particular, the variability of the pressure prediction in the combustor due to uncertain free stream conditions is investigated using a probabilistic methodology based on stochastic collocation. The uncertainties in Mach number, angle of attack and flight altitude are inferred from pressure measurements in the unfueled combustor using a Bayesian inversion approach. The forward computation relies on a reduced order model that represents the combustion processes in the scramjet combustor. A ground based experimental data set obtained from 1-to-1 model of the HyShot II vehicle with well defined operating conditions is used to validate the non-reacting solver and to calibrate the heat release model for the reacting combustor. The model prediction agrees well with the experimentally aquired flight data. On the other hand, our estimated flight free stream conditions differ from previously published results.