Two-dimensional non-reacting jet-gas mixing in an MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) second stage combustor

Computer simulation is used to aid in the design of a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) second stage combustor. A two-dimensional steady state computer model, based on mass and momentum conservation laws for multiple gas species, is used to simulate the hydrodynamics of the combustor in which a jet of oxidizer is injected into a confined cross-stream gas flow. The model predicts jet-gas mixing patterns by computing the velocity and species concentration distributions in the combustor. In this paper the effects of parametric variation of jet angle and flow symmetry on the mixing patterns were evaluated. The modeling helps to determine better mixing patterns for the combustor design because improved mixing can increase combustion efficiency and enhance MHD generator performance. A parametric study reveals that (1) non-reacting jet-gas mixing strongly depends on jet angle for coflow injection (jet angle < 90 degrees), (2) counterflow jets have better jet-gas mixing, (3) asymmetry of the inlet gas flow affects the mixing pattern, and (4) exit flow characteristics from two-dimensional simulation can be matched reasonably well with experimental data when experimental jet and simulated slot jet Reynolds numbers are of the same order. 12 refs., 14 figs., 2 tabs.