Mixing Analysis of Combined Aeroramp/Strut Injectors in Supersonic Flow

Scramjet engine is the most promising air breathing propulsion system in the hypersonic flight regime. Combustion in a scramjet engine, however, is difficult to achieve due to flow residence times being comparable to chemical times. For our study, 3-D RANS CFD analysis of a strut flame holder of a scramjet engine combustor was carried out. The first part of the analysis focuses on the validation of CFD gas dynamics results with earlier experimental data in literature. The air enters the combustor at Mach 2 with a stagnation temperature of 612 K and a stagnation pressure of 7.82 atm. Various flow properties like velocity profile, wall static pressure and density gradient were in good agreement with experimental results. The next part of the analysis involves a strut mounted across the walls of the combustor with hydrogen fuel injector jets forming an aerodynamic ramp on both the upper and lower surfaces. The location of the injectors relative to the strut base and dynamic pressure ratio were varied and the observations presented.