Numerical analysis of turbulent flow dynamics and heat transport in a round jet at supercritical conditions

Abstract

Using a direct numerical simulation (DNS), a round jet of cryogenic nitrogen, which mimics the experiment by Mayer et. al. (2003) in terms of geometry, thermodynamics, and hydrodynamics, but at reduced Reynolds-Number (Re = 5300 based on the injection diameter), is investigated. The objectives of the present paper are: (1) to reliably predict the turbulence statistics in order to investigate the physical mechanisms, that dominate the flow dynamics, and to investigate the fuel disintegration and mixture formation, (2) to analyze the characteristics of heat transport phenomena of supercritical flows in order to determine parameter regimes advantageous to mixing, and (3) to provide a database for model development and validation that is difficult to obtain experimentally at such extreme thermodynamic conditions. The correctness of the results has been established at two levels. First, a grid-sensitivity study has been carried out to determine the resolution, which provides grid-independent turbulence statistics. This ensures, that the quantities of interest depend only on the physics and are not affected by the numerical methods. Secondly, numerical results have been compared to available experimental data of sub- and supercritical jets. Assuming self-similarity, several characteristics of the jet, like spreading rate, density variations and thermodynamic properties have been assessed. Finally, a comprehensive database including instantaneous flow and temperature fields, mean flow characteristics, turbulence properties along with turbulent kinetic energy budget, and heat flux has been made available. A link to heat flux transport modeling has been established to evaluate the suitability of some existing heat flux models as employed in such supercritical fluid flow.