Numerical Study on Flow and Heat Transfer of Supercritical Hydrocarbon Fuel in Curved Cooling Channel

The fluid flow and heat transfer of hydrocarbon fuel play a significant role in developing regenerative cooling technology for advanced aeroengines. Numerical simulations have been conducted to investigate the flow and heat transfer characteristics of China RP-3 aviation kerosene with pyrolysis in a 3D, 90° bend, square cooling channel around the cavity flame-holder of a scramjet. A chemical kinetic model, composed of 18 species and 24 reactions, was adopted to simulate the fuel pyrolysis process. Results indicate that the secondary flow enhances the mixing of the fluid, thus, the transports of heat and components are improved between the near-wall region and main flow field in the curved channel. Compared with a straight cooling channel, fuel conversion and heat-absorbing capacity are higher, and the heat transfer is effectively enhanced in a curved cooling channel. In addition, with the increasing inlet mass flow rate and the decreasing radius of curvature, the velocity of the secondary flow increases. The heat and components are easily transferred from the near-wall region to the main flow. The non-uniformities of fuel temperature and conversion at the cross section decreases, which is helpful for improving the utilization of the level of fuel heat-absorbing capacity, and beneficial for enhancing the heat transfer.