Experimental study on the effect of injection schemes on fuel spray and combustion characteristics in a compact combustor

Fuel injection schemes based on close-coupled injection are usually used in compact combustor design. In this paper, an experimental method is adopted to study the fuel spray Sauter mean diameter (SMD) and combustion characteristics when different fuel injection schemes, strut cavity structures, and fuel/air jet momentum flux ratios are applied. Four fuel injection schemes based on close-coupled injection schemes and premixed injection schemes are proposed for use in a compact integrated combustor to compare the effects of the fuel injection schemes. Three struts are designed to study the influence of the cavity on the close-coupled fuel injection scheme. The results show that the spray and combustion characteristics of the close-coupled injection scheme differ from those of premixed injection schemes. Specifically, the SMD in the close-coupled scheme is in the range of 70-150 μm, which is larger and more uneven than that of the premixed scheme (15-40 μm), and the close-coupled scheme has better ignition performance at a temperature of 450 K. The flame structure of the close-coupled injection schemes with reverse mainstream inside the cavity has better radial uniformity, but more fuel is attached to the strut surface, resulting in a lower flame intensity and increased diffusion flame. The cavity on the strut sidewall can effectively promote fuel atomization by approximately 25% when the jet momentum flux ratio is low, make the fuel more uniform in the strut radial direction, increase the flame intensity, and reduce diffusion flame zone. In the close-coupled injection scheme, the large jet momentum ratio will lead to the collision and fusion of multiple fuel streams downstream of the struts, thus increasing the fuel droplet size and limiting the promoting effect of the strut wall structure. In summary, this paper provides further understanding of the combustor spray and combustion characteristics of different fuel injection schemes.