Characterization of Swirl-Venturi Lean Direct Injection Designs for Aviation Gas Turbine Combustion

Injector geometry, physical mixing, chemical processes, and engine cycle conditions together govern performance, operability, and emission characteristics of aviation gas turbine combustion systems. The present investigation explores swirl-venturi lean direct injection combustor fundamentals, characterizing the influence of key geometric injector parameters on reacting flow physics and emission production trends. In this computational study, a design space exploration was performed using a parameterized swirl-venturi lean direct injector model. From the parametric geometry, 20 three-element lean direct injection combustor sectors were produced and simulated using steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes reacting computations. Species concentrations were solved directly using a reduced 18-step reaction mechanism for Jet A. Turbulence closure was obtained using a nonlinear kappa-epsilon model. Results demonstrate sensitivities of the geometric perturbations on axially averaged flowfield responses. Output variables include axial velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, static temperature, fuel patternation, and minor species mass fractions. Significant trends have been reduced to surrogate model approximations, intended to guide future injector design trade studies and advance aviation gas turbine combustion research.