AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF JET-ENHANCED TURBULENT COMBUSTION

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of jet size, jet number and jet orientation on the combustion rate in a jet-stirred constant volume combustion 'bomb'. Qualitative information was obtained from flow visualization experiments using a schlieren photography system. A two-component LDV system was employed to measure velocities during and after charging of the chamber. Combustion pressure traces were recorded from piezoelectric pressure transducer output and were used to calculate mass fraction burned curves. The study showed that jet length scale and jet orientation influence the generation of turbulence in the confined chamber, thereby affecting the rate of combustion and the subsequent maximum pressure rise. The offset jet arrangement gave the best results in terms of fast combustion and maximum pressure rise. On the other hand, increasing the number of jets in an opposed arrangement did not enhance the turbulent flow field in the chamber.