The numerical simulation of modern aero-engine combustion chamber needs accurate description of the interaction between turbulence and chemical reaction mechanism. The Large Eddy Simulation(LES) method with the Transported Probability Density Function(TPDF) turbulence combustion model is promising in engineering applications. In flame region, the impact of chemical reaction should be considered in TPDF molecular mixing model. Based on pioneer research, three new TPDF turbulence-chemistry dual time scale molecular mixing models were proposed tentatively by adding the chemistry time scale in molecular mixing model for nonpremixed flame. The Aero-Engine Combustor Simulation Code(AECSC) which is based on LES-TPDF method was combined with the three new models. Then the Sandia laboratory's methane-air jet flames: Flame D and Flame E were simulated. Transient simulation results show that all the three new models can predict the instantaneous combustion flow pattern of the jet flames. Furthermore,the average scalar statistical results were compared with the experimental data. The simulation result of the new TPDF arithmetic mean modification model is the closest to the experimental data:the average error in Flame D is 7.6% and 6.6% in Flame E. The extinction and re-ignition phenomena of the jet flames especially Flame E were captured. The turbulence time scale and the chemistry time scale are in different order in the whole flow field. The dual time scale TPDF combustion model has ability to deal with both the turbulence effect and the chemistry reaction effect, as well as their interaction more accurately for nonpremixed flames.
Turbulence affects both combustion and NO formation. Fluctuation correlations are ideally used for quantitative analysis. From the instantaneous chemical reaction rate expression,ignoring the third-order correlation terms, the averaged reaction rate will have four terms, including the term of averaged-variable product, a concentration fluctuation correlation term, and temperature-concentration fluctuation correlation term. If the reaction-rate coefficient is denoted as K, the temperature fluctuation would be included in the K fluctuation. In order to quantitatively study the effect of turbulence on NO formation in methane-air swirling combustion, various turbulencechemistry models are tested. The magnitudes of various correlations and their effects on the time-averaged reaction rate are calculated and analyzed, and the simulation results are compared with the experimental measurement data. The results show that among various correlation moments, the correlation between the reaction-rate coefficient K fluctuation with the concentration fluctuation is most important and is a strong nonlinear term.
