Numerical Investigation on Heat Transfer and Oxidation Deposition of Aviation Fuel in a Rotatory U-Channel

Abstract

Liquid-fuel regenerative cooling is a promising turbine cooling technology. We developed a numerical model of heat transfer coupled with oxidation deposition in a rotatory channel for regenerative cooling applications. Source terms for the centrifugal and Coriolis forces caused by rotation were added to the momentum equations and turbulent transport equations. A kinetic model for the thermal oxidation and deposition of supercritical hydrocarbon fuel was used to predict the oxidation deposition process. Coupled fluid–solid simulations of the heat transfer and oxidation deposition of hydrocarbon fuel in a U-shaped channel at five rotation numbers showed that the rotation improves convective heat transfer in the cooling channel and prevents the occurrence of a heat transfer deterioration zone. The average deposition rate in the channel decreased with increasing rotation number. In the centrifugal section of the rotatory channel, the Coriolis force caused the temperatures of the leading wall to be higher than those of the trailing wall, but the differences became smaller and nearly disappeared in the elbow and centripetal sections. The deposition rate on the leading wall was higher than that on the trailing wall in the straight centrifugal channel. In the bending section, the oxidation deposits were more prone to form on the inner edge than on the outer edge.